Spotify says Apple approved an update that lets US users buy individual audiobooks and see audiobook prices inside its iOS app, after the Epic v. Apple ruling
You'll see a ‘Buy’ button alongside an audiobook's price. … It's finally possible to purchase an audiobook from Spotify's iPhone app with just a few taps.
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify’s audiobook service initially launched in the US with individual titles available for purchase, but its iOS app later removed audiobook purchase options to comply with App Store rules. That left the listening app separated from the transaction flow.
The change follows a staged reopening: Spotify gained EU price-display approval in 2024, and Apple had already approved a US update allowing Spotify customers to use other payment options earlier this month.
First-order effects
- US iPhone users can now see individual audiobook prices and complete those purchases from Spotify’s iOS app, removing the prior break between discovery and checkout.
- Spotify can present audiobook retailing as an in-app flow on iOS rather than directing users away from the app or withholding purchase information.
Second-order effects
- The approval gives other iOS apps selling digital goods a concrete example of an Apple-approved US flow after the Epic ruling; Patreon was already reported as planning to use expanded payment options in its own iOS app.
- For Spotify, price visibility and a purchase button make audiobook merchandising inside its iOS product more comparable to the customer journey it can offer outside the prior App Store constraints.
Third-order effects
- If similar approvals become routine, App Store distribution may become less synonymous with Apple-controlled purchase presentation, shifting more transaction design back to app developers.
- The important test is implementation consistency: the ruling’s impact will depend on whether Apple applies this latitude broadly across digital-content categories, not only to high-profile updates.
The trend: This is one data point in the gradual unbundling of iOS app distribution from Apple’s control over how developers present and route digital purchases.