[kmfrk]

In my experience, every good paid iOS app eventually gets copied by someone who releases the clone for free; with games, this was basically a given even eons ago. That being said, a lot of people have been bitten by a paid app that transitioned to a subscription-based app. It's happened to more of my apps than I can count; thank goodness for some grandfathering.

I guess there's less frustration about sunk cost with a subscriptions, but we're also used to so many dark UX patterns that any subscription seems sinister. And I really hate all the apps mandating a trial you have to cancel to avoid getting charged, just to try a damn app.

And lately, we've also seen AI companies demonstrating how fluid a subscription "plan" really is, with features coming and going, and the way credits are counted and spent being unreliable.

If the UX got streamlined, I'd probably feel better about it. Maybe the problem isn't a lack of money, but that all our trust has been spent at this point.