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sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,994
34,282
Seattle WA
It all depends on the program and what is being offered for the service fee. Plus how the pricing of the two options pans out.

Agree - it's not a simple question with a yes/no answer. I have many apps of both types and don't mind a subscription in those that I have. If the app ceases providing value or is not properly maintained & updated (functionality and/or supporting data), I'll cancel.
 
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casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
7,599
5,770
Horsens, Denmark
To put it briefly; I have both Affinity Photo and Pixelmator, but no Photoshop. I have Final Cut and DaVinci Resolve, not Premiere.

I have an Apple Music subscription because I'm subscribing to the indefinite and continuous stream of music not for an app that plays said music.

Though under that logic I would be fine with major feature updates to aforementioned apps requiring another purchase, as long as I maintain the right to just keep the version I bought
 
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bransoj

macrumors 68000
Jul 31, 2013
1,563
739
Subs are fine if its for something worthwhile but just to remove ads or small features then its really annoying. Its also when you are looking for an app for something and it shows as free with IAP which turns out to be a sub that is needed to make it useable so its not free in the slightest. The App Store could do with having another category so there is Free, Paid and then Free but useless unless you fork out monthly.
 

Killbynumbers

macrumors 6502a
May 29, 2019
578
565
I hate subscriptions. I even cancelled my Apple Music sub several months ago. The only subs I have is SiriusXM and Youtube TV because I cancelled my TV service last summer. If the app has a sub tied to it, I'm automatically not interested.

I used to use an Android app that disabled a lot of junk and then the dev started making sure the app didn't work after a year and making people pay for the next version. Got tired of that after the second time and said no more.
 

AZhappyjack

Suspended
Jul 3, 2011
10,183
23,657
Happy Jack, AZ
How many times does this need to be discussed? There are many, many threads debating subscription vs perpetual licensing of software.

The developers found a way to shake down their customer base, and are exploiting it to the max. Just. Say. No.
 

MrTSolar

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2017
369
444
I hate subscriptions. I even cancelled my Apple Music sub several months ago. The only subs I have is SiriusXM and Youtube TV because I cancelled my TV service last summer. If the app has a sub tied to it, I'm automatically not interested.

I used to use an Android app that disabled a lot of junk and then the dev started making sure the app didn't work after a year and making people pay for the next version. Got tired of that after the second time and said no more.
Interesting. I went the other way and have Apple Music instead of SiriusXM. More songs, more places, more control, and way less headache. Spent years trying to get Sirius to leave me alone, finally told them I sold the car (Chevy, I’d much, much rather have a CD player than be forced to deal with Sirius and OnStar). Our TV is OTA and free.

As for subscription vs. one-time, I prefer one-time on pretty much everything. I only have Apple Music because I’ve been screwed over by covers and re-masters when buying from iTunes, and finding CDs is becoming increasingly difficult (I’m finding more and more new albums that don’t even release on CD). That said, I still want the iTunes Store to stay around because there are songs that I want to buy and not have them disappear from my library (cough, Schiller’s Sun albums, cough). I quit using Microsoft Office because they went subscription and suddenly it become 3x more expensive long-term. If you have software or an app that doesn’t really need online services to work, I’m fine paying a one-time fee for it, but don’t pull garbage stunts and break the software intentionally after a certain amount of time.

I feel software, hardware, music, and movies should be one-time and transferable. Services like online multiplayer for purchased games, rolling updates (if you want them), and cloud storage should be subscription (or have free options paid for by premium subscriptions, just like iCloud does). Both one-time fees and subscriptions have their places, and it would serve the people best for both options to stick around. Having everything become a subscription is a dangerous, slippery slope that we’d be best not to go down. For Microsoft users, it‘s too late. Windows 10 is a service (find a way to get it a year or two out of date and it will tell you this), and you have no choice but to have it always update and change, despite it still being purchased via one-time charge. That will likely change soon.

Attached is the picture of the Windows 10 prompt I got.
 

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MisterSavage

macrumors 601
Nov 10, 2018
4,853
5,751
It all depends on the program and what is being offered for the service fee. Plus how the pricing of the two options pans out.
Exactly. I don't enjoy subscriptions but developers have to eat. With that being said I did choose to buy a 1Password license instead of getting a subscription. That was a high price (IMO) for a password manager.
 
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GerritV

macrumors 68020
May 11, 2012
2,265
2,734
Exactly. I don't enjoy subscriptions but developers have to eat. With that being said I did choose to buy a 1Password license instead of getting a subscription. That was a high price (IMO) for a password manager.
Developers have to eat, sure - but next to that, they should also DEVELOP.

Many of today's subscription fees are a multiple of what used to be the one time purchase price for the app.
Well, I could live with that, but with a rather substantial development in return.
As for myself, I yet have to meet such a case.

At this moment, I'm still holding on to one subscription, Paper by WeTransfer.
The past 12 months they managed to add one single functionality (password protected notebooks), while their other 6 releases just held some bug fixes. Oh, and a new app icon :rolleyes:
Sorry, that does not justify the subscription, not by a long stretch.
 
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MisterSavage

macrumors 601
Nov 10, 2018
4,853
5,751
Developers have to eat, sure - but next to that, they should also DEVELOP.

Many of today's subscription fees are a multiple of what used to be the one time purchase price for the app.

Yep, won't get any argument on that from me. If the software is remaining unchanged a subscription certainly isn't appealing for the customer.
 
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