Apple has today increased the annual subscription cost of its Mac and iOS Developer Programs in several countries across Europe. While the prices remain the same at $99 in the U.S., Europeans can now expect to pay anything from $96 to $121, depending on where they live.
In Germany, for example, the price of Dev Program membership has risen from €80 (approx. $96) to €99 (approx. $119) a year, Apfelpage reports, while those in the U.K. will now pay £79 (approx. $121) up from £60 (approx. $92).
Without paying this fee, developers cannot gain access to iOS or OS X development resources, download beta releases, or distribute software through the App Stores.
The prices increases appear to affect the vast majority of EU markets, and they reflect recent changes to currency exchange rates, which have been weakening against the U.S. dollar for many months. Some countries are also seeing price increase to various Apple products, including Macs and iOS devices.
Turkey, a country that already pays some of the highest prices for Apple products, is one of the places where Macs, iPhones, and iPads are now even more expensive — and the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better, with the Turkish Minister of Economy pushing for taxes on certain imported consumer electronics, including smartphones, tablets, and computers.
These price amendments follow an increase to App Store pricing in Russia last month, following a sharp drop in the value of the ruble which actually saw the App Store shut down for several days. We can probably expect to see similar price increases in other countries around the world where currencies have been weakening against the dollar.
Source: Apple
Via: Apfelpage
