[pvg]

Only one of these apps is free - Crystal. And it says it's temporary right on the App Store page and why. The author is making an entirely conscious, clear-eyed business decision. Here's a bit from the email he sent to his testers:

A big thank you to all 1200 of the testers who have helped shape Crystal into a solid application. I'm sorry to everyone else who didn't get a spot to test it, but the good news is, you can try it now for free!

Why Free? I want everyone to experience Crystal for themselves so as a thank you to my early adopters, I've decided to make it free for a very limited time.

Whats the catch? No catch, but I would like to request you help me out with Rating, Sharing, a quick survey or donating a little money below, I do have a wife & 2 kids to feed

Perhaps there's a race to the bottom in mobile apps but it probably produces more useful things than the race to tut-tut the decisions or generosity of others.

[0942v8653]

And an hour later, it's $0.99. I don't have any money left in my account so I'm just going to wait until there is a free one.

[pvg]

That's just on HN:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10231933

so you won't have to wait terribly long. And there are already a few that have IAP but basic functionality is free.

[monochromatic]

Does iTunes not require a credit card on file?

[narrowrail]

It does not. People typically just use an iTunes gift card in order to limit possible damage.

[stephenr]

I don't think 'no cc on file' is 'typical' behaviour, but it is an option.

[narrowrail]

I should clarify: Among people that don't use credit cards like kids or the paranoid, the typical solution is to use a gift card. I, personally, do not like to use credit cards for purchases less than 40$. I certainly didn't think my comment was worthy of downvoting, especially since the comment I replied to asked if it was required.

[stephenr]

I don't down vote, because down voting on HN is fundamentally broken.

I would have thought nowadays with Family Sharing accounts, kids accounts were less likely to need gift cards.