Playboy magazine arrives on Apple and Android app stores for the first time

Playboy has taken the latest step on its path to reinvent itself as a non-nude title for the digital era, as the publication officially launches its iconic magazine to subscribers on Google Play and through Apple’s App Store.

Above: Playboy Subscriptions

To garner feedback ahead of the official roll out, Playboy Magazine was quietly introduced a few weeks back on Android and iOS, with the in-app subscription costing $17.99 a year, or $5.99 per issue.

The new app accompanies existing apps Playboy Now, which serves as a companion to its website; and Playboy Classic, which offers material from Playboy’s archives.

Up until now, Playboy was available through some digital newsstands, including Kobo, Nook, and Zinio, but has hitherto been restricted on iOS and Android due to rules on nude content. Indeed, Apple cofounder and former CEO Steve Jobs was famously vehement in its anti-porn stance for iOS, and in 2010 took a pop at Android:

You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go — so we’re not going to go there.

While it’s true that it has been easier to access adult content on Android devices through third-party services, Google’s actual app store, Google Play, doesn’t permit such content. So Playboy’s arrival on both stores as a full-fledged magazine is a notable milestone for the publication.

“Since introducing a brand new vision for Playboy magazine earlier this year, we have expanded our distribution channels in many powerful ways, including higher visibility on an increased number of traditional and digital media platforms,” said David Israel, COO and CFO at Playboy Enterprises, in a press release. “Inclusion in the iTunes and Google Play stores is an important milestone for Playboy as we continue to explore opportunities to introduce our content to new audiences all over the world.”

Playboy — a brand once synonymous with nude photos — has been completely nude-free since the March issue this year, and it has also been doubling down on its social media presence in the wake of this change.