Spotify IOS Users Are Getting in-App Purchase Changes
If you use Spotify to listen to audiobooks on your iPhone, there are now fewer barriers to purchasing and downloading titles to your device. Apple has approved an update that allows Spotify users to view prices and purchase individual audiobooks, as well as add “extra” hours of listening, directly from the iOS app.
How In-App Purchases Are Changing on iOS
The change is the result of a recent court ruling that requires Apple to allow app developers to provide links to external sites outside the App Store to make purchases. Previously, users had to find somewhere to subscribe — such as in an external browser — or potentially pay an additional price to cover the App Store’s 15 to 30 percent commission.
In response, Spotify quickly updated its iOS app to add links to the various subscription options under the “Premium” tab, which previously simply acknowledged that such subscriptions existed and that users could find sign-up options through their web browser.
How to Buy Audiobooks on Spotify
With the update, users will now see a Buy button under individual headings in the iOS app and will no longer have to make purchases in the Spotify web player before returning to their mobile device to listen.
Spotify includes 15 hours of “use it or lose it” audiobook listening time with its Premium plans and the standalone Audiobooks Access subscription — now you can also add “extra” listening hours in the app. To manage your listening time on mobile, go to Profile > Settings & Privacy > Account > Plan Name > Manage Audiobook Time . The add-on costs $13 for 10 hours.
Finally, if Spotify isn’t your thing, check out our best audiobook listening deals .