Spotify and Apple’s war over unjust commissions on in-app purchases and subscriptions, as well as Apple’s anti-competitive behavior, goes back years. The ongoing war finally seems to be coming to an end now, and it’s all thanks to a US judge ruling against Apple.
Spotify Will Finally Get the Freedom It’s Been Fighting Apple For
In ablog post shared on Spotify Newsroom, the streaming giant revealed that it had submitted a Spotify app update to Apple that would bring multiple features to US users, which was finally approved today.
In light of this, Apple decided to ban apps from linking to external sites for payments. The reason this is all changing now is thanks to an antitrust charge against Apple by the company behind Fortnite, Epic Games. In 2021, Apple was ordered to allow apps to direct users to other payment options. But the tech giant found a way around that too, by requiring app developers to apply for a special “entitlement” and introducing a new tax on purchases made outside apps.
Which Spotify Subscription Is Best for You?
We explain what each Spotify subscription offers, how much they cost, and help you decide which one is best for you.
Fast-forward to this week when a California district judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, accused Apple of knowingly dodging the previous court orders mentioned above. The court ruled that the company must make changes to the App Store, including allowing developers to redirect users to third-party websites to make payments.
While these changes are certainly far from good news for Apple, it’s the complete opposite for apps like Spotify. Although the latest version of the app is now available, the changes are still rolling out, so you might have to wait a bit before you see them on your iPhone or iPad. For instance, we checked on our end and were greeted with, “You can’t make changes to your plan or view prices in the app. We know it’s not ideal.”
