Apple Users Can Now Make In-App Purchases From Amazon Prime
Owners of an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV set-top box can now purchase Amazon Prime movies and series through an in-app purchase.
Previously, this was exclusively through the Amazon website. For the time being, the change only applies to users in Germany, the UK and the US, the BBC reports.
The activation of in-app purchases is an initiative by Amazon itself, which has so far forced its Prime members to exit the Amazon Prime Video app (for Apple devices) at some point.
When renting or purchasing movies and series, the rest of the transaction went through the Amazon website. You no longer have to leave the app.
Apple typically charges a 30 percent commission for in-app purchases on one of its own platforms. However, this has not been the case for some time for ‘qualified premium video service providers’. In other words, Amazon can use its own payment system for its Prime content, without owing a fee to Apple.
Other companies feel disadvantaged by this pricing policy. For example, music streaming service Spotify recently accused Apple of unfair competition and filed a complaint with the European Commission.
According to the Swedish company, Apple has introduced rules in its App Store that limit the free choice of consumers.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek recently said: “Apple requires Spotify and other services to pay a 30 percent commission on purchases, including upgrades from free Spotify to our Premium service. If we pay, we have to increase the price of Premium artificially, and it will be more expensive than Apple Music. We can’t do that. “