Spotify and Apple Music are the two largest music streaming services in the world, attracting millions of listeners each day. For years, their parent companies have been locked in PR, political and legal battles. Essentially, Spotify thinks the iPhone-maker treats it unfairly and favours its own product. Apple says that Spotify has to play by the standard App Store rules. This includes paying Apple a 30% cut for payments made via the App Store and accepting it has banned other forms of transactions (read on for more about changes here).
Spotify is classed as a reader app by Apple. This means that it is allowed to provide a link within the app that takes users to a website from where they can manage their account. But products like Spotify cannot show that it offers cheaper pricing via its website in the app. Indeed, to avoid the so-called 'Apple tax', Spotify does not give users the option to upgrade their plan within its app at all. You can see the price of its Premium plans but cannot buy it on your iPhone. Instead, there is simply a message that says ‘You can’t upgrade to Premium in the app. We know, it’s not ideal.’
Apple has just recently been hit with a hefty fine from the EU.
Verdict and appeal
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Mac hardware
We help to solve your hardware hassles, from interrupted upgrades to running diagnostics
Give your iPhone a whole new look in iOS 18
Make your iPhone uniquely you
iPhone 16
Apple Intelligence-ready smartphone for the rest of us
Apple Watch Series 10
10th anniversary Watch is now slimmer with an even bigger display
AirPods 4
Apple's most affordable AirPods remain a brilliant buy
We. HEAR Pro
Room-filling sound from this stylish wireless speaker
HiDock H1
An impressive 11-port AI audio dock for conferencers
Adobe Premiere Elements 2025
Create eye-catching videos for sharing on social media
Photoshop 2024
Your imagination is the limit with this AI-powered pixel creator
Wispr Flow
Bring the power of AI dictation to DMs, documents and Discord chats