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> I doubt users would have revolted had the subscription gone up I don't doubt this, actually. I was a user of Apollo. I purchased the Pro Unlock for $5, and

> I doubt users would have revolted had the subscription gone up I don't doubt this, actually. I was a user of Apollo. I purchased the Pro Unlock for $5, and I did this only because it was a 1 time purchase. If it were a $5/mo subscription, I would have never used the app. Sure, I'm just one person and maybe many others don't feel the same way, but I have a hunch many do. Especially with the amount of subscriptions flying around these days, many people are getting frustrated by constantly having to subscribe.

Alupis 2y ago
Even if 80% of users stopped using Apollo, the rest could have still been sustainable and/or profitable. 50,000 paying users. That's incredible. Apollo could have even gotten loans to cover the interim if needed. There were many options to continue forward. The creator took none of them. My guess is the creator was emotionally exhausted by the ordeal and was not in the head-space to deal with such a disruptive change. Unfortunately, brilliant creators/engineers are not always the best suited to operate the business, especially during troubled times.
- echelon 2y ago
  Reddit designed this pricing change specifically to kill off 3rd party apps. If Apollo jumped through this hoop, there would be another in the future. There wouldn't be any winning this game.
  - Alupis 2y ago
    Maybe, maybe not. It's unreasonable to expect a company to offer free services that make you money. Therefore it's not unreasonable to pay something for access to the content that makes your app successful. No matter what the API fees are - if Apollo provided value to it's users, it would have users willing to pay for it. Like I previously said - many apps cost $30-50+ annually to use - and the users are happy to pay. Apollo users probably on-average used the app daily.
    - dialup_sounds 2y ago
      Are there any 3rd party apps that did not come to the same conclusion that the fees and restrictions made their continued development untenable?
      - jerlam 2y ago
        Narwhal transitioned to a 3rd party, paid subscription app. It's been around for over a year in this form. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777992/reddit-third-party-ios-app-narwhal https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777992/reddit-third-par...

Alupis 2y ago

Even if 80% of users stopped using Apollo, the rest could have still been sustainable and/or profitable. 50,000 paying users. That's incredible. Apollo could have even gotten loans to cover the interim if needed. There were many options to continue forward. The creator took none of them. My guess is the creator was emotionally exhausted by the ordeal and was not in the head-space to deal with such a disruptive change. Unfortunately, brilliant creators/engineers are not always the best suited to operate the business, especially during troubled times.

echelon 2y ago
Reddit designed this pricing change specifically to kill off 3rd party apps. If Apollo jumped through this hoop, there would be another in the future. There wouldn't be any winning this game.
- Alupis 2y ago
  Maybe, maybe not. It's unreasonable to expect a company to offer free services that make you money. Therefore it's not unreasonable to pay something for access to the content that makes your app successful. No matter what the API fees are - if Apollo provided value to it's users, it would have users willing to pay for it. Like I previously said - many apps cost $30-50+ annually to use - and the users are happy to pay. Apollo users probably on-average used the app daily.
  - dialup_sounds 2y ago
    Are there any 3rd party apps that did not come to the same conclusion that the fees and restrictions made their continued development untenable?
    - jerlam 2y ago
      Narwhal transitioned to a 3rd party, paid subscription app. It's been around for over a year in this form. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777992/reddit-third-party-ios-app-narwhal https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777992/reddit-third-par...