This will be a poorly worded post since I’m typing on mobile.
I’m so tired of subscriptions. There’s already so many bills to pay, I don’t want to think about my phone having a dozen micro-bills.
All of the top apps in the iOS app store, mostly excluding Google and Microsoft, have subscription pricing. (And now Outlook requires a subscription to remove ads.)
Note taking app? Subscription. Reminders app? Subscription. An app with exactly one function and hasn’t been updated in months? Subscription.
It seems that the idea of one-time purchasing has all but died on iOS. The last one-time purchase I’ve ever made for an app on that platform is Apollo (RIP). After that, I just stuck with Apple’s default offerings (Mail, Calendar, Notes etc). However decent those apps may be, they’re stuck to the Apple ecosystem.
On a whim I wanted to try out the Pixel 7.
I discovered: Cinexplore, Feeder, Moshidon, Oto Music, and many more, of course.
So many quality apps that are either free or offer a one-time purchase. I used them for a bit and either paid the one-time purchase or donated if it was free.
And side-loading is the cherry on top. Having an open platform and more competition gives me a choice. It’s refreshing and helps reduce the mental burden of subscriptions.
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Hi, app developer here.
I know that subscriptions are frustrating but it’s the only way to be on business this days.
For instance, let’s say that you purchase a one-time fee that grants you lifetime access. 5 years after that you will continue to receive new features, new OSs adjustments to keep the app working, security patches, and changes to comply with store policies (which are becoming more and more strict every year btw).
Unfortunately it’s impossible to be financially sustainable in the long term with one-time purchases only…
What I do is to try to keep the prices as lower as possible, arround 10-20$ per year, of which I receive less than half of it after taxes and store fees.
Even doing that is nearly impossible to survive, I don’t really know how much time I will be able to be full time doing this :/
Market is oversaturated with offering. There’s an ongoing overproduction crisis. Competition on price leads to diminishing margins, which leads to unsustainable small business, which leads to capital concentration and oligopoly. This tendency is the same across all sectors in late state capitalism. Many people won’t be able to make a living from their work anymore.
That said I heard some small developers choose to work only on iOS because there are more clients willing to pay for apps in that ecosystem. Google focus on ad-based revenue created a sort of “everything for free” culture on android wich makes very difficult to sell quality apps there, at the same time their store is filled with low quality ad filled apps and microtransaction “games”.
(I’m an android user, never had any apple device and I don’t plan to, but I think their business model is somehow healthier.)
Yes, completely true. The Apple ecosystem is profitable for an app developer. iOS users are more likely to pay for purchases and subscriptions, making it easier to make a living on Apple’s AppStore.
Also, Apple tends to treat developers much better than Google, which makes the AppStore the ideal place for an app developer who wants to make a living this way.
Maybe so, but it’s why I love android. Knowing that if I need a simple app I can go to F-droid to pick up a Foss alternative was so convenient.
Just finding a basic calculator app that didn’t have ads or subscription was a pain for my iPad that I had to use a search engine to locate one. Apple store just have terrible filtering options for their apps. Seems like everything on there is filled with ads or a paid subscription. Surprisingly rare to find apps I could just buy for the types I was interested in.
Using apple it felt like users pay because they are hostage to the ecosystem of the app store and have so few alternatives, and apple intentionally makes it hard to find out the monetization of apps until you actually install and launch the app.
If Apple were a game company they remind me of a EA with fifa charging for full price annually and throwing in a bunch of microtrasnactions on top of it. Was pretty surprising going to Apple after hearing how much better the apps are, and then encountering monetization approaches. It’s like everything there is going the route of Adobe.
Or maybe you’re just not competitive as an app developer.
This is something I noticed when I got my Macbook. Apps for basic functionality that would be free on Windows are pay for Mac. Mac users are just used to opening their wallets.
Such as?
Now this might be down to my search skills, but -
A media player like MPCHC that gives previews when you scrub the timeline
A reasonably small text editor that understands the different line endings like Winpad.I found Elmedia Player for video, but I end up using VLC most of the time since Elmedia doesn’t generate previews for remote files. For text I found TextMate, which I like quite a bit.
Have you tried BBEdit for text editing?
Haven’t tried BBEdit - it looks pretty nice. But again, while it is free it’s a complicated free that you don’t see as often with Windows software.
Basically, they had a free application called ‘Textwrangler’ for many years and decided to wrap it into the free version of the paid-for BBEdit etc.
Ive used the free version for 10 years and have never felt the need for the paid for features. It’s pretty cool. Here’s what yuo get in the free version:
After that, I just stuck with Apple’s default offerings
Bingo. That’s Apple’s intent!
You make a fantastic point here. FOSS apps that you donate to are often times better made then these apps that just try to pull in subscription revenue
It’s a failure of the App Store and Play Store as platforms, offering either “buy forever” or “perpetual subscription hell” - no other options.
I would like to see a wider adoption of something like JetBrain’s perpetual fallback license.
I used iOS for 4 months around Covid and then gave up. File managing is horrible. There is no Calculator app? and many more little problems, but these two were very weird to me.
You might want to check out of F-Droid if you haven’t already (not sure if you are already or if you are getting apps from GitHub, the Google Play store, or an APK mirror site). It’s great for free open source apps.
I appreciate the customization options and simplicity of a lot of them. I also haven’t come across an app that requires a constant internet connection for verification which is nice
If you are new to FDroid, don’t forget to add the IzzyOnDroid repository - you will be able to install quite a few additional apps.
Can you think of any notable apps that you downloaded from IzzyOnDroid?
Newpipe x Sponsorblock fork which also shows downvotes.
Rekado if you do Nintendo Switch home brew to deliver payloads.
I have now installed FairMail (The f-droid version is constrained), OpenScan, and Kvaesitso, but not as many as I expected. But still, you want to have as broad range as possible while choosing the best app.
In what way is the f-droid version of FairMail constrained? Genuinely curious as that’s what I have installed and would like to know what I’m missing compared to izzyondroid
The Outlook login wasn’t available, not sure if the Gmail login worked.
After I got my iPad which doesn’t come with a calculator it was difficult finding a basic calculator app through the app store that didn’t have ads or subscription. Didn’t know until I installed and then opened up the app.
Made me miss FOSS F-droid alternative for the iPad so I could just easily go get a simple calculator app without having to do a Google search.
I think subscription-based are more common on iOS than Android because iOS devs need to pay a subscription to Apple to be able to continue to publish apps on their store.
The allowance of an alternative store is a big sell. There was a moment were I felt the quality on F-Droid was dying, but in the last few months it has felt like an amazing explosion of really useful and clever apps. It also helps to expand the repository with the Guardian project and Izzy on Android.
Alas, I am on the degoogling train, so I feel like I am missing out tremendously on quality apps that only exist on the playstore. Android phones and tablets honestly used to suck compared to the iPhone, but now there are brilliant capable devices that can be had for at least half the price of an iPhone.
I think I should create an google account to use my Android better. It won’t have my real info, and it doesn’t need to have a name that points to me. I have been using Aurora, but the recent rate limiting can be a pain in the ass. And as much as I hate giving google my money, YouTube is a large part of my education and entertainment, and while the platform is a cesspool the people I truly admire sure as hell won’t be moving to fucking PeerTube, or LBRY.
Also, I am only a pirate for things that I no longer can legitimately buy or the money will not reach the original creators.
Check out the Aurora Appstore, it’s an anonymous mirror of the okay store and even manages updates for you. You can install anything free from the play store without a Google account or play services
I do use Aurora and I think it wonderful, when it works it does what I want. When it doesn’t work I got to worry about my banking app going out of date.
I hope I can hold off, but I don’t like being limited either, even though we have an embarrassment of alternatives for almost everything.
I’m a Mac and iPhone user. I don’t think I have any subscription apps.
I’m also getting sick of subscriptions.
A calculator app that requires a subscription? To hell with that.
However, I am tolerant of small subscriptions where an app is providing an ongoing server-side service. In other words if my use continues to cost them money in order to provide the app’s functionality.
I threw a fit 2 years ago when apple announced it was switching to USBC cords (stupid - I know!) and got a galaxy note. It was the principal - yet ANOTHER thing I’d have to buy to appease the apple overlords. It was a tough transition, not gonna lie, iphone is much simpler. But I love it now. And I’m glad I have usbc and dont have to worry about yet another cord type.
Your post reminded me why I’m not going back. Apple nickle and dimes you till you’re broke.
I’ve bounced back and forth a couple of times (iOS v Android). I have very few subscriptions because I generally prefer to self-host data when I can and I buy apps for their current abilities, not some ongoing development cycle.
Unfortunately, I think Apple is very much to blame as they seem to discourage app versions as uniquely billable events, and I think they pretty much force devs to spend time upgrading their apps for current os calls. I can’t stay on Foo.app.2.x indefinitely because the OS itself is planned obsolescence and because the Store will make the Foo dev keep one app and disallow upgrades.It sucks.
I’m a little late for this debate but still, if someone finds this - here’s the community for this [email protected]
