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.

  • @NightOwlEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    Maybe so, but it’s why I love android. Knowing that if I need a simple app I can go to F-droid to pick up a Foss alternative was so convenient.

    Just finding a basic calculator app that didn’t have ads or subscription was a pain for my iPad that I had to use a search engine to locate one. Apple store just have terrible filtering options for their apps. Seems like everything on there is filled with ads or a paid subscription. Surprisingly rare to find apps I could just buy for the types I was interested in.

    Using apple it felt like users pay because they are hostage to the ecosystem of the app store and have so few alternatives, and apple intentionally makes it hard to find out the monetization of apps until you actually install and launch the app.

    If Apple were a game company they remind me of a EA with fifa charging for full price annually and throwing in a bunch of microtrasnactions on top of it. Was pretty surprising going to Apple after hearing how much better the apps are, and then encountering monetization approaches. It’s like everything there is going the route of Adobe.