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Not the person you replied to, but I have pretty strong feelings on this so I am going to reply. I have no issue paying for apps/software. My iPhone homescreen

Not the person you replied to, but I have pretty strong feelings on this so I am going to reply. I have no issue paying for apps/software. My iPhone homescreen is made up almost entirely of paid apps or apps for services I pay for. Some of these apps cost $10-20 and I happily pay that every 18-24 months for a new version. I use Drafts so much that I would gladly pay up to $40 every 18-24 months as an outright purchase for it. That being said... if Drafts went to a subscription model for $5 a year, I would stop using it and find an alternative. Most apps are not services. Full stop. They are apps. Outside of the apps tied to a service (i.e. Dropbox, NewsBlur) I would find alternatives to every one of my paid apps if they went to a subscription model, even if that subscription was cheaper than buying a new version in a similar timeframe. I have this stance for multiple reasons: - I have subscription fatigue. I don't want to start managing dozens to use my computer/phone. - I don't want to wake up one morning and find out a utility app isn't working because I didn't pay, forgot to renew etc. If I have a down month I don't want to choose between a working text editor and working spreadsheet software. - I value owning software. Period. I know that if the state of my system doesn't change I can continue to use that version on tht OS for as long as I can make that OS function. That is important to me. - Renting software decreases its value for me as a customer in a way that paying a comparable sum for an upgrade in a similar time frame does not. The analogy I fall back on is a drill from a hardware store. If I am drilling for one project I have no issue renting a drill. But if I am drilling every weekend for a year and maybe a half dozen times a year going forward I want to own the drill. I don't want to go to use a drill and suddenly find it non-functional because I forgot to pay my rental fee. Most software is not a service. It is a tool. If you are providing a tool I will gladly pay to own that version that works on that OS and preferrably is guaranteed to work for 18-24 months after purchase (much like a warranty on a physical tool). After that timeframe, I can continue to use the tool in its current state on its current platform(s) and it should continue to work as long as it "physically" (i.e. no more updates or new features) lasts. If I want new features or continued support, I then have to buy a new tool. To emphasize: I have no issue buying software and paying devs for the work they do. I do, however, heavily object to renting software, especially because most apps are tools and not services. I have dropped several pieces of software over the last 18 months as they moved to the SaaS platform because I wanted to own the tools that they wanted to rent to me.

kartickv 9y ago
Thanks for your perspective, and it makes sense from your point of view. But what about the problem the grandparent raised, which is that with one-time payments, after a while, the income from the app decreases to below the cost of maintenance, at which time the rational choice for the developer is to stop taking a loss, and instead abandon the app and build another one to try to get more revenue. Whereas, a subscription incents the developer to continue investing in the app. Even if the total amount of money earned over the lifetime of the app is the same. BTW, you don't expect new features to be delivered unless you pay more. That's perfectly reasonable. But many users expect regular updates. To which my response is: Sure, but pay me regularly. I think whichever way we look at it, we don't end up with a good solution to this problem :)
- mcgrath_sh 9y ago
  Yup. I think that has been the biggest thing that Apple screwed up, not the price. The idea that you buy the app once and you own it on iOs forever. Not that iOS version. Not a subset of iOS versions. iOS. Unfortunately, this means that most people think of it like a song or similar. (I bought it on my iPhone 3 and therefore the song should play on my iPhone 8.) That mentality does not work with software. It is unsustainable. The mentality that Apple should have pushed would be similar to video games (i.e. I bought this for the PS!. And then the PS2. And then the PS3). As I stated above, I don't mind regular paid update intervals. I just loathe the idea of subscriptions. I want to own the software I buy. But the problem is that the average person thinks that $1 to $20 entitles them to a lot more than is reasonable. And the best way devs see to fight that off is subscriptions. I know I am in a very small minority, but ownership is worth a lot more to me than price. I just hope that there are devs out there that will continue to build quality software and sell it outright. I would like to see Apple give the ability for devs to handle pricing like JetBrains does. That to me is a subscription I would consider. I am not 100% sure, but it is about the only model I would be open to. https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What-is-perpetual-fallback-license- https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What...

kartickv 9y ago

Thanks for your perspective, and it makes sense from your point of view. But what about the problem the grandparent raised, which is that with one-time payments, after a while, the income from the app decreases to below the cost of maintenance, at which time the rational choice for the developer is to stop taking a loss, and instead abandon the app and build another one to try to get more revenue. Whereas, a subscription incents the developer to continue investing in the app. Even if the total amount of money earned over the lifetime of the app is the same. BTW, you don't expect new features to be delivered unless you pay more. That's perfectly reasonable. But many users expect regular updates. To which my response is: Sure, but pay me regularly. I think whichever way we look at it, we don't end up with a good solution to this problem :)

mcgrath_sh 9y ago
Yup. I think that has been the biggest thing that Apple screwed up, not the price. The idea that you buy the app once and you own it on iOs forever. Not that iOS version. Not a subset of iOS versions. iOS. Unfortunately, this means that most people think of it like a song or similar. (I bought it on my iPhone 3 and therefore the song should play on my iPhone 8.) That mentality does not work with software. It is unsustainable. The mentality that Apple should have pushed would be similar to video games (i.e. I bought this for the PS!. And then the PS2. And then the PS3). As I stated above, I don't mind regular paid update intervals. I just loathe the idea of subscriptions. I want to own the software I buy. But the problem is that the average person thinks that $1 to $20 entitles them to a lot more than is reasonable. And the best way devs see to fight that off is subscriptions. I know I am in a very small minority, but ownership is worth a lot more to me than price. I just hope that there are devs out there that will continue to build quality software and sell it outright. I would like to see Apple give the ability for devs to handle pricing like JetBrains does. That to me is a subscription I would consider. I am not 100% sure, but it is about the only model I would be open to. https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What-is-perpetual-fallback-license- https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What...