What will happen to apps I paid for 2-5 years from now??

[iCaleb]

Right now I can re-download apps I paid for as much as I want for free for example if I did a clean install on my iMac I could still re-download them as long as I sign in using my apple ID.

But what will happen if I want to re-download iMovie 11 or iPhoto 11 a couple years from now under the same apple ID I bought them with?

Will users that bought these apps get free upgrades to the next versions or will Apple delete the old versions and make you pay for the newer versions?

 

[miles01110]

They'll probably make you pay for the new version. Why shouldn't they?

 

[kswalker75]

Actually all you have to do is go into the Applications folder and copy the apps to an external hard drive, flash drive, or network drive. That way if you have to format or replace your hard drive, all you have to do is copy them back to your Application folder or you can run them straight from the external drive.

I have all of my apps that I have purchased thru the App store backed up to my external hard drive. I have had to reformat my drive in the past and afterwards didn't have to redownload everything.

 

[Ccrew]

Actually the bane of a lot of Application developers is that given the current AppStore model all upgrades are free, unless they release the App as a new application. There's no current model to charge "upgrade" pricing.

 

[OLDCODGER]

Backup

Doesn't everyone keep a current backup/clone of their internal drive?

 

[takeshi74]

Nope. Look around even just on this site and you'll see that plenty do not. Don't assume that what you do is what everyone else does.

 

[davidg4781]

Good question. I'm hoping you'll be able to download maybe just that version?

What happens on the iOS App Store when you purchase an app that later gets pulled from the store? Are you still able to download it?

 

[adib]

Really, just use Time Machine

As of now you can't re-download App Store apps (iOS and Mac) that have been pulled.

That said, just pull a backup copy from your Time Machine drive.

Good question. I'm hoping you'll be able to download maybe just that version?

What happens on the iOS App Store when you purchase an app that later gets pulled from the store? Are you still able to download it?

 

[Ccrew]

As of now you can't re-download App Store apps (iOS and Mac) that have been pulled.

That said, just pull a backup copy from your Time Machine drive.

Yeah, that sucks too. VLC was short lived on the IOS devices

 

[jacg]

Actually the bane of a lot of Application developers is that given the current AppStore model all upgrades are free, unless they release the App as a new application. There's no current model to charge "upgrade" pricing.

I wonder if it will take major updates to some of the big Apple apps such as iLife, iWork, Aperture, Final Cut Pro X to set in motion some sort of upgrade option? At this rate, however, it looks like apps like iWork will never actually be updated at all.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I wonder if it will take major updates to some of the big Apple apps such as iLife, iWork, Aperture, Final Cut Pro X to set in motion some sort of upgrade option? At this rate, however, it looks like apps like iWork will never actually be updated at all.

They'll probably just remove iLife.current from the store, and create a new app for iLife.next. And since it's apple, they can market it and give it as much exposure as they like.

And since it's Apple, people will buy it, bumping it back to the top of the store within a week.

 

[Frozzie]

Probably won't be free updates forever with applications that continually add lots of features, such as iWork.

I do think they will solve the issue by this method (e.g. they release iWork 12):

a) Remove iWork 09 from App Store and replace with iWork 12. This is because it isn't Apple way to keep both iWork 09 and 12 on app store at same time, only one can exist
b) Continue to offer people who have previously purchased iWork 09 to be able to redownload in future (don't know whether it is forever or set number of years)

And I didn't mean to say iWork 12 is coming for real!

 

[MrAndy1369]

+1. The App Store is still a pretty new concept, so we'll probably see within the next year how Apple/other companies handle upgrades. My feeling is Apple will probably allow "prorated" downloads for life of apps already purchased/freely downloaded, regardless of if the product becomes discontinued/raises their prices. This is akin to buying a product in a store - you'll have the install CD/DVD with you and will be able to install it again and again no matter what year it is, or how long it has been since the CD/DVD product was released.

However, I could be wrong - maybe there'll be a 2-year cap on repeated downloads, or something like that. Who knows - it's still too early to say.

Probably won't be free updates forever with applications that continually add lots of features, such as iWork.

I do think they will solve the issue by this method (e.g. they release iWork 12):

a) Remove iWork 09 from App Store and replace with iWork 12. This is because it isn't Apple way to keep both iWork 09 and 12 on app store at same time, only one can exist
b) Continue to offer people who have previously purchased iWork 09 to be able to redownload in future (don't know whether it is forever or set number of years)

And I didn't mean to say iWork 12 is coming for real!