Base pricing on Apple’s iTunes and Mac App Stores has changed around the world this evening. There are price rises and decreases all of which vary based on where you live. The UK, Mexico and Norway have seen prices rise, while Australia, Japan and Switzerland have seen prices fall.
Rather than this being an increase/decrease made by developers, this is a change put in place by Apple as it is across the board and has been based on the latest exchange rates. Apple’s aim is to try and even out prices internationally in line with the United States, though some users may disagree with the changes.
MacRumors has now posted a more detailed look at price increase and decreases on the the iTunes App Store:
UK: £0.59 -> £0.69
Australia: AU$1.19 -> AU$0.99
Japan: 115 -> 85 Yen
Mexico: $10 -> $12
Switzerland: 1.10Fr -> 1.00Fr
Norway: 6.00Kr -> 7.00Kr
Prices have also risen on the Mac App Store too - with some UK prices increasing from £5.99 to £6.99 amongst others. The areas that have seen price increases are likely to be very unhappy with the changes, especially in areas such as the United Kingdom that already has VAT added onto sales. While the increase may be seen as small to some, in some cases it is nearly a 15% to 20% increase and that may have a psychological effect on sales. It will now be interesting to see Apple's exchange rate price increases add to the pricing of Mac OS Lion which is due for release sometime tomorrow.
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