If iOS updates are free shouldn't OS X's be as well?

Don't say that, they'll say hey you're right! iOS updates should cost money too!

 

Attachment rates.

People will hold onto a Mac for years but are likely to change their iPhone quite frequently.

Charging for OS X updates is probably a way of generating revenue from older systems. They don't need to worry about this so much with iOS as the device attachment rate is lower.

Once upon a time they did used to charge for iOS updates. I think version 2 and 3 cost money on the iTouch, I remember paying.

 

As much as the free software movement has been a good thing, it has encouraged an attitude of "entitlement" , whereby people now EXPECT software to be free and begrudge having to pay for it.
Witness the many posts that start "Can you recommend some software that performs a vital tasks for me -- oh, but I don't want to pay for it".

You should expect to pay for new software that provides new capabilities. Anything you get for free is a luxury and a bonus.

Not pointing fingers, just making a general observation.

Apple is a business, and they can charge whether they think will yield the highest margin. A new OS is $19.99...!!! That's an incredibly low price for what you get.

 

Some might argue GAAP / SOX Compliance/Act.

 

how about android update and windows 7 to 8 update. think...

 

Apple has themselves covered. The following has been included in all recent quarterly statements.

For the last few versions of OS X 'Qualifying versions' meant all Macs sold after a certain date (up-to-Date program). However, this sentence gives them sufficient cover to make it free.

 

An iPhone is a consumer electronics device.
An iMac is a computer.

Two very different industries.

 

A big reason there are differences is accounting issues.

You have to withhold revenue reporting whenever you promise future software functionality on tech. This has been true for some time.

Every public company has to decide on a product by product basis, which software updates will be free, and then you often can only claim revenue amortized over the "life" of a device. This could be 24 months for a phone. Its kind of like treating hardware as a subscription service.

When you ship a computer and then charge for future updates, you can often claim it is "done" and claim 100% of the revenue from the day it ships.

This is part of the complexity that SOX has left us.

 

True. It's great that Apple doesn't charge for iOS updates. It makes life easier for developers because the vast majority of people upgrade to the most recent version of iOS.

The Mac is more mature. It doesn't matter as much if not everyone is using the latest Mac OS as it does for iOS.

 

I'm going to say the App Store plays a huge role in the pricing scheme for the OS. Apple makes huge revenue off the App Store for iOS, its easier to price the OS lower (free). If I recall correctly, Mac App Store came out with Snow Leopard, which is right around the time we saw the pretty big price drops on Mac OSX. I think Apple has realized thats the easiest way to beat piracy, is to make it easy to buy and cheap, we saw huge price drops on Logic, Final Cut and Aperture when they hit the app store.



This is all speculation, I drank a lot last night, I haven't had my coffee. I may have some facts wrong.

 

Apple used to charge for iOS update on iPods...

 

Greed is paramout.

 

You make some good points. From my point of view, software should be reasonably priced. I think most Adobe products have gone beyond reasonable priced. OS X upgrades are more than reasonably priced.

 

I´m sure we pay for the OS when buying the machine. OSX is far more expensive than 20$. I would say the 20$ is an update price, as they don't sell macs without OS.

Should be free? Well, right now, for those who want, they could pirate it so easily, but that is ilegal. so yes, it should be, not free, just free to update let's say.

 

Are you saying it should be free, or not?
As already said, the true price of OS X is included in your hardware purchase. Point updates are free; new versions you have to pay a tiny amount.

Leaving to one side the fact that Apple has more money than God: writing software costs money. People are paid salaries; they require offices, watercoolers, stationery, computers, teabags, etc to do their job.

I personally don't want to live in a world where software development, literature, poetry, music, etc, etc, is all done as a hobby by amateurs in their spare time, because there are no jobs doing those things, because no one believes they should pay for them.

You want what someone else has done: you pay for it.

 

I like the current system:

Pay if you want, or pirate it if you want.

 

I personally have no qualms in paying $20 for an OS update.... Unlike the $100-$200 for windows

 

With the very minor upgrades each release has, it would be nice if Apple gave something like 2 years of free OS X upgrades with every new mac purchase.

 

If anyone downloads a pirated version of an OS, they are a fool, as well as a sponge on everyone else.

By definition, such sources are not trustworthy, and the OS installer package could well have been modified with malware.

If someone really thinks they need/want the software, but aren't prepared to pay $20: I wonder what they would pay $20 for?
And what they would expect to be paid for what they do?

 

I cannot believe the multiple threads here with people expecting OS X upgrades to be free. . iOS generates revenue 24/7 with customers paying monthly recurring charges to their iPhone carriers which Apple gets a piece of plus more people are buying iPhones at a constant then they are buying new Macs. Only the world of geeks are consistently buying a new Mac every year.
And thanks to the Hackintosh community I wouldn't be surprised if Apple ever gives OS X for free. I mean, why should the company give a free OS upgrade to people who don't even buy Macs?

 

That was truly funny: so u really think hackintosh user buy osx???? LOL!!!

 

You completely misunderstood my post 100%.

 

Yes. At least many people on insanelymac.com do it.