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There are thousands of desktop app developers that never got out of the hobby stage because they couldn’t get past the costs of processing payments, managing re

by krrrh 7y ago

There are thousands of desktop app developers that never got out of the hobby stage because they couldn’t get past the costs of processing payments, managing refunds, managing download servers, implementing licensing frameworks, implementing a smooth upgrade process, search engine optimization, establishing enough trust with users that they are confident they aren’t installing malware infected software, marketing, push notification infrastructure, and probably a few other things I’m not thinking of. It’s probable that 30% is too much to pay for help with all of that, but people too often act like Apple’s just taxing them and providing no commensurate value at all.

bsaul 7y ago
i think you also forget that many people buy ipads because of apps created by developers ( in my case, i believe my app is the direct reason for the sale of my customer's ipad pro). and that developpers need to buy apple hardware to build and distribute on the store. those 30% come in addition to all the revenue generated by hardware sales, because of independant app developers.
- scarface74 7y ago
  So your customers are willing to pay at minimum $799 for an iPad Pro but don’t value your product enough for you to charge enough to make it a sustainable business? Just maybe it’s a product market fit issue?
  - bsaul 7y ago
    Over the life of the ipad, they'll have paid me more than the ipad. But it'll be over a few years. It's a market with a few hundreds potential users (maybe a thousand) per country, not more.
gorgoiler 7y ago
Part of what makes it so galling is because Apple has those competencies in spades anyway (SREs, designers, datacenters, bizdev.) Another aspect is that the App Store feels like a value-add for the actual marketed products — iPhones and iPads — and not something you are ever explicitly buying. It doesn’t show up on the receipt. People talk about buying a new iPhone, or getting then latest iPad. No one ever goes to the Apple store to buy the lates access to the App Store. As such, Apple’s cut feels like it’s everything from cheeky to an abuse of their “monopoly” in the providers of iOS devices marketplace.
- OJFord 7y ago
  > Part of what makes it so galling is because Apple has those competencies in spades anyway (SREs, designers, datacenters, bizdev.) But what do you mean 'anyway'? If Apple suddenly said 'you know what, App Store is EoL, do your own distribution' (because of legal or whatever reason) surely there would be a spade or two of those competencies that were consequently redundant? I don't imagine they're hiring people to work on say Apple Maps; who subsequently say 'cor, good thing I'm here, someone should take a look at that unstaffed app store project'!
artsr 7y ago
> There are thousands of desktop app developers that never got out of the hobby stage There's so much money out there searching for an investment. It's a shame really.
scarface74 7y ago
Trust and payments being the largest. I download any random crap on my iOS devices trusting that the sandbox and permissions model will keep the app from doing too many things I don’t expect. I’m not downloading a random app on my computer. I can also pay a lot easier on my phone than digging out my credit card.

by krrrh 7y ago

bsaul 7y ago

i think you also forget that many people buy ipads because of apps created by developers ( in my case, i believe my app is the direct reason for the sale of my customer's ipad pro). and that developpers need to buy apple hardware to build and distribute on the store. those 30% come in addition to all the revenue generated by hardware sales, because of independant app developers.

scarface74 7y ago
So your customers are willing to pay at minimum $799 for an iPad Pro but don’t value your product enough for you to charge enough to make it a sustainable business? Just maybe it’s a product market fit issue?
- bsaul 7y ago
  Over the life of the ipad, they'll have paid me more than the ipad. But it'll be over a few years. It's a market with a few hundreds potential users (maybe a thousand) per country, not more.

gorgoiler 7y ago

Part of what makes it so galling is because Apple has those competencies in spades anyway (SREs, designers, datacenters, bizdev.) Another aspect is that the App Store feels like a value-add for the actual marketed products — iPhones and iPads — and not something you are ever explicitly buying. It doesn’t show up on the receipt. People talk about buying a new iPhone, or getting then latest iPad. No one ever goes to the Apple store to buy the lates access to the App Store. As such, Apple’s cut feels like it’s everything from cheeky to an abuse of their “monopoly” in the providers of iOS devices marketplace.

OJFord 7y ago
> Part of what makes it so galling is because Apple has those competencies in spades anyway (SREs, designers, datacenters, bizdev.) But what do you mean 'anyway'? If Apple suddenly said 'you know what, App Store is EoL, do your own distribution' (because of legal or whatever reason) surely there would be a spade or two of those competencies that were consequently redundant? I don't imagine they're hiring people to work on say Apple Maps; who subsequently say 'cor, good thing I'm here, someone should take a look at that unstaffed app store project'!

artsr 7y ago

> There are thousands of desktop app developers that never got out of the hobby stage There's so much money out there searching for an investment. It's a shame really.

scarface74 7y ago

Trust and payments being the largest. I download any random crap on my iOS devices trusting that the sandbox and permissions model will keep the app from doing too many things I don’t expect. I’m not downloading a random app on my computer. I can also pay a lot easier on my phone than digging out my credit card.