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App Store Developers Form a 'Union' Ahead of WWDC Calling for Free App Trials, Better Rates

Really you should look at it from both sides as with any business.

Without Apple there would be no App Store for the devs to write for (they could of course write for other platforms)

But without the devs, Apple fails as it has no app store.

Imagine just how long the iPhone would last if every single dev pulled their app and moved to Android.
The devs have all the power in reality, it's just, like any group of "workers" getting the individuals into a group is the only way the other side takes any notice.
 
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luxetlibertas said:
Apple pays out tens of billions to app developers all over the world. A massive amount. The problem is, there are also many millions of developers competing for the money. There is no barrier to entry, with Apple providing free high-quality dev tools and almost free access to the app store. So it is up to you to provide a reason why your app is more successful than the competition. That's hard in such an open and efficient market. I see no way everyone can be happy and earn a decent living (depending on where you live of course) from apps. Apple's 30% cut is not the problem.
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Most of the money goes to games and stupid IAP.
 
I don't know how effective this will be. The only way it could be though is if really large (and influential) developers join in, not just indies. As much as I would like to support them (especially with the free trials (c'mon, Apple) and a reasonable pay cut (or at least 30% across the board as I do believe that Apple should absorb the VAT and any additional taxes on their end)), I don't know if I'm comfortable enough in joining a union.

On another note, what I would like Apple to do more than any of this is to lower the price of the Apple Developer renewals. From $USD99 ($CAD119)/yr to maybe $(USD/$CAD)79/yr (Just make it the same price, Apple). I mean, I can understand why it's that high, but considering the fact that Microsoft has been able to get away with a low price without having—to the best of my knowledge unless someone can show me otherwise—large amounts of malware, then I'm pretty sure that Apple do this too.

Cosmosent said:
The main problem is App Discovery, & that can ONLY be fixed if AAPL lets Devs sell their apps OUTSIDE of the App Store.

If that we're to happen, then, I believe, a cottage industry would very-likely immediately be created to assist such Devs promote & sell their apps via their own websites.

I have NO problem with using AAPL for the financial transaction part of it under that scenario.
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As long as they find a way to make sure that malware doesn't go out of control on iOS like it is on Android and as long as Apple doesn't use that as an excuse to stop improving on the App Store, I can be okay with this.
 
MacsRuleOthersDrool said:
...and then do exactly WHAT with them?
Google Play sure does.
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Doesn’t Google Play Store also offer alternate payment methods which in that case Google wouldn’t be getting 30%? Anyway Cook has told Wall Street the company wants big increases in services revenue so the 30% isn’t going away anytime soon.
 
LOL Apple will fight for labor rights / unions / liberal policies.... until they are on the receiving end of them. I'm sure they will welcome this group with open arms, right? Right?
 
I would really like app trials. I don't like the freemium model. I'd prefer to try an app for say a 3 day period in it's full and final form and if I like it I should have the option to buy it for a one off price.
 
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Shaun said:
Good for them. Apple doesn’t deserve a 30% cut of their revenue for basically doing nothing.
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Doing nothing... other than developing the App Store app and the server to back it up; developing the tools we use to build apps; and developing the devices and OSes those apps run; evaluating apps to make sure malware doesn't spread; hosting the app; waiving the 30% cut if the app sale price is free; hosting WWDC every year so developers can attend and get questions answered by actual Apple engineers. Doing nothing? Seriously?
 
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robbyx said:
I agree. They are moving everything towards subscriptions.

They don’t want trials because then you might not buy the app. You’re less likely to try to get a refund for a $2 app than you are to not buy that app in the first place.

Growth for Apple is in services. Personally I don’t like this. It doesn’t feel like the Apple of old, the hardware company, but it’s the new reality. Give it a few more years and I imagine everything on the App Store will be subscription only, just like I imagine iTunes purchases will go away one day.
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Agreed. The day OS X Server died was first of many steps leading Apple to subscription and cloud everything.
 
I'm a developer and I think 30% is a fair cut. It's a pretty standard commission percentage.

They build the tools, give free updates every year and have a sales platform set up for me.
It's their store, their choice, don't like it, develop for android.
 
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slimtastic said:
What a joke. Make good apps, people will buy. Make ****** apps, no one will buy.

Simple.
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...and if the app cost a lot of money to make, and therefore costs a lot of money on the app store, making it too risky to buy without trying first, who's going to buy it? Not many people, that's for sure.
 
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Markoth said:
...and if the app cost a lot of money to make, and therefore costs a lot of money on the app store, making it too risky to buy without trying first, who's going to buy it? Not many people, that's for sure.
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Improve the marketing and invest in advertising.
 
Piggie said:
Yes, see how long Apple lasts without any 3rd party apps whatsoever ;)
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I’m going to take my app to that platform where more people pirate software and spend less per year on apps.
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Markoth said:
Which costs even more money, further inflating the app's price. You can understand why devs might want to keep that to a minimum. With a trial, advertising is less important, and the app can be had for a lower price. Everyone wins.
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No... marketing and advertising are costs of business. It’s a part of rolling out a new product.
 
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britboyj said:
  1. Considering the amount of ad-supported apps in the App Store, I can't help but think there's a shift back to paid apps being considered due to expected drops in ad revenue due to GDPR compliance.
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All the more reason that apps should have a trial period.

MacsRuleOthersDrool said:
But it would also nearly double the storage requirements, or every app would become an annoying "pesterware" until you paid.
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You're doing things wrong if you think that a trial period is going to double storage requirements.

one more said:
Free app trials already exist, kind of, as customers can request a reimbursement from Apple for any bought app within 14 days of buying it, no questions asked.
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Yeah....no.
 
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Markoth said:
Which costs even more money, further inflating the app's price. You can understand why devs might want to keep that to a minimum. With a trial, advertising is less important, and the app can be had for a lower price. Everyone wins.
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What I don’t understand is why develops don’t (can’t?) use in-app purchasing for trials. Let the user download the app and try it for x number of days from purchase, or until x number of records is created, then lock the user out until they use in-app purchasing to buy a license.
 
Markoth said:
Correct. But as I said, offering a trial helps to mitigate its necessity somewhat, reducing its cost.
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Ok. And there are lots of ways to do this without making demands of Apple. You could have a token system for full function. One free silver token for x days and sell for full price gold token with x years access.
 
robbyx said:
What I don’t understand is why develops don’t (can’t?) use in-app purchasing for trials. Let the user download the app and try it for x number of days from purchase, or until x number of records is created, then lock the user out until they use in-app purchasing to buy a license.
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Developers can't do so without risking their apps being rejected during app review as it goes against the App Store Review Guidelines.
 
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Interesting...
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zombierunner said:
I would really like app trials. I don't like the freemium model. I'd prefer to try an app for say a 3 day period in it's full and final form and if I like it I should have the option to buy it for a one off price.
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3 days? really? and then 'maybe' part with $0.99?
 
The next thing you know developers want to institute a “service charge” for returned apps... or they could all suddenly agree that $10 should be the base price for any app. I don’t see any of these as good things.
 
Trials would be a great idea. Either time limited (as in n minutes of use rather than installed for n days) or for games perhaps level-limited. Especially with the more expensive AppleTV games I simply won't dish out £7.99+ for a game with no trial, I might not like it and am stuck with something I don't want. Why Apple's not implemented this before I have no idea, it would increase sales and decrease returns/refunds.
 
We believe that people who create great software should be able to make a living doing it [without having to sell their users' data to Cambridge Analytica]. So we created The Developers Union to advocate for sustainability in the App Store.
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There, I fixed the quote.

Yes. There are developers making money. But many are doing it by collecting and selling their users' data.

Here is a pro tip for everyone. If you are getting something for free, do you think you are the customer or the product?

And since we are on this topic, app developers shouldn't feel ashamed about asking their paying customers for more money when they do a major upgrade.

And no, I'm not an app developer. I'm just someone who wants great apps without having my data sold to the Russians.
 
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