Apple App Store: Apps are going to cost more for Malaysian users starting 5 October

Apple announced that prices of apps and in-app purchases on the App Store will increase in Malaysia—as well as other countries. They said that the prices “will be adjusted accordingly“, but they didn’t say why they’re increasing the prices.

Besides Malaysia, the affected countries also include Chile, Egypt, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, and all territories that use the Euro currency. Specifically, in Vietnam, Apple says that these increases also reflect “new regulations for Apple to collect and remit applicable taxes, being value added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT) at 5% rates respectively”.

“Your proceeds will be adjusted accordingly and will be calculated based on the tax-exclusive price. Exhibit B of the Paid Applications Agreement will be updated to indicate that Apple collects and remits applicable taxes in Vietnam,” wrote Apple.

The post also included a link to Apple’s new App Store price tier updates for the affected countries. If you’re not too familiar with Apple’s pricing tiers, they basically apply to any transaction within Apple’s mobile ecosystem—including subscriptions, IAPs, and direct app purchases. Instead of assigning a specific price to a given product or service, developers choose from 94 tiers that represent transaction values starting at approximately USD 0.99. Below is Malaysia’s new price tier list.

While I can’t be certain of the previous price tier list for Malaysia, the lowest paid tier (1) for App Store app prices is RM4.90. It fits with the current weak Ringgit (currently USD 1 = RM4.56) as it drops to its lowest level since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. However, app developers can choose to retain their app’s current prices for existing subscribers.

Additionally, the new iPhone 14 range costs so much more in Malaysia despite no price increase in the U.S. Overall, prices for the new iPhone have gone up significantly by RM300 – RM700. So, while it’s disappointing that App Store users will have to worry about price increases for apps and in-app purchases, it’s not a huge surprise.

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