Disclaimer: I work at Realmac Software, makers of Clear.
Thanks for your feedback, guys. It's interesting to hear your thoughts on the app and pricing. Pricing it is always tricky, and whilst some folks may think that pricing is something that is simply determined at the last moment, that's not the case with us. We gave the Clear pricing a **lot** of thought (and continue to do so). We think great apps are worth paying for, and we want to ensure that we can always continue to build apps that people want to use.
Thanks again, I hope you enjoy using Clear for Mac and iPhone w/iCloud when it launches next week.
—Nik
Nik Fletcher
Product Manager,
Realmac Software
@nikf
I love the Clear app for iPhone. It's one of a select few 3rd-party apps with a dedicated space on my home screen. I'm someone who constantly makes lists to manage my time and tasks, and I've yet to find an app that allows me to make and manage basic lists as simply and effectively as Clear. There are apps that do more, but they don't do raw, simple lists as well as Clear, at least for my needs. I don't need it to be a calendar and I don't need it to remind me about things at certain times or places. Reminders and Calendar work just fine for that. I use clear for stupid-simple lists, and it really does work great. In fact, I would hate it if it got more complicated! The elegance of the user interface and the simplicity of the function is what makes it work.
That said, I'll be one of the people waiting for the (inevitable?) price drop or sale before purchasing Clear for Mac. I'd love to use it and I have no doubt that it will be great and well-designed. Unfortunately, the price disparity between this and countless other iOS and OS X apps really minimizes the appeal of purchasing the OS X version of a known iOS app.
I don't doubt that a lot of work goes into rethinking and redesigning and reprogramming apps to arrive at the best experience for Mac users. Not at all. And as I hope you can see, I certainly don't doubt the talent that Realmac employs. But I do doubt that you'll see more revenue from the Mac version charging as much as 15 times what many of us paid for the Clear app when originally released as you would charging an amount more consistent with the iOS version. Not only do you wind up with the same general issue of "sticker shock" that I firmly believe is plaguing the Mac App Store from taking off as well as the iOS app store, but you have to expect that many loyal users of the iOS version are going to be decidedly turned off when they see the price. Is it worth sacrificing built-in goodwill towards a product for higher profit margins, especially at launch? The current fans of the iOS version are the ones most likely to purchase the Mac version, and as you can see, the response to the pricing is cold, and I'd say that's being generous.
Anyways, even given the Mac platform's smaller user base, I'd venture to guess that far more people would take a chance on an app like Clear if priced in the $2.99-4.99 range. If it was $0.99, it'd be a no brainer if you ask me. When Clear for iOS was $0.99, I bought it without question, ended up loving it, and then literally bought it as a gift for numerous friends and family members because I thought it was that good. At that price, it wasn't worth my time trying to convince them to check it out and buy it and I knew certain people would really love it. But at $14.99 for the Mac version, while I can certainly believe that I'd love it, I don't believe that I need it, and it's really as simple as that.
Again, I hope you can tell that I'm a fan of what you guys have done, and I genuinely want you to be successful. If you think charging $14.99 will help you be successful, then I honestly hope you're right. I'm not convinced myself necessarily, but I appreciate your product enough to share my thoughts on the the Mac version's pricing, and I hope you feel that I've done so respectfully. Again, for your sake, I hope Clear for Mac is a huge success no matter how you price it. But until it's at a lower price point, I'll continue to do just fine with the iPhone version.
And to be clear, are people here being excessive with the criticism? Absolutely. It's not warranted and to suggest that this is some evil, greedy scheme is silly. You're proud of your product and you want to be rewarded for your work so you can keep making great products. It's a totally reasonable perspective. But that said, given what you've seen here, I do think it'd be worth your time to further evaluate your audience and how your pricing decisions might reflect back on your company. I only say that because unfortunately, there are a lot of people who make less than rational snap-decisions. This is also largely why the $0.99 price model with iOS works so well, as most people don't over-think a $0.99 or even $1.99 purchase if the app looks descent and useful. Those are the people that know Clear right now; that's your audience. So how do you think
those people are going to respond to the $14.99 price of Clear for Mac? Right or wrong, justified or not, rational or not, it is what it is, and I think it's safe to say you have more to consider at this point.
In any event, thanks for reaching out and for the hard work that goes into creating great apps like Clear.