pricing

App Store prices climb in Japan as tax increases

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iOS 11 iPad Pro
Look out for the changes next month.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will raise App Store pricing in Japan next month in line with an update to Japan Consumption Tax (JCT).

The increase will affect sales and in-app purchases, but not auto-renewable subscriptions. Only the most affordable tier priced at ¥120 will avoid the change.

No really … iPhone XS is a total steal, says Tim Cook

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Tim Cook on Good Morning America
iPhone XS Max is just “a dollar a day.”
Photo: ABC

Apple’s latest iPhone lineup is its most expensive yet, with prices starting at $999 for the iPhone XS and $1,099 for the iPhone XS Max. But Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn’t see a problem with that.

In an interview with Good Morning America this week, Cook again defended Apple’s price tags, talked about Apple Watch Series 4, and explained why some devices have avoided price hikes amidst America’s trade war with China.

Here’s how much the three tiers of iPhone 8 will cost

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Get ready to splash some cash!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to show off its new, eagerly anticipated iPhone 8 for the first time next week — and according to renowned Apple leaker and tipster Benjamin Geskin, it won’t be cheap.

Geskin has posted the prices for the new handset on Twitter, which he reportedly heard from a friend with knowledge of Apple’s plans. Here’s how much Geskin thinks we’ll be shelling out for the new devices:

OmniFocus 2 For iPhone: A Brand New, Full-Price App For iOS 7 Only

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Screen Shot 2013-09-12 at 11.47.07 AM

Looking forward to OmniFocus 2 on your iPhone? Then you can also look forward to ditching OmniFocus 1 and paying full price for the update. And if you do want OF1, then you’d better buy it now, as it’ll be disappearing as soon as the new app is launched.

OmniGroup, the developer behind OmniFocus, OmniOutliner and OmniEverythingElse, has laid out its plans for dealing with the lack of upgrade pricing in both of Apple’s App Stores. And they sound completely reasonable.

The $999.99 Club: These Are The Most Expensive Apps On The App Store

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The most you can charge for an app on the iOS App Store is $999.99. In the early days of the App Store, a number of novelty apps came out, trying to make a quick buck by convincing gullible plutocrats to part with their money in the form of a $1,000 app download. The most notable example is I Am Rich, an iPhone app that literally did nothing except proclaim your affluence.

These days, though, the $999.99 club is made up of legitimate apps. Well, mostly.

Steve Jobs Biographer Walter Isaacson Dropped From eBook Price Fixing Case

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Walter Isaacson isn't in Jony Ive's good books.
Walter Isaacson isn't in Jony Ive's good books.

Walter Isaacson, the author of the best-selling biography about Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, will not have to share his notes or testify in an ongoing lawsuit over alleged eBook price fixing between Apple and book publishers.

Lawyers wanted to see Isaacson’s notes from interviews with Jobs in an effort to establish Apple’s agreements with publishers, but Isaacson refused to hand them over, citing a New York law that allows journalists to shield their sources.

Square Enix Says It May Reconsider Its High Prices For iOS Games

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Final Fantasy III from Square Enix, originally released in 1997, currently costs $15.99 on iPhone.
Final Fantasy III from Square Enix, originally released in 1997, currently costs $15.99 on iPhone.

Square Enix has revealed that it may reconsider its pricing structure for mobile games following critical feedback from users in Western countries. While the Japanese developer is well-known among iOS users for its awesome RPGs, such as Final Fantasy and Chaos Rings, it’s also famous for its hefty price tags, which can often be as much as $18 per title.

When console-quality games are going for less then $5 these days, those prices are a big problem for some.

Apple May Have To Cut E-book Prices Within Three Months

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These might get a bit cheaper in the months to come - a good thing for consumers.
These might get a bit cheaper in the months to come - a good thing for consumers.

Cheaper e-books would be great, right? According to industry executives, that may just happen in the next one to three months after a federal judge entered an approval of an antitrust settlement between several e-book publishers and the Justice Department itself.

In the final settlement today, publishers Lagardere, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins have the next 10 days to notify e-book retailers like Amazon that any previous agreements regarding e-book pricing are no longer valid. The deal gave publishers only seven days to notify Apple, interestingly enough.

According to the report in the Wall Street Journal, one executive, who asked to not be identified, said, “It could be pretty fast.”

The publishers have to let retailers out of any agreements that prevent discounting, and the retailers are also able to terminate said contracts within 30 days.

Apple to AT&T: Show Me the Money

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AT&T may be subsidizing up to $425 of the cost of each new iPhone it activates for service when the 2.0 3G models launch next month, Barron’s reports.

According to Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner, AT&T will cover an additional $125 premium over the carrier’s typical $200 smartphone subsidy because the company thinks the iPhone will increase subscribers and average revenue per user. Apple will receive an additional $100 bounty for every new AT&T customer who signs for service at an Apple Store.

The early book on the new phone is very bullish, with Reiner calling for 15 million units to be sold in 2008 and another 33 million in 2009.