How to charge for app updates?

Question

Created Mar ’20

Replies 1

Boosts 0

Participants 2

With a lot of traditional software you buy it once and then pay a lesser price for occasional major version updates. I kind of liked that model, but it's not directly supported by the app store. What is the recommended replacement - subscriptions? I can see a few ways to do it...

1. A subscription (probably yearly). If the subscription expires, then the app could keep running but disable the new features added after the subscription expired.

2. Non-consumable IAP to enable the full features of each major version. So you'd have IAPs like "Full app version 1", "Full app version 2", ...

3. Non-consumable IAP to enable features sets. Similar to #2 but instead of naming them by version I'd have to name groups of features.

I guess I like #1 but it's new to me and I'm afraid it will scare away users because it's asking for a continuous payment.

Boost

Answer 1

PBK OP

Mar ’20

The equivalent to 'charging for updates' is your #3. Your #2 is inconsistent with the Apple environment of 'free updates'. Your #1 is a different business model entirely. Under #3 you would improve current features for free and add new features in an update. You would only charge for those new features. Although more diffciult, you could also maintain multiple 'levels' of certain features depending on which IAPs the user bought.

0