@schwa @uliwitness Had a quick look in App Store Connect and I think there’s enough flexibility there to allow the same pricing for the year as for the month. I know Apple introduced a whole load of additional price points in the last couple of years, so maybe it's easier for more recently released apps, but you can definitely do £2pm/£24py style pricing.
@mo @schwa @uliwitness Offerring a discount for a yearly subscription rewards users who make a long term commitment to support your work. This is why the incentive is there. It’s not about punishment.
@platkus @schwa @uliwitness I didn’t say it was punishment. But it is inadvertently punitive towards people who can’t afford to put a larger quantity down up front. It’s a variant of Vimes’ Boots Theory: “The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
@mo @schwa @uliwitness “Inadvertently punitive” is saying it is punishment. I can’t really disagree with the theory, because the more money you have, the easier it is to make more money.
But it’s a pretty big stretch to say $100 per year versus $10 per month for an app is an issue.
It’s like saying banks shouldn’t pay interest because it isn’t fair to those with less money.
@platkus @schwa @uliwitness it’s easy for anyone who can afford 100 dollars now to say it’s a non issue. In isolation it seems trivial. When you combine it with other life expenses it can all add up to life costing more for the people with the least. It happens everywhere, all the time.
I’ll not get into a tirade on banks 🙂
@platkus @mo @schwa I don't have exact numbers, but I know many people who can't afford a computer buy a smart phone instead.
For one, you need phone service anyway, and for the other, you can visit gov't web sites and do online-only job-offers with them. Also, they're subsidized by the phone provider.
Not to mention that there are people who have $120 per year to spend on a contract, but only in monthly installments, not all in one go in one month.
@platkus @mo @schwa There's a big difference between "usually I have $200 left at the end of the year" and "I can spend $200 up front because I don't need to keep a reserve in case I get sick, the car breaks or whatever", and being able to cancel (or rest) a contract for a month when the money is needed to fill gaps is important for survival for some people .
@mo @schwa @uliwitness We are talking about a very specific economic group here. Those that can afford an iPhone and its cellular service. For those people, $120 per year versus $100 per year for an app they need/want isn’t the difference between putting food on the table or not.
I get your point, but I don’t believe it applies to this circumstance.