Image: Simon Yeo/Flickr
YouTube Red promises ad-free viewing and the ability to save videos for offline viewing when it launches on October 28, but iOS users will have to take an extra step if they don't want to pay $12.99 per month instead of $9.99 per month that Android users will pay.Users of iOS can avoid paying the inflated price by instead signing up for the service on the YouTube Red website, YouTube support staff told Motherboard this morning. These users would then be able to log into the iOS app and use the subscription service normally from there.This extra step of signing up on the web to save $3 is because Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases for digital content like in-game items and subscriptions. Charging $12.99 is YouTube's way to circumvent the 30 percent cut.Other companies like Rdio and Spotify also charge higher prices for subscriptions when they're purchased inside their iOS apps. In fact, Spotify emailed iOS users earlier this year reminding them that they're paying an extra $3 per month if they subscribe via an in-app purchase; subscriptions cost $9.99 when made on the web.There's nothing nefarious about the $3 price difference—Apple does eat the cost of things like credit card transaction fees with in-app purchases—but there's nothing wrong with saving a few extra dollars per month, either.