> Apple has intentionally made subscriptions the only viable commercial model on the App Store
How do you think Apple has done that? They’ve always had the option for a one-time payment for apps, and those can be fairly high ($999,99 until December 2022 and $10,000 after that time, according to https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/6/23496734/apple-app-store-...)
Even if Apple did that, I don’t see any evidence that was intentional.
I think it’s more that the market has spoken, and said that “you can’t sell $100 apps on the App Store”. And even then, there are counterexamples.
The only thing Apple may hav head to do with that is that it ‘gave’ zillions of developers visibility for their $0,99 apps on the App Store. That may have led users to think software should be cheap.
1. They aggressively deprecate and modify endpoints. Microsoft maintains APIs for decades. Apple deprecates and modifies them with frequently little or no warning, necessitating expensive and time-consuming maintenance. This makes the one-time purchase unviable as a business model for developers.
2. Apple doesn't permit paid application upgrades (v2). Everything has to be done with IAP. This means developers can't abandon old versions and start selling and supporting new versions without losing all their SEO, affiliate links, marketing, branding, coupons, etc.
3. Apple doesn't facilitate wishlists, meaning sales are much less effective.
4. By disallowing competition, Apple ensures iPhone users are a captive audience. They can't purchase one-time software elsewhere. They have to accept the subscription to get the most value out of their phones.
This is entirely by design. It's hardly "the market" speaking. There is nothing free about the "market" on iPhones.
A difficulty developers have cited is that it isn't possible to have paid major version upgrades while keeping the same identity (links, reviews, etc...) for an app.
How do you think Apple has done that? They’ve always had the option for a one-time payment for apps, and those can be fairly high ($999,99 until December 2022 and $10,000 after that time, according to https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/6/23496734/apple-app-store-...)
Even if Apple did that, I don’t see any evidence that was intentional.
I think it’s more that the market has spoken, and said that “you can’t sell $100 apps on the App Store”. And even then, there are counterexamples.
The only thing Apple may hav head to do with that is that it ‘gave’ zillions of developers visibility for their $0,99 apps on the App Store. That may have led users to think software should be cheap.