Spotify Finally Shows Pricing on iPhones in EU, But Still Can't Bypass App Store Purchase

Spotify Finally Shows Pricing on iPhones in EU, But Still Can't Bypass App Store PurchaseAfter years of legal battles with Apple, Spotify is starting to show in-app pricing information to iPhone users in the EU starting today. In an update to an old blog post, Spotify says that iPhone users in the EU can now see promotional offers and pricing information for each subscription tier, including the price of the plan after the promotion ends

Spotify Finally Shows Pricing on iPhones in EU, But Still Can't Bypass App Store Purchase

After years of legal battles with Apple, Spotify is starting to show in-app pricing information to iPhone users in the EU starting today. In an update to an old blog post, Spotify says that iPhone users in the EU can now see promotional offers and pricing information for each subscription tier, including the price of the plan after the promotion ends. The only thing missing is the ability to click a link to purchase outside of the Apple App Store.

Spotify says it chose to join Apples "Music Streaming Services Authorisation" introduced in March after the company was fined 18.4 billion (roughly $20 billion) by the EU for "abusing its dominant position in the music streaming market", rather than accepting the complex new developer terms Apple outlined last week. Unlike the "Music Streaming Services Authorisation", the latter would allow EU developers to link to external payment options but Apple would take a cut of the off-platform sales. Spotify seemingly didn't want to do that, calling Apple's demands "illegal and predatory taxes."

Here's what EU iPhone users previously saw:

...

And after, now with transparent pricing:

Some options will also direct customers to purchase Premium subscriptions through Spotify's website.

Spotify has been fighting Apple in the EU since it first filed an antitrust complaint regarding App Store rules in 2019. Just this March, Spotify said Apple was blocking changes like the ones we see today.

While Spotify has finally won the right to display pricing on iPhones in the EU, it is still unable to bypass Apples App Store purchase process. This suggests that despite pressure from EU antitrust authorities, Apple is still attempting to maintain its control over the app store ecosystem. This is still a significant milestone for Spotify, as it provides users in the EU with more transparent pricing information and has the potential to drive broader change in the future.