Apple’s testing 12-month subscriptions with monthly payments

Apple is experimenting with a new kind of App Store subscription that sits somewhere between monthly and yearly plans.

Developers can now set up monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment, letting users pay in smaller chunks while still signing up for a full year.

The feature is already live for developers to test in App Store Connect and Xcode. However, it hasn’t reached the App Store just yet. That should change when iOS 26.5 rolls out next month, at which point the option will go live for users running iOS 26.4 or later. However, the US and Singapore are notably excluded at launch.

From a user perspective, this isn’t quite as flexible as a typical monthly plan. While you can technically cancel at any time, doing so only stops the subscription from renewing after the full 12-month commitment is completed. In other words, you’re still on the hook for the entire term. You are just paying for it monthly instead of up front.

Apple says it’s adding a few safeguards to make that clearer. Users will be able to track how many payments they’ve made (and how many are left) directly in their Apple account. Meanwhile, reminders via email and push notifications will flag upcoming renewals.

The move gives developers another pricing lever, especially for apps that typically rely on annual plans but want a lower barrier to entry. Splitting the cost across 12 months could make higher-priced subscriptions feel more manageable. This applies even if the overall commitment hasn’t changed.

It’s not clear why Apple is skipping the US and Singapore for now. The company hasn’t said when those regions will get access. Still, the direction here is pretty obvious. Apple is looking for ways to make longer-term subscriptions easier to sell, without fully giving up the predictability of annual billing.

If widely adopted, this could reshape how app subscriptions are presented. This can make “monthly” plans a bit less flexible than they first appear.