Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store

Apple today announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store, including magazines, newspapers, video, and music. This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service that Apple recently launched with News Corp.’s “The Daily” app. Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used for billions of app and in-app purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly). Then, with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment. Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription.