Earlier this month, Apple confirmed that it was making a few key changes to its App Store. The biggest of those changes, and the part that received the majority of attention, was the fact that subscriptions would become available as an option for all apps. Up until the change only a key set of apps were able to offer a subscription for content, like music and video streaming options. But with the App Store changes implemented, any app can switch to a subscription model — as long as it makes sense.
We’re talking about Apple’s App Store here, so there’s obviously a point where individuals are going to review an app developer’s request to rollout subscription features, and apparently block those that don’t make any sense. And while all of that sounds great, to a point, it’s possible —if not completely likely— that we’ll see plenty of apps out there outfitted with a subscription option that is more frustrating than anything else.
Still, I’m going to see how it goes. I’m not all doom-and-gloom like a lot of people seemed to be after the announcement was made, simply because I think developers aren’t going to want to ruin the experience between them and folks who buy their stuff, so I’m hoping the train doesn’t completely fall off the tracks in the months ahead.
It’s an interesting turn of events, though, but perhaps not completely out of left field.
Subscriptions pretty much run everything these days. Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, and whatever else has dominated our lives — we’re even paying subscription fees to get clothes and food now. And there’s nothing wrong with that! If a subscription option makes sense for you, for whatever reason, then by all means go to town. I pay for streaming options, for both music and movies, but I also still buy movies and music, too.
I may still buy these things, but I do so at a more staggered pace. I can’t even tell you how much I used to spend in a month when there weren’t subscription options, because I was buying album after album and movie after movie. Now I can space out those purchases, buying fewer albums and movies every month, which is still typically cheaper even with the extra subscription fees, than how I used to do it.
Still, I’m wondering how app buyers are going to welcome the new subscription options, especially if they do start to invade a whole new host of apps. Constant development of apps means a lot of constant work for developers, and despite the fact that users constantly want new features, devs still have to get paid even months after a paid app launches. I don’t think it’s completely ridiculous that developers should want to keep making money from an application or game they’re continuously updating to match demand for features or content, and since advertisements are generally disliked across the board, subscriptions will hopefully make that easier.
But what about in-app purchases? There are a few apps out there that offer a means to tip the developers directly, as an in-app purchase, in an effort to make sure the app they’re using is free — and stays free as development continues. This is certainly one way to do it, because the alternative is to stop development of one app, let’s say version 1, and save features for version 2 — which will ultimately cost money up-front, and has typically made people on social networks decry having to buy an app they’re already using.
It’s like a mental trick we play on ourselves.
Developers over the years have discovered that people aren’t all that willing to spend a lot of money on an app for their smartphone or tablet right up front, but, just like the video game market, offering up in-app purchases usually means users will fork over money on their own. Basically, give the user the option to spend money and they will. Force an up-front price tag and suddenly things get sketchy. But can the same be said for subscriptions for apps? Only time will tell, probably.
My question to you is this: How much do you spend on in-app purchases? Whether it’s for an app to get rid of ads, or an app to add functionality, or in a video game to get new features/lives/whatever else, are you forking over the cash after you’ve downloaded the app? Or would you prefer to spend more right up front to get all of that content/no ads out of the gate? Let me know!
