That's a good point. There should be a way for a developer to enable family sharing for IAP on his apps
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Free Trials for All Paid Apps Now Possible Thanks to Updated App Store Guidelines
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That's a good point. There should be a way for a developer to enable family sharing for IAP on his apps
Looks like a really clunky implementation, which doesn't give an awful lot of the clarity devs need to communicate to customers. This could just prompt even more dimwitted 1 star reviews from those users who didn't understand they were downloading a free trial and expected the whole app for free, or who never really wanted the app anyway. I've already noticed many apps which went free with unlocks opened themselves up to needlessly hostile reviews. Even apps which go free for a few days without any gotchas (like the App of the Week) get suddenly slammed with angry reviews and a drop in rating. People are weird...
Good grief. Everyone asked for trial versions in the app store since its release. Now Apple gives it to us, and people are already complaining about HOW they gave it to us... having never even seen or used it, no less.
Sheesh.
Sheesh.
Hopefully this reduces the amount of freemium apps and IAPs. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I absolutely detest In-App-Purchases and Freemium apps. I just want the full version, but I don't know if I want it before I download it. I use a lot of Apps for music productions and performance, and being able to test-drive sounds before paying for it, that'd be awesome.
I couldn't care less about family sharing. I want to be able to test out an app before paying for it. I'm not talking about cheap iOS $5 apps, I'm talking about Mac OS X apps that can cost tens, if not hundreds, of dollars. I never gamble on those because I've been burned too many times. Having the opportunity to test drive them is great. Previously, the only way to do that is hope the developer has the app available outside of the App Store. Some do, some don't. Same with more expensive iOS apps that cost $20+. Too many of the iOS apps are just garbage, so it is good to get a test drive. As a matter of fact, that should be mandatory.
I think we are all happy that Apple is taking a step in the right direction with support for Trials. I think it's important to talk about the way they are implementing it. The policy may not be set in stone, and could be subject to change. I think that's why it's important to discuss these issues and problems with policies that are set forth. Just like iOS can change from beta to beta, it's true that policies can change too based on customer reaction.
I just think that this change, while a step in the right direction, will ultimately lead to the killing off of Family Sharing if it proceeds as planned.
I'm glad you don't have to worry about family sharing! That's great! I'm super happy with family sharing, because it allows me to share with my wife, and when she's old enough, my daughter. Before I was married, I even shared with my parents so they could access all the movies I own. Family Sharing is a great feature, one that helps eliminate some very heavy costs. Sure, my wife doesn't buy a bunch of apps, because she's not an App junkie like me, but I can at least convince her to try an app if I already own it. Which is even a bigger deal for the more expensive apps.
If a developer want's to turn off family sharing, they can do that too. I don't mind supporting developers, heck, I'm working on becoming one myself. I'm just saying that it undermines a feature that they are pushing, especially with Time Limits.
Looks like it will increase freemium. The app has to be free to start with, and use in-app-purchases to unlock functionality.
Ideally, they would have made an option to do a trial download of a paid app.
Forgive me as I may have missed something, but how does a free trial interfere with family sharing?
I wasn't aware that family sharing could be prevented.
I don't want it hidden, I want it completely gone, as if I had never purchased the app. Not a big deal, just one of those little things that always annoyed me a bit. No matter what I do, it will always be in my iTunes purchase history records. Another annoying thing is if I choose to hide it and then decide I want the app again a year later, I can never get it out of hidden, so even if I have it on my phone it still doesn't show up in my list of downloaded apps for re-download or family sharing.
So, I'm not at my mac at the moment, but it is possible for a developer to prevent Family Sharing. However, I could see it actually being percieved as a negative thing, so a lot of developers don't turn it off.
As far as the implementation of how Apple is planning to do trials interferes with family sharing. If you download a free app that has a trial and then requires full purchase via IAP, IAP is not able to be shared via Family Sharing, it is only available to the original purchaser.
If they were to change that policy (IAP enabled for Family Sharing) along side of the this policy (Trials via IAP) that would make more sense, but I haven't heard or seen anything relating to a change along side this proposed change.
I added a 3-day FREE Trial to one of my apps, & it should get Reviewed today.
If it gets Approved, it should be one of the very first to adopt the modified 3.1.1 Rule.
FREE Trials of NON-Sub apps / IAPs is the single biggest thing to come out of this year's WWDC !
A secure RESTORE implementation is the ONLY thing Devs really need to worry about.
If it gets Approved, it should be one of the very first to adopt the modified 3.1.1 Rule.
FREE Trials of NON-Sub apps / IAPs is the single biggest thing to come out of this year's WWDC !
A secure RESTORE implementation is the ONLY thing Devs really need to worry about.
This is true but the way it comes off seems weird, seems like the apps will be mostly watered down to being free with IAP's to be able to provide a trial. I like Google's implementation of a 2 hour window for a no-questions-asked refund of paid apps if it's not what you expect out of it and I've had no issues getting refunds for IAP's in free apps within a few days of purchase if I didn't care for the content provided. Very rarely do I ever even see a charge for these but of course that varies bank to bank on when that will pop out so it's not a legit free trial if you get an instant withdrawal for something but is certainly fairly risk-free.
Either way it's nice to have the ability to explore the content without committing
This is my beef. But it existed even before this Free Trial feature.
For me, there is a big difference between a "consumable" in-app purchase and an "upgrade" that I can restore/share. Now this free trial will itself be a somewhat distinct type of IAP. And I guess subscriptions are the last type (which we already had).
I really wish Apple broke it down very obviously and explicitly which types of IAP an app contained. Because "comsumable" IAPs are detestable; I often dismiss the thought of even trying an app when I see it has that kind of IAP. But I have no real problem with "upgrade" IAPs, nor would I with the free trial IAP.
Apple adds Appstore trials, people complain. Apple updates the look of the iPhone, people complain. Apple finally releases airplay 2 and messages in the cloud, and people complain.
Apple announces grouped notifications, and people complain.
Apple makes older phones more reliable, and people complain.
Apple releases some of the coolest headphones on the market, and people complain.
Apple releases a iMac Pro, and people complain.
Apple adds Dark Mode to macOS, and people complain.
Apple doesn''t announce hardware at a developer conference, and people complain.
And, when Apple finally releases AirPower, Mac minis, MBPS, iMacs, and, of course, the Mac Pro, people will complain, and complain, and complain.
Apple announces grouped notifications, and people complain.
Apple makes older phones more reliable, and people complain.
Apple releases some of the coolest headphones on the market, and people complain.
Apple releases a iMac Pro, and people complain.
Apple adds Dark Mode to macOS, and people complain.
Apple doesn''t announce hardware at a developer conference, and people complain.
And, when Apple finally releases AirPower, Mac minis, MBPS, iMacs, and, of course, the Mac Pro, people will complain, and complain, and complain.
That's what happens when dealing with a company that says this is what you get, enjoy. People are just bored honestly, they are super quick to spend half a second on something and then move to "okay what's next, I need more"
I can see this will be very useful for Pro Apps, if that they include those in the feature that is. So people who want to try out Pro Music, Video, Audio etc Apps. Would be able to give the software. spin for a number of days. This would be great for Logic Pro X, so people can see what it is like before they take the plunge
But as for IAP, I can see the issues around that too
But as for IAP, I can see the issues around that too
Weird, because all of Apple's marketing materials call it out as App Store, not... oh I missed that you were calling it Appsore, as in something that you get when you realize you have been had by a troll.
I don't think it is fair, I am a developer, but also a parent, and I would not pay extra to have an app for all members of the family, its either one cost or I go elsewhere.
Whats next, paying 4 times the price for 4 family members to sit in front of a tv watching a movie?
Do I really sound that stupid? I should probably give it a rest, but here I go one more time. I know how to hide it on iTunes and iPhone (iPad, iPod Touch, etc.), and I do hide apps sometimes, but the truth is I can always find it in my history if I want to. You know there's also a way to "unhide" it, right? Which means it's still stored in my records. I don't want to hide it, I want to get rid of it completely as if I had never downloaded it, especially when the only reason I download is to try it out and then decide I don't like it 1 week later. 1 week of testing puts it in my history FOREVER! And if I do want to download it again 2 years later, I don't want it to remain hidden, which at this time it does, so there goes family sharing and seeing it in my downloaded list.You can I hide it from iTunes
If the four of you want to sit in front of the same iPad, then the analogy fits and you pay once. But, if your four family members want to watch four different movies, on four different TVs, using four different cable boxes, yes, your paying more.
Jesus, OCD much?
Yes, hiding and unhiding stuff is a bit fiddly - but ultimately Apple has to maintain your history of purchases (just like your credit card purchases and most other things digital) and for you as a user it has absolutely no material difference!
You can unhide stuff at any time - just last week I unhid app that I got in 2011.
Does no one know how to hide an app from your purchase history?
It is pretty straightforward; here's the first link from google: http://www.fireebok.com/resource/how-to-delete-purchased-app-store-history-on-iphone.html
Basically, Settings > Account > Purchased, then swipe left on the app you no longer want to see (because it is the free version of the app, or it is an app you decided wasn't worth keeping), and click "Hide".
They an always be "unhidden", so you don't lose the purchase; it just no longer shows up on your purchase history.
This has been a feature of the iTunes store since it was nothing but a music store, at least a full decade.