> how they can update their software I agree on all your points except this one. The App Store update process has grown long in the tooth. It was fine for the

> how they can update their software I agree on all your points except this one. The App Store update process has grown long in the tooth. It was fine for the first 5 years or so, then they added auto-update, great. But now 10 years in it is still all or nothing. Either the OS allows all apps to auto-upgrade, or you do it yourself. There is no way to "remove" an app from the update list if you want to keep an old version. There is no way to ever go back to an old version if you accidentally upgrade. Backing up an old version of an app requires a Mac to extract the binary. Each app already has it's own settings screen, why not add an "auto-update" toggle to each (And by default it gets your system-wide setting.) And from the developer side - no way to have paid upgrades, unless you release the "new" version as a separate app with a bundle discount alongside the old version. So instead you get either more apps moving to subscriptions, or more abandoned apps because the developer can't support free updates.