3 ms·

I made the switch to iPhones a year ago (although I'm still mainly an Android developer) and can agree somewhat with your statement. I rarely bought anything f

I made the switch to iPhones a year ago (although I'm still mainly an Android developer) and can agree somewhat with your statement. I rarely bought anything from the Google Play Store but I'm pretty sure this is due to the fact that on Android there is almost ALWAYS a free alternative for whatever you need. On iOS not so much, even the crappiest app will cost you something. But on the other hand I would do the same. iOS users are willing to spend more money on mobile apps/services which is also the reason why they buy expensive high end phones in the first place instead of buying a 50$ Android phone.

chii 11y ago
> even the crappiest app will cost you something. isn't that a sign that competition in a more open platform makes for a better market for the consumer? And that paying for software is a thing of the past, and that other revenue models needs to be thought up. Games have already made the transition, mainly due to the way they raced to the bottom and high cost of production, but i suspect utility apps will follow suit very soon.
- herbst 11y ago
  IMHO they did. They serve ads and make often more money than if they would sell the app for a reasonable price. You even see this on Windows applications, like qTorrent which imo really sucks, but thats exactly what you get from expecting free software.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  I think it's more that there are more hobbyist developers on Android, whereas iOS developers are trying to make a business out of it.
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
> ... on Android there is almost ALWAYS a free alternative... This is key. I don't mind paying for apps, but if I can find a free (beer/libre) one (such as on F-DROID), I'll go for that first.
Tiksi 11y ago
Yeah, as an android user with a high end phone, I have no problem paying for apps, even (relatively) more costly ones. Offhand I can think of torque pro and tasker that I've purchased, and a bunch more that I can't think of. The reason I don't buy more is there is almost always a free or ad supported version of the apps, so I only buy ones that have functionality that I can't get for free, which is rare.
- soylentcola 11y ago
  Many of the apps I've purchased for my Android phones over the years had a lite or ad-supported version for free and then a full version for purchase. I like being able to try something out first and when I have the option, I'm actually much more likely to pay for the full version. Ad-supported stuff is only good for testing out an app because they're annoying and obtrusive but I can understand having them in free/demo versions. If the only thing that sucks about a useful app is the ads, I'll gladly pay to get rid of them. Then there's the demo stuff where you pay to unlock extended features. Sometimes I don't necessarily need those (like on the Hue Pro app or Nova Launcher) but when I use something daily and it's $1.99 to get the full version, I tend to buy "pro" more often than not. It's more a matter of maybe wanting the extra functionality or wanting to support the dev than about necessity in most cases but it definitely beats having to buy something only to find out it's crap. If anything, the only reason I skip an app entirely is because I can't find enough trusted info to convince me it's something I want and there's no free version to test out first. Only for trusted devs and well-known and thoroughly reviewed apps do I tend to buy without a trial/demo first.
oldmanjay 11y ago
My favorite thing about free android apps is how so many demand access to contacts and location (and sometimes microphone and camera!) despite never really needing them to work. Since most people have no idea how to deal with this, they are paying a much heavier price for those free apps than they think. At least the newer android versions let you revoke these permissions, but given the state of android version deployment, it seems likely the vast majority of android users are giving quite a lot of personal information away to quite a few people. It was not the sole reason I moved away from android but it definitely helped me make the decision.

chii 11y ago

> even the crappiest app will cost you something. isn't that a sign that competition in a more open platform makes for a better market for the consumer? And that paying for software is a thing of the past, and that other revenue models needs to be thought up. Games have already made the transition, mainly due to the way they raced to the bottom and high cost of production, but i suspect utility apps will follow suit very soon.

herbst 11y ago
IMHO they did. They serve ads and make often more money than if they would sell the app for a reasonable price. You even see this on Windows applications, like qTorrent which imo really sucks, but thats exactly what you get from expecting free software.
s73v3r 11y ago
I think it's more that there are more hobbyist developers on Android, whereas iOS developers are trying to make a business out of it.

JustSomeNobody 11y ago

> ... on Android there is almost ALWAYS a free alternative... This is key. I don't mind paying for apps, but if I can find a free (beer/libre) one (such as on F-DROID), I'll go for that first.

Tiksi 11y ago

Yeah, as an android user with a high end phone, I have no problem paying for apps, even (relatively) more costly ones. Offhand I can think of torque pro and tasker that I've purchased, and a bunch more that I can't think of. The reason I don't buy more is there is almost always a free or ad supported version of the apps, so I only buy ones that have functionality that I can't get for free, which is rare.

soylentcola 11y ago
Many of the apps I've purchased for my Android phones over the years had a lite or ad-supported version for free and then a full version for purchase. I like being able to try something out first and when I have the option, I'm actually much more likely to pay for the full version. Ad-supported stuff is only good for testing out an app because they're annoying and obtrusive but I can understand having them in free/demo versions. If the only thing that sucks about a useful app is the ads, I'll gladly pay to get rid of them. Then there's the demo stuff where you pay to unlock extended features. Sometimes I don't necessarily need those (like on the Hue Pro app or Nova Launcher) but when I use something daily and it's $1.99 to get the full version, I tend to buy "pro" more often than not. It's more a matter of maybe wanting the extra functionality or wanting to support the dev than about necessity in most cases but it definitely beats having to buy something only to find out it's crap. If anything, the only reason I skip an app entirely is because I can't find enough trusted info to convince me it's something I want and there's no free version to test out first. Only for trusted devs and well-known and thoroughly reviewed apps do I tend to buy without a trial/demo first.

oldmanjay 11y ago

My favorite thing about free android apps is how so many demand access to contacts and location (and sometimes microphone and camera!) despite never really needing them to work. Since most people have no idea how to deal with this, they are paying a much heavier price for those free apps than they think. At least the newer android versions let you revoke these permissions, but given the state of android version deployment, it seems likely the vast majority of android users are giving quite a lot of personal information away to quite a few people. It was not the sole reason I moved away from android but it definitely helped me make the decision.