Users renewing after a month or new sign-ups will have to bill their purchase in the Netflix website and then login into the iOS app.
Key Highlghts:
- Netflix will no longer allow users to pay for their plans on iPhone or iPad
- New Users will have to go to the Netflix website to pay and login to the app in their iOS devices
- The move is presumably a backlash against Apple's claim of a high 30 percent revenue cut from in-app purchases
You can no longer renew your Netflix subscription from your iPhone or iPad. Along with other prominent app developers, Netflix will no longer allow customers to subscribe via iTunes by way of an in-app purchase on iOS devices.
While the change was spotted earlier in November, Netflix delved deep into the move in a VentureBeat article on Friday. The report explained users who are already paying via iTunes may continue to do so. However, users renewing after a month or new sign ups will have to bill their purchase in the Netflix website and then login into the iOS app.
Netflix is not the only streaming service to do so. Presumably done against Apple’s move to take a larger revenue share from in-app purchases, streaming apps like Spotify and Soundcloud had to charge extra for iOS users. Later, Spotify stopped in-app purchases altogether and iOS users can only pay for their plans via the website.
Apple normally takes 30 percent of the revenues made via in-app purchases by an app. This may shrink down to 15 percent for long-term subscribers, but even then, many developers have argued that it takes away a substantial amount of their revenue. It’s partly the reason why most apps on iOS are more expensive as compared to their Android counterparts.
Many have argued that the decision to cut away from developer’s profits gives Apple an unfair advantage. For Spotify, where Apple Music is present omnipotently across iOS devices, it is indeed so. It’s also somewhat unfair for Apple to make money out of content it doesn’t produce or even host.
Related Links:
App developers want better revenue cut from Apple
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