New YouTube subscription will cost more to buy on Apple devices
When YouTube's Red subscription streaming service launches Oct. 28, you'll be able to pay $9.99 for a month's worth of videos uninterrupted by advertisements.
Unless you're on a iPhone, in which case, you'll have to pony up $12.99.
As Ars Technica astutely pointed out, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of revenues for subscriptions sold via in-app purchases. And Google, which owns YouTube, will pass that extra cost onto subscribers.
Buying the subscription on the YouTube website should bypass the surcharge. Google says that "membership extends across devices and anywhere you sign into YouTube," so if you sign up on YouTube.com, you should be able enjoy Red when you're logged into the app on your iPhone or iPad.
(Relatedly, if you do sign up through the YouTube iOS app and you decide to cancel your subscription, you'll have to go through Apple to get a refund.)
YouTube announced Red on Wednesday. The paid service eliminates ads on videos, offers unlimited music streaming and gives access to original content. It also allows users to save videos to watch when they're offline and to keep videos running in the background. Google is offering a free monthlong trial starting Oct. 28.