Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Notability Users Frustrated By Switch to Subscription Model Claim Violation of App Store Guidelines
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
oh, I see what you mean: https://1password.community/discussion/comment/601917/#Comment_601917
I didnt want to pay for a Stand alone versions again, after shelling out when the versions I had on Mac / Windows . I ended up testing and going with "Bitwarden".
Apparently, they retracted 
notability.medium.com
Updates to Notability 11.0 Subscription
Yesterday, we made a big announcement regarding our transition to a free app with an optional subscription. We heard the disappointment…
Last edited:
What?!
Developers already have a source of income. Make a great app or service maintain it, make it great easy to use yet powerful you’ll get the sales. Don’t screw over loyal customers.
If you pay for an app and or it’s in app purchases YOU the user are already volunteering to pay. Pain and simple. How is this not evident?!
Developers are screwing over user experience by either pulling this stunt of previously pulling a paid app and replacing it on iOS update week where you can no longer download the previous fully working version forcing you to pay-upgrade again. One such developer is a member on these forums and has been featured in ever iteration he makes. I’m not down with crap like that so I Vite with my dollars and don’t use what he creates. I looked for and use alternatives and have adjusted.
Too late for me. I bought GoodNotes and this is much better than Notability.Apparently, they retracted
Updates to Notability 11.0 Subscription
Yesterday, we made a big announcement regarding our transition to a free app with an optional subscription. We heard the disappointment…
Thanks Notability for helping me find GoodNotes!
Edit: They’ve just made GoodNotes half price for 24 hours.
Last edited:
GoodNotes seems sweet but without audio following support, not exactly what I’m looking for.
Last edited:
I highly recommend the free app CollaNote! Check it out! I just discovered it and am LOVING IT! Can’t believe it’s 100% free. For iPhone and iPad. I have zero affiliation with this app/developer and only downloaded it today!
Does goodnotes also have the record audio feature? This was very handy during meeting if you write MOM and want to check later some critical points.
Your work either dies as a one-time paid app, or live long enough to see itself transition to a subscription-based model.
Mealboard did it right: they switched models but grandtathetred those of us who had already bought their app. Why can’t Notability do ths same?
Notability users have been left frustrated and annoyed after the developer of the popular Mac and iOS note-taking app revealed on Monday that it has switched to a subscription-based model, and that key features included in original app purchases will stop functioning after one year.
Previously available as a one-off $8.99 purchase, Notability for iPhone, iPad, and Mac is now free to download on the App Store, but not all the features are available in the "freemium" version, and those that are included have editing limitations.
To get "the full Notability experience" offered by version 11.0 of the app now requires an annual $14.99 subscription, which includes unlimited note taking and access to additional features that are otherwise available as in-app purchases.
As far as it affects current users who purchased the full app, key features will become non-functional after one year, after which they will have to subscribe to retain the feature set they originally paid for. In other words, no grandfathering scheme is currently being offered. Addressed to those users, a Medium post from the Notability Blog explains:
Thousands of Notability users have taken to Twitter and Reddit to express their frustration with the unexpected change.
As many users have pointed out, on the face of it, the change appears to violate Apple's App Store Review Guidelines, which state "if you are changing your existing app to a subscription-based business model, you should not take away the primary functionality existing users have already paid for." We've reached out to both Notability and Apple for comment.
Notability has garnered an Apple Editors' Choice spot and is regularly a top-ranked app worldwide on the App Store. The app has gained widespread popularity with students and teachers alike, as it includes a variety of note-taking, journaling, and drawing tools, and can be used to mark up imported documents.
The other popular note-taking app for iOS and Mac that Notability is often compared to is GoodNotes, which remains available as a one-off $7.99 purchase on the App Store.
Several popular apps have switched to subscription models in recent years as a way to stave off dwindling income after years of free updates, but some developers have taken a different and less divisive approach.
For example, just over a year ago the developers of popular paid-for camera app Halide released Halide Mark II as a whole new app, and gave it to all users of the original app for free, with all the new features and updates free for a year. After the year is up, the app continues to work, but to get additional features requires an optional subscription or a one-time purchase.
Article Link: Notability Users Frustrated By Switch to Subscription Model Claim Violation of App Store Guidelines
I can't believe an app with such high standing in the community would do this. As others said create a new application, call it "Notability X" or whatever. You don't sell out your existing customers thats business 101.
Yeah, I think justifying this is buying deep into capitalistic logic and assuming that that logic is, well, the only foundational way to be. It is bizarre, isn’t it?
Also, looks like the Notability app developers have now reversed course and will be providing lifetime access for users who have already paid for the one-time purchase.
I still wonder, what where they thinking such that it made it logical to them to suddenly “un-purchase” everyone who had already purchased the full program and switch them over to subscription model?
I still wonder, what where they thinking such that it made it logical to them to suddenly “un-purchase” everyone who had already purchased the full program and switch them over to subscription model?
We keep saying developers but as a developer who works for a company - we don’t make company decisions the managers do. I’d like to think it was a manager/owner blinded by $$$.
As a developer, I get the argument for subscriptions for how it creates continuous streams of income. As a consumer, I prefer to be in control of my budget, upgrade on my schedule, and have my tools continue working perpetually till I need new features. Anyhow, I found myself thinking about this dilemma this morning and coincidentally stumbled upon this post today. I don't buy the argument that subscription business models are needed for software developers to prosper. Every where I looked during my commute this morning, every other business and manufacturer I imagined, is out building products, creating, serving, delivering, making. And almost all of them remain profitable without lock-ins and coercive subscriptions. They make hammers, they sell them, people use them, they buy another when needed. They make refrigerators, shoes, saws, burgers, etc. They sell them, people consume and use them, and they buy another when they want or need. Every one of these businesses remain profitable because they build what is demanded. Software is the same. It's a tool. Yes, it can be leveraged, copied, resold over and over and over again, and this has made some of those who own the rights EXTREMELY wealthy (not necessarily the individuals that developed it though). Also, NOT having a subscription model encourages developers to create new capabilities. Having a subscription model enriches those at the top the most, and actually encourages them to NOT invest more in a stabilized product. In short, I came to the conclusion that subscription-based tools are bad, bad for consumers, bad for innovation, and though not immediately clear, bad for developers.
Last edited:
They were hoping they could get away with it, which is why their back-up plan was already in place.
I think a problem they ran in to was that they charged customers a single price for cloud-syncing which is a perpetual monthly expense for them. Syncing should always have been a monthly subscription.
Last edited:
It was a dumb move on their part. But now they're doing the right thing, and their apology seems sincere and contrite.
So I will be happy to keep Notability on my devices and continue using it.
But due to the subscription pricing for new users, I will stop recommending it to my students (I'm a college professor) unless Notability offers a significant educational discount.
So I will be happy to keep Notability on my devices and continue using it.
But due to the subscription pricing for new users, I will stop recommending it to my students (I'm a college professor) unless Notability offers a significant educational discount.
Ah…that syncing issue. Hm…that is a problem indeed. That’ll take them exponentially increasing terabytes for the old crowd. Hmm…not sure how they can get around that for the old crowd at this point.
$15/year is too expensive? What is a good price for a note taking app? (Ulysses thinks $50/year).
Out of all the subscriptions out there that I've paid for - I thought $15/year (or $11.99/year for now) was quite a bit less than I thought it would be.
Day one is 34, 1Password is 36, etc etc.
Edit: I'm not affiliated with Notability at all nor trying to defend their behavior.
Last edited:
While this is the absolute right thing to do, it is still very likely that our organization must look for a new app. The gallery feature sure sounds like it violates our states student privacy laws, which would preclude our use of it. Either way, between this and their terribly slow tech support for serious bugs, its time to move on.
Separately, it still boggles my mind why they attempted to paywall icloud sync.
Separately, it still boggles my mind why they attempted to paywall icloud sync.
Last edited: