Spotify is working on an update that could allow iPhone users in the US to purchase audiobooks through external links. In a post on Friday, Spotify says it has submitted the update to Apple, and if approved, it would also let Premium users buy “top-ups” for additional audiobook listening time.
The change comes in response to last week’s order issued by Epic Games v. Apple Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who found Apple was in “willful violation” of a 2021 injunction. The judge ordered Apple to stop taking an up to 27 percent commission on purchases made through external links, and also blocked the company from restricting how developers direct users toward purchases outside the App Store.
In response to the order, Spotify started allowing users to purchase subscriptions through external links.
Adding links and pricing info for audiobooks would be a major change to the app. Spotify previously attempted to get around Apple’s restrictions by not displaying the price of audiobooks in the app, and instead emailing users a link to purchase the audiobook they want on the web. Spotify eventually pulled audiobook purchases from iOS altogether.
“It helps level the playing field by allowing developers to offer basic pricing information and easy-to-access links to purchase digital goods through iPhones with no unnecessary steps or additional taxes levied by Apple,” Spotify says in the post. “In short, this freedom is a win for authors, audiences, and developers everywhere — if Apple approves and if the legal ruling stands despite Apple’s continued attempts to stop it.”
Though Apple has asked the court to halt the order while it appeals the decision, other apps, including the ones for Kindle, Patreon, and Delta’s emulator, are taking advantage of the newly relaxed policies as well.
