You can now subscribe to your favorite streamers from your iOS device, provided you have an iOS device and have updated the Twitch app. Truly we are living in the future.
Twitch announced the news at this year’s TwitchCon in San Diego, but the feature rolled out today. It’s a little different than your usual Twitch subscribing experience, and yes, it is Apple’s fault. The reason it’s taken this long for Twitch to offer subs through its iOS app is because Apple takes a 30 percent cut of any digital subscriptions or media sold through apps on its App Store. So most companies — like Amazon, which owns Twitch — just don’t sell media through iOS apps.
To subscribe on iOS, you have to buy what Twitch is calling “iOS Sub Tokens,” which cost $5.99, or slightly more than the normal $5 for a Tier 1 sub — and that’s because of the cut Apple takes for app purchases. After you buy the token, you can redeem it for a one-month Tier 1 subscription. Simple, really.
You can buy up to 12 tokens at one time. It’s not clear whether you can buy Tier 2 or 3 subs with them. Although, if they work like regular money, you should be able to? We have not tested this yet, and Twitch’s blog post on the subject did not raise the issue. They did, however, start the party with a sweetheart deal: if you buy tokens this month you can get two for $8.99.
And yes, Android users, we know you already had mobile subs. What an ecosystem. Love to see it.
Author: Bijan Stephen
Source: Theverge
