Apps BEWARE: OmniFocus Apple Watch CASH GRAB

[roland.g]

The wonderful (sarcasm) folks over at OmniGroup use the business model that says that customers should could continue to pay and pay rather than making money off of their reputation, and growing their brand. One of the apps I was excited to seeing on the Apple Watch was OmniFocus, and they have it! That's the only good news.

I paid (like a lot of others) $40 for the desktop OmniFocus 2 app for my Mac. It is $80 if you want the Pro features. I also paid $20 for OmniFocus 2 for iPhone (the only iOS app at the time I got it last spring). Some months later, Omni came out with OmniFocus 2 for iPad which I believe was $40. Not sure what they think they are giving you that it is a $40 iOS app, not to mention that this is the non-Pro version. Pro features are an in-app purchase add-on.

Later Omni decided to merge the OmniFocus 2 for iPad into OmniFocus 2 for iOS as a universal app. Their Apple Watch app is now out and only included in the OmniFocus 2 for iOS universal app. If you own the iPhone only OmniFocus 2 for iPhone, it does not include the Apple Watch app. Omni instead offers a $20 complete my bundle (CASH GRAB) to OmniFocus 2 for iPhone users to get the universal app.

All the other apps I own that have come out with an Apple Watch app have included it free of charge to existing users. Except Omni. They have only included it for those that have their iOS universal app. They have an app that is SPECIFICALLY for the iPhone, which is the only device the Apple Watch syncs with, and yet this app does not include the functionality. Their argument is that the cost of development of the Apple Watch app. Sorry but you aren't charging all your customers. And if the companion app is already developed, it could fairly easily be tied into both versions of the iOS app.

This is typical of this company. While they have good software, it is overpriced for what you get, and their Pro versions are extremely steep (doubling the price). Companies like Agile Bits (1Password), and DEVONthink are great examples of Mac and iOS software, with good features, and good value. OmniFocus is touted as the GTD (Getting Things Done) software. It's simply unfortunate that they have poor business practices and don't seem to really value their customers or understand how their growth and brand are tied to their reputation as a product of communal promotion.

 

[tdream]

Agreed. Omnifocus 2 is even worse than omnifocus 1, stripping out features that made it successful to reach a broader base and screwing the people that made them a success. Their pricing is completely at odds with everything else on the app store and they've demonstrated once again they couldn't care less about consumers by forcing users to buy the universal app to get the watch app just like you said.

 

[Brian Y]

I love Omni software, but it's getting incredibly difficult to justify the prices. It's a bit like Tweetbot - making everybody buy a new version of the app for iPhone, which was basically nothing more than a new skin.

IMO they should do right and just let people who have the iPhone only version just have the watch app.

 

[BlueMoon63]

I love Omni software, but it's getting incredibly difficult to justify the prices. It's a bit like Tweetbot - making everybody buy a new version of the app for iPhone, which was basically nothing more than a new skin.

IMO they should do right and just let people who have the iPhone only version just have the watch app.

I was looking at their software in the App Store and I saw a bundled deal for the iPhone and Watch for $39.99 - so maybe they heard you - or maybe this doesn't help? If you had the iPhone version and bought the bundle, would it give it to you for free?

I am tempted to own it but I would need some convincing on it's worth. Is there a true selling point for the software that you can't get from cheaper apps - even if you need to own a few?

 

[TreoRenegade]

I've long had OF on each platform. But I jumped ship to ToDoist for several reasons. ToDoist has an IFTTT channel, making it incredibly easy to automate items (from other apps) tossed to my todo list; OF does not. ToDoist beautifully integrates with CloudMagic, allowing an inbox-zero reality for me, which I never managed with OF. ToDoist permits multiple labels per item; OF stubbornly sticks to one-only, despite customer demand. The nail in the OF coffin: the ToDoist Apple Watch component accepts voice commands, so I can easily brain dump to my todo list, while OF offers only viewing the agenda.

OF now exists in my world solely to handle financial matters, since I pushed everything else to ToDoist. When the inevitable future money grabs materialize, disguised as version upgrades, I'll pass. For a time, IMHO, OF was the best. That is no longer the case. The Omni Group still has the most robust outliner app, but for running todo list maintenance, their failure to provide genuine integration hooks combined with $$ issues = BuuhBye!

 

[elemenohme]

I've been using OmniFocus since it was in beta and I love it. Well worth the price. Omni does great software, and I don't mind supporting them by paying for software that I actually use. (Same with Agilebits and the latest version of Fantastical.)

 

[dumastudetto]

OmniFocus is worth every buck it costs. It's delightful software made with a lot of love and passion for the GTD community. They need to charge a fair price to allow them to continue building new versions and supporting the existing software.

 

[roland.g]

I was looking at their software in the App Store and I saw a bundled deal for the iPhone and Watch for $39.99 - so maybe they heard you - or maybe this doesn't help? If you had the iPhone version and bought the bundle, would it give it to you for free?

I am tempted to own it but I would need some convincing on it's worth. Is there a true selling point for the software that you can't get from cheaper apps - even if you need to own a few?

Their Universal app which is their iPad app rebranded for iPad and iPhone includes the Apple Watch app. And it is $40 like you said. I bought the $20 iPhone only app last year before they developed the iPad app or transitioned to the Universal app and so what they have offered is a "bundle" to get the Universal app by paying the $20 difference. For me it shows as a $20 Complete the Bundle cost, giving me credit for the app I already own. But as I already paid $40 for their desktop app and $20 for their iPhone app, I am disgusted that I would essentially have to pay another $20 for the Apple Watch app since they didn't update the iPhone only app to include it as well.