New Mac App Subscription Service 'Setapp' Offers 60 Mac Apps for $9.99 Per Month

[Michaelgtrusa]

Not for me, but I hope it works out for them.

 

[smacrumon]

Good luck to them, I'm sure there are users who this could be suitable for. But...
Just buy the apps you want. $9.99 x 12 months x 5 years = $599.40
Just like, buy the music you want. Buy the movies you want.
If it's great, then users will find it eventually and rave.
Enough pushing content nobody wants.

 

[Plutonius]

Subscription cost add up quickly and many people don't realize all the money they are paying.

 

[nvmls]

Sounds like another bargain from apple, in case you are wondering, you don't need to go wait in line at the store for this.

 

[Purple Pear]

What Apps would you like to see in Setapp to justify the Value? Please also note that all in-app purchases and future upgrades of the software are also included in this price.

'Parallels' for starters.

Most respected anti-virus and ad-ware software (new to MAC so not sure what they are yet)..

I'm sure I'll think of more later

 

[Paul Dawkins]

What people fail to understand is that when you buy software you are kind of buying a product that sits on a moving platform. And as that platform moves new work has to be done to keep it working. OS updates happen almost monthly nowadays compared to years ago when windows to a few years to go from 1st release to services pack 1.

So buying a fixed product in the software world doesn't exist anymore and therefore it's kind of hard to charge a one time fee for what is in reality and ever changing code base. You either charge up front for all the future hours you might have to put into the app, charge a fixed price and hope new users coming on board pay for the man hours needed in the future, or just charge a subscription.

I think subscription reflects how software is made nowadays. It kind of makes sense.

Actually you are obligated to support your app for a certain time or certain OS and you are making it sound more complicated than it really is.

 

[Kosovan]

Something a lot of people use on Macs which often requires a yearly upgrade for the new OS such as VM software from VMWare or Parallels (which you wont ever get them to agree to your price level).

Never say never
We are talking to dozens of different Developers right now, and based on our research the economy will be working for most of them.
But it is always chicken or the egg question, users first or apps first.
We are extremely grateful to all Developers who agreed to join Setapp first, as this helped us to provide significant value to the potential customers. With more customers, we will be able to bring more great Apps on board to provide even higher value to already existing customers.

 

[slimothy]

This sounds like a good idea until you really think about it. 10 bucks a month... 12 months... $120... you could just buy the 5 or so programs that you want, outright, and have them forever.

This is a bad deal. Actually starting to get annoyed with so many "monthly service" businesses these days.

 

[Paul Dawkins]

Never say never
We are talking to dozens of different Developers right now, and based on our research the economy will be working for most of them.
But it is always chicken or the egg question, users first or apps first.
We are extremely grateful to all Developers who agreed to join Setapp first, as this helped us to provide significant value to the potential customers. With more customers, we will be able to bring more great Apps on board to provide even higher value to already existing customers.

Being a software developer doesn't make you entitled to something.

 

[Toutou]

low monthly fee

Lost me right there.

 

[vmistery]

I think they need to think about the kind of Apps people really want rather than going for quantity as there is a lot of junk in there that will never be used! Also a lot of good tools like CodeRunner are only $15 anyway. I can see the point of a small bundle that includes a decent selection of essentials (AV product, an office suite, money app, PDF writer) as that has a large target audience, this does not.

 

[beanbaguk]

Sounds like spending for the hell of it...

 

[cardfan]

Nope, no thanks. Subs are for morons..

 

[MentalFloss]

It's not long before stupid people will make this a norm. I will somehow survive without it.
[doublepost=1485350971][/doublepost]
It's a slippery slope. There is absolutely nothing great about it.

It's a slippery slope towards a future that I am absolutely excited about. If this makes me "stupid people", then so be it.

I have paid a lot of money for software in the past that I don't use anymore, because it is outdated or because I don't even use the operating system anymore that the software was written for. Software is something fairly short-lived, so "ownership" of software is only psychologically useful but from an objective perspective useless. Perhaps it's that psychological placebo-ownership component that makes you feel you need to insult people who see the world differently.

Heck, the vast majority of the software I am using on a daily basis didn't exist in its current version three years ago. So unless someone invests in software and then holds on to it for many years, a subscription system that always provides the opportunity to switch to the newest software without having to worry about your "investment" is a really great thing for many many users.

Of course, if someone still uses Wordstar 7.0 and is perfectly happy with that, then a subscription system might seem a bit silly. I don't personally know anyone like that though.

 

[macpro88]

*spots 'CleanMyMac'*
*completely loses all interest*

Curious, what's wrong with CleanMyMac?

 

[WannaGoMac]

The problem with this idea is this - the OPERATING SYSTEM already has everything ordinary people might need. Email, web browser, media players, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, Garage Band, Calendar and so on.

Even if one needs an app someday for few things it's absolutely insane to pay for months and years just because you might need something one day.

This model is not sustainable either and then what? paying for bug fixes? It's a slippery slope.

Actually this is a big point. A lot of the apps currently in the bundle dont do anything I need. Fact is most Mac software is kinda superfluous other than VMWare, MS Office, SQL tools, etc.

Video Player -- Quicktime and VLC work fine
Music Player -- itunes
iPod/Iphone Manager -- iTunes

etc.

 

[2457282]

So, how many $9.99/Month subscriptions do you have?
How many are really worth it?
How many can you do without?

My reason for asking is that everything seems to be $9.99/month subscription these days. There is only so many of them that you can afford.
TBH, I have not found one that I can justify apart from Adobe CS (Photoshop + Lightroom only)

Same for me, only Spotify and Adobe.

It's scary to see that most have forgotten what we subscribe to... remember that subscription means to pay monthly a fixed fee regardless of use.

Therefore, my list (and I have worked hard to get it this short) includes -
Cell phone (unlimited talk and text, but a 15gig cap on data)
Internet access at home (Fios - 75 Mbps)
Netflix (for TV/Movies)
Amazon Prime (for deliveries, TV/Movies and Music - free streaming to Sonos)
iCloud (for offsite backup and storage)

That is it for me and a bit under $200/month. Everything else is pay for use or pay to own.

Software and music falls into pay to own.

 

[Paul Dawkins]

It's a slippery slope towards a future that I am absolutely excited about. If this makes me "stupid people", then so be it.

I have paid a lot of money for software in the past that I don't use anymore, because it is outdated or because I don't even use the operating system anymore that the software was written for. Software is something fairly short-lived, so "ownership" of software is only psychologically useful but from an objective perspective useless. Perhaps it's that psychological placebo-ownership component that makes you feel you need to insult people who see the world differently.

Heck, the vast majority of the software I am using on a daily basis didn't exist in its current version three years ago. So unless someone invests in software and then holds on to it for many years, a subscription system that always provides the opportunity to switch to the newest software without having to worry about your "investment" is a really great thing for many many users.

Of course, if someone still uses Wordstar 7.0 and is perfectly happy with that, then a subscription system might seem a bit silly. I don't personally know anyone like that though.

It's a nice rationalization. Good luck with that.

 

[trainwrecka]

Wouldn't it make more sense to buy the apps you want for a year's worth of this subscription and own them forever? I get it for platforms like Spotify that have millions of songs available and they have you covered with pretty much everything but this is just 60 apps and they'll never get the likes of Adobe or Microsoft to sign up.

Own them forever?

What people fail to understand is that when you buy software you are kind of buying a product that sits on a moving platform. And as that platform moves new work has to be done to keep it working. OS updates happen almost monthly nowadays compared to years ago when windows to a few years to go from 1st release to services pack 1.

So buying a fixed product in the software world doesn't exist anymore and therefore it's kind of hard to charge a one time fee for what is in reality and ever changing code base. You either charge up front for all the future hours you might have to put into the app, charge a fixed price and hope new users coming on board pay for the man hours needed in the future, or just charge a subscription.

I think subscription reflects how software is made nowadays. It kind of makes sense.

Part of me wishes I had my iPhone 3G running iPhoneOS 2 and a maxed out Mac running Snow Leopard. Only working on apps released for those platforms. Life was simpler back then...

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

The problem with this idea is this - the OPERATING SYSTEM already has everything ordinary people might need. Email, web browser, media players, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, Garage Band, Calendar and so on.

This ^^^.
I add to that macOS-app list the following "essentials" for my use case:

1. Parallels Desktop for Mac (owned)
2. Carbon Copy Cloner (contribution)
3. EtreCheck (contribution)
4. coconutBattery (contribution)
5. HardwareMonitor (contribution)
6. TunesKitforMac (free)

Six-pack of apps, all "owned". No subscription. And a happy macOS camper.

 

[McTaste]

These seem kinda like garbage apps? Mac Cleaner?

 

[maflynn]

Awful idea and one I hope fails because if not, the flood gates will open up. I hate the subscription model, and while I have a couple, there's no way I'm willing to embrace it any further.

 

[threesixty360]

Actually you are obligated to support your app for a certain time or certain OS and you are making it sound more complicated than it really is.

No I'm not. There could be any number of breaking changes in any OS release. If your doing it right that means full regression testing for every point update. Especially if you are using newer api's that may not be stable.

My point is that when the OS changes so frequently it presents problems for devs. Not to mention keeping up with general updates as well to keep competitive. I have had the audio hijack license for over 10 yrs but look how many OS releases Apple have made since then, and then how many updates to the audio api's.

these are not Nintendo cartridges for a fixed system!

 

[Paul Dawkins]

Actually this is a big point. A lot of the apps currently in the bundle dont do anything I need. Fact is most Mac software is kinda superfluous other than VMWare, MS Office, SQL tools, etc.

Video Player -- Quicktime and VLC work fine
Music Player -- itunes
iPod/Iphone Manager -- iTunes

etc.

Also I don't know if you noticed, but now more often than ever before new apps are poorly written with very stupid privacy and security issues, but with very eye catching design. It's doesn't mean that eye catching is functional, but it plays tricks on people.

Focused (was Typed) is the stunning new writing app for the Mac, and the first that improves your focus so you can create great content. Focused makes writing for the web incredibly easy, and its Zen Mode features relaxing soundtracks that help you concentrate.

I actually have this POS garbage from one of the bundles. It's absolutely useless when I can just use Pages and who would pay 30 dollars for it. I wouldn't use it if it was free.

 

[danuff]

Yeah, no thanks. I see many problems with this. I'll stick with the 'official' app stores thank you (and they're free!)