Apple Opens App Store Subscriptions to Developers

Apple officially launched its App Store Subscriptions features for all iOS developers on Tuesday. The feature was introduced during News Corp’s The Daily iPad news app launch in early February, but until now hasn’t been available for other digital publications.

The subscription service will be available for any content developers offer such as newspapers and magazines.

Apple opens App Store subscriptions to all developers

“Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases,” Apple said in a statement. “Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly).”

Customers will be able to manage their subscriptions from a personal account page, and just like other in-app purchases, Apple will take a 30 percent cut.

Despite being out on a medical leave of absence, Apple CEO Steve Jobs offered up a comment on the subscription service, too. “Our philosophy is simple — when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” he said. “All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app.”

Apple didn’t say when end users can expect to be able to start subscribing to publications in-app.