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.
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.