Of the multiple anti-consumer complaints lodged against Apple in recent years, Spotify’s fight for “obvious” updates finally seems to be bearing fruit. Spotify filed an antitrust complaint back in 2019, alleging that Apple’s policies hurt Spotify and bolstered business for Apple Music. After a nearly $2 billion fine, Apple is now making changes that level the playing field a bit.
The biggest change is that Spotify can now display subscription pricing within the app and inform users on how to purchase a subscription from its site. This wasn’t possible before because Apple insisted on Spotify implementing in-app purchases to display these prices.
However, in-app purchases would have meant paying Apple a 30% cut each time. And, naturally, Spotify didn’t want to oblige. This doesn’t mean everything’s been resolved, however. Apple still isn’t allowing Spotify to let users tap a button to go to the Spotify website to make a purchase.
Unfortunately, Spotify and all music streaming services in the EU are still not able to freely give consumers a simple opportunity to click a link to purchase in app because of the illegal and predatory taxes Apple continues to demand, despite the Commission’s ruling.
What’s funny is that Spotify tried doing this back in April but Apple didn’t let the update go through. A little over three months later and suddenly it’s allowed. Makes me think Apple might be a bit scared of another $2 billion fine. Then again, $2 billion isn’t much for a company like Apple.
Image credit — Spotify
It’s also quite irritating that you can’t simply click on a link to go to Spotify’s website. But if being able to display pricing information has been allowed, perhaps that will be too in the near future.
The Spotify and Apple controversy is far from the only antitrust case filed against Apple in the EU. For example, just this year the EU forced Apple to allow third party NFC payments on iPhone. Consumers in the EU can now also sideload apps on iPhone, something that shattered Apple’s walled garden.
Apple’s iPhones are some of the best phones in the market today. But I think it’s becoming quite clear that they’re getting better in the EU.
Create a free account and join our vibrant community
Register to enjoy the full PhoneArena experience. Here’s what you get with your PhoneArena account:
Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: