@vincent really good points on the Apple tax, something we don’t talk about enough. It’s almost incentivizing devs to switch models. We go through this subscription debate every time another app goes through the pricing model wall.

Some apps do a wonderful job gracefully transitioning. I’m thinking of apps like 1Password and YouNeedABudget. If I recall, 1P released a brand new version of their app and launched their sync service as an alternative to Dropbox (which wasn’t always great). YNAB went from a desktop app to a web app, which opened up a lot of possibilites. Honorable mention goes to Day One for continuing to release substantial incremental features between major updates.

I don’t think that Flexibits did a great job. Their time between major releases was a veritable desert with just bug fixes and very small features. It’s easy to fall into a rut, especially when there’s only two of them. Cultured Code did the same thing with Things 2, but has been brilliant with regular feature updates in T3.

I think Flexibit’s choice to freeze v2 features in their broken state, not release a separate version of the app (so many v2 users didn’t realize the change until it was too late), and dangle a promise to fix everything in the subscription has just left more people confused than anything else.

You’re exactly right about the state of payment for devs... no one wants to pay up front, we will only pay for so many subscriptions, but what other option is there?

@vincent Great post Vincent!

Developers that create and sell apps need to be able to sustain a living, and I don't begrudge any developer who charges money for their products whether that be a one off charge or a subscription charge, but the value that Fantastical offers isn't enough for me to stump out the annual (and cheaper) subscription at this time. I might go for it in the future, but right now, I want to keep my subscriptions to a minimum.

I do agree with you though. I don't like subscriptions either but it seems the only way forward.

@matthewlang we all have a limit for subscriptions. Like in the video streaming wars, there will be clear winners and losers. I subscribe to 1Password & You Need A Budget and don’t think twice about it. But it does put a squeeze on these apps that are more on the margins of my daily life.

In my view, the subscription is the least valuable on the day of release and, over time, with added features, the value increases to a tipping point where subscribing is the right choice.

We haven’t seen much in the way of major new features in Fanstastical 2, so it’s really on Flexibits to iterate in really great ways to bring value to their customers.

@vincent We only have so much money we can spend in a month on subscriptions. This model isn't sustainable long term. For now we'll just have to pick and choose, possibly missing out on good software.

@chet I've been assessing my subscriptions over the last month and I'm in the process of curbing a few non-essentials that I don't need. I've reached a limit and Fantastical is now one of those non-essentials.

You are right, subscriptions are least valuable on their first day. I hope that Flexbits can bring it back as I do like their apps.

@vincent 👍👍👍 I agree with you 100% my friend. The market for software is broken. On top of the iOS ecosystem, think of all the open source libraries we all use through npm or cocoa pods. They’re even further down from the end customer yet in many cases their code powers pretty substancial companies...

@vincent oh and Lyft just fired 90% if their staff because they run out of money...

@numericcitizen No idea if it’s a sustainable model, but I love how Agenda does purchases/subscriptions.

Agenda does offer extra premium features that require an In App Purchase, and that make the app even more powerful. If you decide to purchase the upgrade, you permanently unlock all current premium features across all of your devices. Each of them is described in detail below.

Additionally, any new premium features we add in the 12 months following your purchase are also permanently unlocked.

@mcg interesting.