Apple does sell a number of software products for high-ish prices: Final Cut Pro (as well as add-ons Motion and Compressor) and Logic Pro are paid-for software.
But the another thing (which is fascinating to me, given the audience of HN and the tone of the comments here) is that part of the purpose of the ecosystem lock-in is to get users to pay indy devs for software.
Now, yes, Apple does take a cut. But that aligns them with devs in terms of getting users to open their wallets. The iPad still has no calculator app. But there are plenty of paid ones in the App Store. Apple gets an extra $0.30 and the indy dev gets $0.70 because iPadOS lacks a built-in calculator[1]
I predict that the european experiment will ultimately prove to be a failure for paid apps. If you look at the commentary from users and developers about why they like the changes, the things they like are completely orthogonal, even if they sound the same. Developers like that they won't have to pay the "Apple Tax" because users can side-load. Whereas users like that they don't have to pay developers because they can side-load.
I hope I'm wrong.
[1] Except the one in spotlight.
The killer app for jailbreaking/sideloading on Apple's handheld gaming system is ... running unlicensed games?
So basically similar to jailbreaking/sideloading on Nintendo's handheld gaming system?
Perhaps one difference may be that popular iPhone games are "free to play" with intrusive microtransactions, while Nintendo games (especially first party) cost more up front but avoid microtransactions. Also iPhone games tend to be "live service" while many Nintendo games can be played offline (or on a LAN for games like Mario Kart or Smash.)
iPhone game developers may be able to leverage online DRM schemes in "live service" games to block unauthorized players of sideloaded games.
The group of indie devs is not a homogeneous group. For example, there exist "hacker-type" indie devs who love to write software that subverts Apple's rules and/or adds functionalities that Apple does not like or restricts.
C'est la vie.
Part of the problem (I believe) is people who want to have their cake and eat it too. If that worked in real life, the government could simply pass a law that cake shall cost $0 and no-one would go hungry ever again. Apple's ecosystem imposes restrictions on developers, but also brings benefits. Sometimes in real life you have to take the bad with the good.
Because you can die without groceries and suffer a lot without other basics unlike with personal software?
> Consider its cost per use
Just pick a better metric (like mortal cost per non-use) and it will make sense.
Which is why funding the R&D part of any product of such nature has always been so annoying. Today it seems we've settled on Patreon and the like for the individual-scale projects.
There’s a risk with a user base and having a support organization, much like the risk calculation the insurance industry takes.
Transcribe![1] - just a good app for doing music transcription. Pull in a local audio file, slow it down, loop it, etc. Works great, no fuss. I use this for all kinds of things when practicing guitar.
Neck Diagrams[2] - the best tool out there for making various kinds of string instrument diagrams (chord diagrams, scale diagrams on a fretboard, that kind of thing). I like the software a lot and it's pretty powerful - though I'll admit I've often thought about trying to eat their lunch, as there's a few things it doesn't do that I'd like to see.
[1]: https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/download_mac.html [2]: https://www.neckdiagrams.com/
Also while I do like the software VMware and proxmox has, and I would donate to developers if I had spare money, I don't so I just keep a list for future me, and try to convey my thanks in the meantime.
On the other hand: broadcom can gargle my balls, I will not be paying them a single cent unless its my last option. They killed a good product, and are like the hug of death for acquired company's.
I would have less issue paying money if I knew the software wasn't being overinflated or money was actually going to the developers. Iv paid for solid works and other stuff cuz I see its value and use it, but it was also a good product I could as a student.
Now EDA software is insanely expensive and so my only option is openlane,so I can struggle trying to learn this hobby
Consider the software that saves you 5 min at night when you're doing some assignment - this isn't monetizable, you've go the benefit of 5 min more sleep, but you can't pay with that for the app
Personally? Maybe not. Collectively? Maybe:
"College students are an entry-point market with over $593 billion in spending power."
https://www.refuelagency.com/college-marketing/
Part of it could be that many students have summer and/or part-time jobs, and the university isn't always successful in seizing every last dime that you make.
Things are looking better and better in terms of open source digital design workflows.
Presumably you would need software for course assignments as well.
"No man is an island." You're part of a monied collective. If not your family, the institution could foot the bill. Or, perhaps, your State. You are surrounded by and buoyed up on a current of wealth. It's not in your debit card, so what? Everything in your life is being paid for by someone.
There are a lot of people using merchants of record like Stripe and Paddle. So this isn't the biggest barrier these days
There are thousands of companies who release open source as part of a paid product.
