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Comment by abcd_f

5 days ago

Why is it a subscription?

* Why am I in gray? It's a reasonable thing to ask about an app with no server-side expenses.

10 comments

abcd_f

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lukko  5 days ago

Why is there a premium version? Lungy did take a long time to make and there are ongoing costs even if no server currently. This work was pre-LLM - a lot of care and attention went into making it and it would not be viable in any way without some kind of monetisation.

That said, there is a lifetime access option, so no subscription, and the free version is good too.

  • abcd_f  5 days ago

    > Why is there a premium version?

    Oh, common, don't twist the question, that's disingenuous. Not "a premium version". Why is it a subscription.

    Why do think making people make recurrent payments for an otherwise static non-service app is reasonable?

    $60 for a "lifetime" version is super steep, considering it's in the walled garden of the App Store, can't be backed up, can't be re-installed if it somehow disappears from the store, etc. For a desktop software it could potentially fly, but not for an iOS app.

    • lukko  5 days ago

      I think there’s a misunderstanding - it’s not static, the exercises updated regularly and there are frequent updates, even if no server. As well as time and development costs, there are also ongoing costs from having an app live. If recurrent payments don’t work then there is a lifetime access option ($40), which is lower than many similar apps’ annual cost. I don’t think this is unreasonable at all.

      2 replies →

    • edmundsauto  5 days ago

      Is this advice to help them maximize their business, or a personal whine that you want it but don’t want to pay so much?

      Only the customers can tell this person if $60 is too much. If yure upset because it’s more than you would pay - say that. Otherwise you’re really just asking for a Porsche at the price of a Honda.

      Is this what you should have said, without couching in a way that makes it sound “official”? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44349932

jamil7  3 days ago

Serious question, have you tried to launch and sustain a consumer mobile business in the last 5 years? I have and the paid up front model is very difficult to make work. As much as users say they want to pay once, what they actually want is to pay once and receive a steady stream of features, improvements, updates for new iOS versions etc. The idea that there are no server-side expenses doesn't make a project like this static, iOS itself is a moving target for developers before you factor in user expectations from modern software.