Annual subscriptions can be paid in monthly installments anywhere in the world, except in the United States and Singapore. The timing, in the midst of a regulatory offensive, is no coincidence.
Until now, subscribing to an application on the App Store meant choosing between two plans: the comfortable but expensive monthly, or the cheaper annual but paid in one block. Apple has just added a third. Since yesterday, developers can offer a monthly subscription with 12 month commitmentaccording to the press release published on the Apple Developer portal. Concretely, the annual price is divided by twelve and invoiced each month. A subscription of 90 euros per year becomes twelve monthly payments of 7.50 euros. The user obtains the reduced annual rate without taking out the amount at once. The device will be accessible to the public with iOS 26.5, expected in May.
We can cancel, but we still pay until the end
The detail that changes everything is found in the conditions. Cancellation is possible “at any time”, specifies Apple. But it does not stop ongoing payments. Canceling in the ninth month requires honoring the remaining three monthly payments. The commitment only ends at the end of the twelve-month cycle. In other words, “cancel” means “do not renew for the following year”, not “stop paying right away”. The model resembles the one that Adobe has applied for years on its Creative Cloud subscriptions, minus early termination fees.
Apple promises transparency. The number of remaining monthly payments will be visible in the account settings, and notifications will remind you of each renewal. For developers, the tool is already configurable in App Store Connect and testable in Xcode.
Why the rest of the world is entitled to it and not the Americans
The exclusion of the United States and Singapore from the launch received no official explanation. Apple simply mentions the two countries as exceptions, without a deployment schedule. But the context speaks for itself. The App Store is facing unprecedented regulatory pressure in Europe (DMA) and Asia. A more flexible payment mechanism, with increased transparency on commitments? This is exactly what regulators accuse Apple of neglecting.
The interest is not only altruistic. Apple takes its 15-30% commission on every App Store transactionsubscriptions included. A user who hesitates when faced with 90 euros at once but accepts 7.50 euros twelve times remains an annual subscriber. And Apple receives its share of each monthly payment. More conversions to annual means more recurring revenue for everyone. For developers, the calculation is the same: a customer engaged for twelve months brings in more than a monthly subscriber who cancels in the third month. Apple offers them a powerful loyalty tool, at a time when discontent against platform commissions has never been so strong. The kind of gesture that calms developers and regulators at the same time.
Apple invents free credit on subscription. The consumer gains in flexibility, the developer in retention, and Apple in commission. All that remains is to explain to the Americans why they are the last served.
👉🏻 Follow tech news in real time: add 01net to your sources on Google, and subscribe to our WhatsApp channel.
By: Opera
