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Verge: "Pro Developers Opting out of iPad Pro"

E

Essenar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 24, 2008
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I was afraid of this..

Coming from the surface - staffpad is an amazing app, and has a much more natural feel when writing music. I got in the habit of writing out complex parts, then importing the file into my DAW. I also bought it when it went on sale for $50.

Right now the iPad pro has notion, which just introduced handwriting for an additional $8 or so in app purchase - it feels like a toy. The writing just doesn't compare. It's like they just used a quick, cheap bandaid handwriting engine rather than thinking through how musicians would use it, and developing something specifically for that. It feels like an afterthought, just there to say they have it.

I really hope that isn't the direction things continue to go.
 
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Essenar said:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/19/9757516/ipad-pro-apps-pricing-ios-developers-opt-out

The problem is the Freemium model, lack of trials, lack of refund policy for consumers, overall lower average price (you spend just as much time/resources developing an app, but have to charge a lot less, thereby forcing you to lower quality) and Apple takes a massive cut.

So what are pro developers gonna do? Opt out.
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The Verge is on the full offensive against the Pro for some reason - at the same time praising the two Surfaces, even despite some of the flaws. Still, what they say is true - currently the whole situation is not good. Just today, I noticed a guy on Twitter who was refusing to pay $5 dollars for an universal version of a great iPhone-only app he bought years ago (I asked the developer about the iPad Pro support and the guy hijacked the discussion). So there's that "mobile apps should be free" mentality on one hand. On the other - there is Apple's refusal to offer trials and give developers the option to do refunds (without Apple's intervention). The situation on a Mac is even worse, but Mac has the option to sideload apps while iOS does not.

Still, Apple does have big plans for the iPad Pro and we'll see if they start to change certain things for the better. What can we do? Support the developers. When a dev asks for a few dollars for a new version of an app, we pay and not call them names for trying to earn some money :)
 
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You get what you pay for.

There's some truth to what the Verge says. But Apple adapts; it's not like they are obstinate.

But not all apps are toys. On the contrary, there are a zillion apps available for iOS that really aren't there for the desktop versions. And they are cheap as hell comparatively. I'm not sure this Verge dude/gal even uses iOS.

If people are willing to shell out $$$ for the hardware, they might start paying $100+ for iOS apps. Maybe even demanding it :D . I've seen odder things

then again, there are other issues to the business model I guess.
 
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This is among the worst articles I've read. The title is completely different from what's in the article. It's just the same old rambling about the App Store and has nothing to do with the iPad Pro whatsoever.
 
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It'll even out eventually. There's high demand for pro apps. Sure, normal consumers won't pay much for apps, which means they won't buy the high end pro apps that come out, but they don't buy the high end pro apps on OS X or Windows anyway, so worrying about the fact that they don't pay high prices for apps is ridiculous.

With the smaller iPads, true pro apps are a tough sell. Apple has solved the performance limitations, and the input method limitations, and now also the screen size limitations.

So now it's just up to developers. They'll come. They like money.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
Lmao.

So because the Verge is bringing up things that are true, real, issues....now "The Verge" is the problem?
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What "true, real, issues"? That the average person won't pay more than a few bucks for an app? Guess what, they don't buy pro apps anyway.

So how is this an issue on iOS, when it's clearly not a problem on OS X or Windows, where the average person pays even less for software than they do on iOS?

No, the problem is lack of understanding of reality on the Verge's part.
 
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Although there is certainly some truth to this, developers are clearly finding alternate ways to charge. Instead of the free trial, offer a slimmed-down version for free with an in-app purchase to unlock the whole app. For offering paid upgrades to long time users, launch a new 2.0 app, with a discounted in-app purchase to unlock for previous users. Goodreader has utilized similar techniques in the past, as has djay. I do agree though that the mentality of mobile users needs to change, and if we want pro apps we should be prepared to pay for them. On a sidenote, when is adobe actually going to launch a mobile version of Photoshop that is comprehensive? The iPad Pro clearly would have the power to make this feasible, and as The Verge was saying they have the branding to attract users who will pay, yet here we are stuck on freemium/fragmented gimmicks ...
 
"The problem is the Freemium model, lack of trials, lack of refund policy for consumers, overall lower average price"

That's true for consumers in general, but the target customers for pro apps won't be them, so I'm not sure what' the problem here.
 
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ddrulez said:
I don't read it anymore because of the unprofessional behavior.
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Actually when one thinks about it, the verge, even in its previous incarnation, is never professional. They made assumptions in their review, don't even do fact checks, and when confronted for the error, they made some technobabble excuses. But all they need to do was yell loud on some popular political stance, and they get a free pass.
 
aevan said:
Just today, I noticed a guy on Twitter who was refusing to pay $5 dollars for an universal version of a great iPhone-only app he bought years ago (I asked the developer about the iPad Pro support and the guy hijacked the discussion). So there's that "mobile apps should be free" mentality on one hand. On the other - there is Apple's refusal to offer trials and give developers the option to do refunds (without Apple's intervention).
Click to expand...

The mentality issue is a big one. Smartphone and tablet users are now conditioned to buy only things that are either free or dirt cheap; generally speaking it's hard for a mobile developer to make money from direct sales if they're not visible in the top 10.

I think a good solution would be to have a "Pro" iOS App Store. The distinction is mostly psychological, but it would force iOS users into a different state of mind when they see a pro store with pro-pricing on apps.

It really is quite terrible for app developers. For example, Complete Anatomy which was showcased by Apple actually has notes from the CEO pleading people not to put bad reviews. As a developer myself, I can imagine quite well the frustration that must go into spending so much money creating an app and facing the prospect of selling it at rock bottom prices to meet the unrealistic expectations of mobile users.
 
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xPad said:
What "true, real, issues"? That the average person won't pay more than a few bucks for an app? Guess what, they don't buy pro apps anyway.

So how is this an issue on iOS, when it's clearly not a problem on OS X or Windows, where the average person pays even less for software than they do on iOS?

No, the problem is lack of understanding of reality on the Verge's part.
Click to expand...


Done arguing with you hoss.

App pricing has been a continually worsening problem. Anyone paying attention knows it. Talk to devs. I know a good dozen personally. Huge problem.
 
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I'm more concerned that Apple is ignoring the fact their OS updates break games and apps that only launched recently therefore rendering purchases useless.

Two games, BioShock and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, both of which cost me £15 a piece, no longer work on iOS due to iOS 8.4.1 (BioShock) and iOS 9 (MHFU). 2K have pulled BioShock and mumbled something about working on a fix but Capcom have said there are no plans to update MHFU to work on iOS 9.

There are many issues with the App Store model which, while fine in 2008, now needs fine tuned to suit the modern day mobile user/gamer. Apple also need to liaise a little more with developers of titles when things go wrong that locks people out of apps they paid for, which they may have only bought a few months previous, with no means of getting a refund.

Trial apps, easy refunds (where a legitimate case is proven to warrant one), and more responsibly at Apple's end to ensure their OS's don't break big name, high cost apps that many people pay premium pricing for. And at a time when Freemium and IAP are taking over the App Store and premium games/apps are being ignored more and more, the premium model cannot afford to be seen as a rip off due to these incompatibility issues.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Done arguing with you hoss.
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That's strange. You've yet to ever argue with me. So far, you've mainly just argued with a straw man.

App pricing has been a continually worsening problem. Anyone paying attention knows it. Talk to devs. I know a good dozen personally. Huge problem.
Click to expand...
Exactly the sort of straw man I'm talking about.

And, as usual, you've provided absolutely no example whatsoever. Just assertions.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
Done arguing with you hoss.

App pricing has been a continually worsening problem. Anyone paying attention knows it. Talk to devs. I know a good dozen personally. Huge problem.
Click to expand...

Just stick to good brand name apps. I have no problem paying for apps like word. I'd say the bigger issue is anyone who can plunk some code down views themselves like the next big thing when they are not.
 
I think the points about free trials and upgrade pricing are very valid.

It's a massive risk for a developer to charge $20+ for an app that someone can't try first. There have been workarounds like lite versions but sometimes that may not be the best approach depending on the app type.

The upgrade pricing is definitely an issue. Not being able to charge for an update to an app has to be painful. That's why you see developers having their 2.0 of an app as a second app listing in the store. Some sort of upgrade process with the possibility for a discount needs to be introduced.

It's not like Apple hate money, they know these issues need to be addressed. I guess with the volume of apps in the store, these aren't small changes. I hope iOS 10 introduces these things though. It would make sense, the iPad Pro is out, everyone loves the Pencil, people are buying the device.They can tell the developers the install base is there, here's some more favourable options for you, now make the apps.
 
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Verge is garbage now, but the article is mostly correct imo. As others have said, anyone who has being paying attention has known all this for years, it's been repeatedly covered.
 
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Simply some developers have abandoned the iPad pro when it was announced it would run iOS.

Apple wants everyone to go through the AppStore gate and take a chunk. As a developer you might as well focus development for OS X and Windows where you can sell you software for 10-20X the price and not be forced to give a cut.

14 day trials of software would be a good idea, just like you get 14 days to trial any Apple device
 
My concern would be that upgrade pricing could somehow undermine Apple's policies that ensure we aren't paying for apps more than once. Couldn't a major upgrade just be available as an in-app purchase?
 
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