Apple Is Now Promoting Free Trials For Subscription Apps In App Store

In a move for a wider push toward subscription pricing, Apple has been heavily expanding and promoting subscriptions by throwing the spotlight on subscription-based apps offering free trials to new users in a new App Store section.

The new section is located under the “Apps” section in the App Store and aptly titled “Try It For Free”. In the section, Apple is currently highlighting four applications: 1Password, USA Today, Lake: Coloring Books, and Panna: Video Recipes. For each app, Apple touts the available free trial.

While a subscription model is benefiting to both Apple and developers, customers can be wary of signing up sight unseen. So, this new promotion tries to take the risk out. With a couple of taps, you get the app and the free trial, and you can make an informed decision about whether or not the app and bundled service are right for you.

For instance, in the case of 1Password, Apple highlights the 30-day free trial offered for the annual membership of the app. If you choose the free trial, you will be taken to a “Subscription Offer” screen that tells you how long the trial runs for, the price after the trial, and how to download the app.

For apps that are not already installed on a device, selecting the “Free Trial” button triggers a subscription offer page that allows users to download and subscribe in one step. When an app is already installed, tapping that same button will open said title and take users directly to an in-app payments page.

For example, if a device owner was at one time a 1Password user, perhaps prior to the company’s shift to subscription-based plans, tapping “Free Trial” opens the app’s “Choose a Plan” page and triggers an App Store payment screen. Users can verify the purchase to start a free trial.

There are not a ton of apps in the promo just yet but they do run the gamut from password managers to fitness programs to educational apps. These apps have long offered free trials, but Apple is putting a stronger focus on those trials. This move is likely in an effort to promote subscription applications and give users a chance to try apps out before committing to the full subscription.

For well over a year, Apple has been urging developers to take advantage of expanded subscription pricing tools, a strategy that can in some cases loose revenue while increasing platform stickiness.

If you have been hesitant to try any of them out, check out “Try Something New” and see what you think.