Apple sings another iTune following Brexit as prices rise by up to a third

Apple has confirmed to developers it is raising app store prices by up to a third, more than countering any downward currency swing in the British pound since the Brexit vote in June.

The changes (PDF) will happen in seven days and will see the cheapest app go from 79 pence to £0.99 - in the US the entry level price is $0.99 - and from £1.49 to £1.99 in the next price band.

“When foreign exchange rates or taxation, we sometimes need to update prices on the App Store. Price for app and in-app purchases (excluding subscriptions) will increase in India, Turkey, and the United Kingdom,” the letter to the devs - seen by us - stated.

The rise in India and Turkey are related to a service tax rate change, said Apple, but in Blighty the reason is the drop in the local currency, which yesterday fell against the US dollar to a 31-year low of $1.20 to £1. Prior to the EU referendum, £1 would get you $1.42.

UK PM Theresa May today outlined the sort of Brexit the people of Britain can expect - hard but with a soft centre. At the time of writing, GBP was valued at $1.225.

Given the state of uncertainty in Britain, the UK pound could depreciate further, but the good folk at Apple have spared consumers those worries by stretching its prices rise early to meet that possible outcome.

Apple sent us a statement:

“Price tiers on the App Store are set internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business. These factors vary from region to region and over time."

Apple previously bumped up the price of computers by 20 per cent in October, and right across the IT industry companies from Dell to HP, Lenovo, Asus, VMware and Microsoft have also reacted to the currency movement, some of them disproportionately. ®