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On android I spent a fortune because I knew I could refund it if the app was bad or didnt do what I wanted. On iPhone I'm scrooge. So far for 2019 I've spent $1

On android I spent a fortune because I knew I could refund it if the app was bad or didnt do what I wanted. On iPhone I'm scrooge. So far for 2019 I've spent $1.

threatofrain 8y ago
Many iPhone apps aren't well described enough for the user to know what they're expecting before they buy. And even legitimate refunds are obnoxious. Plus app store browsing and discovery sucks.
- azinman2 8y ago
  Probably why in-app purchases are so popular (from developers).
- crooked-v 8y ago
  What I've really started to notice is the churn where an app gets abandoned, somebody else makes an almost-clone of it, that app gets abandoned, somebody else makes an almost-clone of it... etc.
maxxxxx 8y ago
I would buy much more if I could try for a few days. I don’t understand why they can’t do this. Or better, they can, but don’t want to. This is outright user hostile.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  I would buy much more if I could try for a few days. I don’t understand why they can’t do this. Or better, they can, but don’t want to. This is outright user hostile. Talk to your app maker, not Apple. Apple started allowing free trials last year: "Non-subscription apps may offer a free time-based trial period before presenting a full unlock option by setting up a Non-Consumable IAP item at Price Tier 0 that follows the naming convention: “XX-day Trial.” Prior to the start of the trial, your app must clearly identify its duration, the content or services that will no longer be accessible when the trial ends, and any downstream charges the user would need to pay for full functionality." https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#payments https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#pay...
- oh_sigh 8y ago
  That might negatively affect sales. Many people might want an app for a specific need, and once that need is gone, will never use the app again. Maybe instead of a free trial on a $1 app, it could be something like a 20 cent trial, and if you buy the app, you are credited your 20 cents.
  - stanleydrew 8y ago
    The developer has control over the pricing model though right? For an app that solves a specific problem one time and then is useless, it would be foolish for a developer to offer a free trial. As far as I know Apple does not force free trials.
stevenwoo 8y ago
I spent money on android because the Google rewards program gives it in exchange for me filling out surveys ( I assume to verify their analytics) and I spent zero dollars on iOS.
- scarface74 8y ago
  I have this strange compulsion of liking to give companies money and they give me stuff instead of “collecting analytics.”
  - wolco 8y ago
    I prefer getting paid for my opinions. I'll gladly provide analytics for those who directly ask giving me the option to say I prefer not to answer. There needs to be people like you to balance the costs for someone like myself because knowing my age, marriage status size of company isn't worth the amount they pay me for it.
    - londons_explore 8y ago
      They use those surveys to measure how well brand advertising is working. Brand advertising is where you try to get people to remember your brand, even if they don't buy a product right away. They'll show you 5 ads for a brand of car, and then a few weeks later ask which brand of car you have heard of for example. They also ask people who haven't seen the ads for comparison. That data is used by Google to demonstrate how valuable their ads are. They only need a small percentage of people to answer the survey to get results across the whole population.
rhinoceraptor 8y ago
I'm not sure what the mental block is for people. A $5 app is considered premium, and that's what plenty of people spend on coffee on their way to work every day.
- malux85 8y ago
  I hear this all the time, like somehow the only factor in the propositions is economic. When someone spends $5 on coffee, they know exactly what they are getting, it’s a regular purchase, produced by a formulaic method, with consistent quality, that energises them for the day ... that also hooks into their biochemistry and there’s a certain about of conditioning / addictive behaviour there too. Compare that to the purchase of an app. There’s no biochemical enhancement, the quality of apps varies wildly and is unpredictable until after purchase, there’s little / no ability to refund. There’s no addictive hook to buy an app (I know some apps are addictive - that’s different) How are those propositions even nearly close? The decision to purchase is not purely economic.
  - ok_coo 8y ago
    I think this hits close to home for a lot of people. It's not about the small amount of money to pay for the app, mostly what stops me is that I don't know what I'm getting for that $5. It feels like I'm potentially throwing money down the drain. I've also paid for games apps (the most was around $20, I would pay more). I'd like to pay "premium" $ for a premium product on the app store, but I generally don't see that as an option. Periodically, I'll glance at the games available on the iOS store and the quality is night and day compared to PC/console. Maybe people think apps are not worth buying because they're charging pennies? What happened to making a solid product and not being afraid to charge for it?
- SatvikBeri 8y ago
  On average, I might have to buy 4 apps and spend 15 minutes fiddling around with each to find one I like in that category. So that's $20 plus an hour of my time. The good apps basically have to subsidize all the crap.
- Tsubasachan 8y ago
jplayer01 8y ago
You can refund iOS apps if that's your problem. I've never been denied a request. I don't feel I spend less on IOS than I did on Android (probably more because apps seem to be a bit more expensive).
- ben1040 8y ago
  There’s no need to request a refund on Android after trying out a paid app, however; simply delete a paid app within two hours of purchase and it’s refunded.
  - jplayer01 8y ago
    Okay. Doesn't change the fact that you can trivially get a refund even days after buying an app on iOS. That basically strikes down the argument that one can't "try" apps on iOS, because you can get refunds and it's easy and they're quite generous with it (from my experience, at least). Steam also doesn't automatically refund you if you uninstall within 2 hours, it's still a great refund experience.

On android I spent a fortune because I knew I could refund it if the app was bad or didnt do what I wanted. On iPhone I'm scrooge. So far for 2019 I've spent $1.

threatofrain 8y ago

Many iPhone apps aren't well described enough for the user to know what they're expecting before they buy. And even legitimate refunds are obnoxious. Plus app store browsing and discovery sucks.

azinman2 8y ago
Probably why in-app purchases are so popular (from developers).
crooked-v 8y ago
What I've really started to notice is the churn where an app gets abandoned, somebody else makes an almost-clone of it, that app gets abandoned, somebody else makes an almost-clone of it... etc.

maxxxxx 8y ago

I would buy much more if I could try for a few days. I don’t understand why they can’t do this. Or better, they can, but don’t want to. This is outright user hostile.

reaperducer 8y ago
I would buy much more if I could try for a few days. I don’t understand why they can’t do this. Or better, they can, but don’t want to. This is outright user hostile. Talk to your app maker, not Apple. Apple started allowing free trials last year: "Non-subscription apps may offer a free time-based trial period before presenting a full unlock option by setting up a Non-Consumable IAP item at Price Tier 0 that follows the naming convention: “XX-day Trial.” Prior to the start of the trial, your app must clearly identify its duration, the content or services that will no longer be accessible when the trial ends, and any downstream charges the user would need to pay for full functionality." https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#payments https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#pay...
oh_sigh 8y ago
That might negatively affect sales. Many people might want an app for a specific need, and once that need is gone, will never use the app again. Maybe instead of a free trial on a $1 app, it could be something like a 20 cent trial, and if you buy the app, you are credited your 20 cents.
- stanleydrew 8y ago
  The developer has control over the pricing model though right? For an app that solves a specific problem one time and then is useless, it would be foolish for a developer to offer a free trial. As far as I know Apple does not force free trials.

stevenwoo 8y ago

I spent money on android because the Google rewards program gives it in exchange for me filling out surveys ( I assume to verify their analytics) and I spent zero dollars on iOS.

scarface74 8y ago
I have this strange compulsion of liking to give companies money and they give me stuff instead of “collecting analytics.”
- wolco 8y ago
  I prefer getting paid for my opinions. I'll gladly provide analytics for those who directly ask giving me the option to say I prefer not to answer. There needs to be people like you to balance the costs for someone like myself because knowing my age, marriage status size of company isn't worth the amount they pay me for it.
  - londons_explore 8y ago
    They use those surveys to measure how well brand advertising is working. Brand advertising is where you try to get people to remember your brand, even if they don't buy a product right away. They'll show you 5 ads for a brand of car, and then a few weeks later ask which brand of car you have heard of for example. They also ask people who haven't seen the ads for comparison. That data is used by Google to demonstrate how valuable their ads are. They only need a small percentage of people to answer the survey to get results across the whole population.

rhinoceraptor 8y ago

I'm not sure what the mental block is for people. A $5 app is considered premium, and that's what plenty of people spend on coffee on their way to work every day.

malux85 8y ago
I hear this all the time, like somehow the only factor in the propositions is economic. When someone spends $5 on coffee, they know exactly what they are getting, it’s a regular purchase, produced by a formulaic method, with consistent quality, that energises them for the day ... that also hooks into their biochemistry and there’s a certain about of conditioning / addictive behaviour there too. Compare that to the purchase of an app. There’s no biochemical enhancement, the quality of apps varies wildly and is unpredictable until after purchase, there’s little / no ability to refund. There’s no addictive hook to buy an app (I know some apps are addictive - that’s different) How are those propositions even nearly close? The decision to purchase is not purely economic.
- ok_coo 8y ago
  I think this hits close to home for a lot of people. It's not about the small amount of money to pay for the app, mostly what stops me is that I don't know what I'm getting for that $5. It feels like I'm potentially throwing money down the drain. I've also paid for games apps (the most was around $20, I would pay more). I'd like to pay "premium" $ for a premium product on the app store, but I generally don't see that as an option. Periodically, I'll glance at the games available on the iOS store and the quality is night and day compared to PC/console. Maybe people think apps are not worth buying because they're charging pennies? What happened to making a solid product and not being afraid to charge for it?
SatvikBeri 8y ago
On average, I might have to buy 4 apps and spend 15 minutes fiddling around with each to find one I like in that category. So that's $20 plus an hour of my time. The good apps basically have to subsidize all the crap.
Tsubasachan 8y ago

jplayer01 8y ago

You can refund iOS apps if that's your problem. I've never been denied a request. I don't feel I spend less on IOS than I did on Android (probably more because apps seem to be a bit more expensive).

ben1040 8y ago
There’s no need to request a refund on Android after trying out a paid app, however; simply delete a paid app within two hours of purchase and it’s refunded.
- jplayer01 8y ago
  Okay. Doesn't change the fact that you can trivially get a refund even days after buying an app on iOS. That basically strikes down the argument that one can't "try" apps on iOS, because you can get refunds and it's easy and they're quite generous with it (from my experience, at least). Steam also doesn't automatically refund you if you uninstall within 2 hours, it's still a great refund experience.