[nawtacawp]

The issue is how the process is perceived by the user. The average user is not going to understand why a new app has to be installed/purchased. It is perceived by mass as a bit scammy. Personally, I would rather pay a yearly subscription similiar to adobe than to have to repurchase every new update.

[rayiner]

> The issue is how the process is perceived by the user

Goddamn kids. Paying for “Omnifocus 3” seems totally intuitive to me. Paying for major version updates is just how things were back before free/ad-sponsered crap killed the market for software.

[blub]

Subscriptions are the real scam, because one pays a lot more for what turns out to be marginal improvements in very simple software. Wtf would one subscribe to a todo app or a text editor?

When paying for major version upgrades, it's very clear what one is paying for.

[wool_gather]

Perhaps, but the answer to this is the platform having support for the correct model. Right now the only way for the developer to get paid in the iOS App Store is to do what Omnifocus (among many others) has done. If Apple's purchase model had evolved from its beginnings in 99¢ flashlight apps, the customers wouldn't have to be confused.

[xoa]

>The average user is not going to understand why a new app has to be installed/purchased. It is perceived by mass as a bit scammy.

Please cite your source for this, seriously. There are a lot of derogatory assumptions about "average users" and "the masses" that float around on tech boards (including HN, but it's been a thing since nearly the beginning) that just aren't justified. Particularly not when talking about specific subsets, in this the subset of "the masses" that pays a high premium for Apple products and then pays for apps in the first place and has selected one specific developer's app in particular. Non-technical people are not entirely mindless and ignorant. They are not all entirely unfamiliar with the idea of "things are not free to develop forever."

In fact I'll expand that and point out that your attitude of being afraid to ask for money is one of the major, always repeated things to watch out for that comes up in nearly every single advice article/blog/whatever on starting up a business (including just a personal consulting operation) and making it work. One has to get over the fear of "driving off users" to some extent and that it's somehow rude to ask for money and other such feelings and just charge. And charge a lot even! Yes some people will go away but they're worthless as users anyway. If it's a good product then actual valuable customers will pay for it.

>Personally, I would rather pay a yearly subscription similiar to adobe than to have to repurchase every new update.

And I find your attitude mind boggling. I'd rather the exact opposite, and loath the spread of subscription models where you are locked in forever whether you find new updates valuable or not and changes the economic incentives for the developer from having to earn your money each paid upgrade to being able to count on your money even with no updates because if you stop paying you just lose it all entirely. It removes a core natural feedback mechanism on what really matters to customers.