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Apps that shouldn't be Subscriptions (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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What is the most useless app that you have seen being given as a subscription?

For me, I tried a 'minimalist' launcher app for Android that had a 7 day trial or something and they had a yearly subscription based model for it. I was aghast. I would literally expect the app to blow my mind and do everything one can assume to go that way. In a world, where Nova Launcher (Yes, I know it has been acquired by Branch folks but it still is a sturdy one) or Niagara exist plus many alternatives including minimalist ones on F Droid, the dev must be releasing revolutionary stuff to factor in a subscription service.

Second, is a controversial choice, since it's free tier is quite good and people like it so much. But, Pocketcasts. I checked it's yearly price the other day, and boy, in my country, I can subscribe to Google Play Pass, YouTube Premium and Spotify and still have money left before I hit the ceiling what Pocketcasts is asking for paid upgrade.

Also, what are your views on one time purchase vs subscriptions? Personally, I find it much easier to purchase, if it's good enough even if it was piratable, something if it is a one time purchase rather than repetitive.

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 11 months ago (10 children)

Any app that doesn’t require any backend to function.

If you ask for a subscription for an app without the need to support a backend… I won’t subscribe. I’ll find something else.

Mostly anything else is fine.

Though, if it’s something like a Note-Taking app where the cloud infrastructure for backups and sharing would cost pennies and you’re asking more than $1 a month, I’m out. Looking at you, Evernote. $64 a year to replace the built-in Notes app? No thanks.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Ok so I don't completely agree... The thing is: mobile apps today have this approach where they don't have "releases", there's one entry on the app store, and if you buy that you usually get updates for as long as it exists.

In the past, computer software always had periodic (usually yearly) releases, which meant that if you bought one version, afterwards you'd have maybe updates for bugfixes and such, but no new features. The result was that the development of new features was paid by people replacing the old version with the new one, because they wanted the improved version.

Nowadays you buy the app and you keep getting new features, sometimes for years, and that development is paid solely thanks to new buyers. Which is cool if you are the customer but it's not great long term for the developer.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Yeah I think this presents a genuine problem for the active development of apps for smaller developers, for sure.

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