Apple is introducing a new subscription option that will let customers pay for their auto-renewing subscriptions on a monthly basis, while committing to a 12-month plan.
This model will allow developers to offer discounted rates to customers in exchange for more predictable long-term revenue.
Users can cancel their subscription at any time, which will prevent the subscription from renewing after they’ve completed their agreed-to payments to fulfill their commitment.
Apple is essentially formalising what developers are already doing, by showing yearly price subscriptions, which allows it to also craft a set of policies around how these subscription offers are to be displayed so as not to mislead customers about the actual cost of the deals.
To provide transparency, people can easily view the number of completed and remaining payments for the subscription in their Apple Account. Apple will also send email and, if opted in, push notifications ahead of their renewal date to remind them of their upcoming purchase.
Developers can now configure this type of subscription in App Store Connect and test it in Xcode.
However, the option will not be available to developers in the United States or Singapore at launch.
The new monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment will be available worldwide to customers on iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, or later, and with the release of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 in May.
