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Yes, we hate subscriptions. However, which apps do you choose to subscribe to?

I have 12 subscriptions.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop (comes with mobile and web)
Carrot Weather
CBC Gem
Apple Arcade
Apple TV+
Apple News+
Apple Music
BBM Enterprise
Oxford Dictionary of English
Paper by WeTransfer
Netflix
Telus Pik TV


Many App Store subscriptions want too much. It shouldn't be more than $5/month.
 
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NJRonbo said:
Thank Apple, for one, for encouraging software authors to stop charging a one-time purchase fee and go to a subscription model. Soon after Apple held a conference with developers and put that little gem into their heads, more and more software has become a subscription model to keep the money rolling in on an annual basis.

I have trashed many programs that I paid a lifetime subscription and then began charging me a subscription. I looked for cheaper alternatives.

However, there are a few that I chose to pay annually. Would love to know what "essentials" you deem worth subscribing to as well.

Here is my list (all prices are approximate):

1 Password ($34)
Forecast Bar ($18)
Carrot Weather ($25)

I know a lot of people like Innoreader, which is a subscription. However, under the free plan I can load it up with feeds and my ad-blocker keeps it ad-free.

I was paying for Raindrop.io and didn't think it was worth it
I also pay for Private Internet Access VPN and Qobuz Music Service
Click to expand...
Carrot Weather and Apple Music. Recently cut Adobe out of my life and refuse to add any new subscriptions. I might even get rid of Carrot Weather given that the Apple Weather app has gotten better, although there is still no iPad or Mac version of Apple’s app and I do like the developer of Carrot.
 
NJRonbo said:
Thank Apple, for one, for encouraging software authors to stop charging a one-time purchase fee and go to a subscription model. Soon after Apple held a conference with developers and put that little gem into their heads, more and more software has become a subscription model to keep the money rolling in on an annual basis.

I have trashed many programs that I paid a lifetime subscription and then began charging me a subscription. I looked for cheaper alternatives.

However, there are a few that I chose to pay annually. Would love to know what "essentials" you deem worth subscribing to as well.

Here is my list (all prices are approximate):

1 Password ($34)
Forecast Bar ($18)
Carrot Weather ($25)

I know a lot of people like Innoreader, which is a subscription. However, under the free plan I can load it up with feeds and my ad-blocker keeps it ad-free.

I was paying for Raindrop.io and didn't think it was worth it
I also pay for Private Internet Access VPN and Qobuz Music Service
Click to expand...

Youre confused, that wasn’t because of Apple. That was the general public. Apps with a one time purchase fee were selling minuscule amounts compared to apps that were free with IAP or subscriptions as the public didn’t want to pay for Mobile apps.
 
1Password
You Need a Budget
The Athletic
Netflix (Heavily Discounted with T-Mobile)
Hulu (Disney Bundle)
Disney+ (Disney Bundle)
ESPN+ (Disney Bundle)
Amazon Prime
PlayStation Plus
New York Times (1 Year Intro Rate)
HBO Max
Apple Music
iCloud Storage
Apple TV+
Peacock (Free with Xfinity)
Epix (Free with Xfinity)
Starz (Free with Xfinity)
MLB.TV (Free with T-Mobile)
Quibi (Free with T-Mobile)
 
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Surprised no one mentioned Weather Up as their weather app. It has a clean UI and integrates your calendar items with the forecast so you can see what the weather is like when you are going places.

Otherwise I pay for Office 365, 1Password, Apple Music, Apple Care.

Still debating on Apple TV+. Maybe they will give another discount or freebie in the fall because of the pandemic delaying production of shows. Hopefully, they acquire some studios to jumpstart it.
 
NJRonbo said:
Thank Apple, for one, for encouraging software authors to stop charging a one-time purchase fee and go to a subscription model.
Click to expand...

Nope. Developers asked for lower cuts on subscription, Apple said ok, 15% after the first year. Now it's somehow Apple's fault?
 
Cayenne1 said:
Many pro folks use Capture One Pro instead of Lightroom. It can be purchased or subscribed.
Likewise, Affinity Photo instead of Photoshop.

I dropped Adobe for these applications as I do not need the full capability of their programs.
Click to expand...
Appreciate it, but I’ve honestly tried them all and I feel none work as well. Affinity comes close on iPad (Mac version is a bit slow for RAWs), but I don’t like how it loses detail while recovering highlights. I even bought Photoshop Elements to have access to Adobe Camera Raw without paying for CC, but the Elements portion after is so damn clunky that I just gave up.
 
1Password ($36 per year)

TunnelBear VPN ($60 per year)

FlightRadar24 Silver ($10 per year)

Apple News+ ($10 per month)

Apple Arcade ($5 per month)

Apple TV+ (Free) Plan to cancel when free trial ends

Disney Bundle ($13 per month)

HBO Max (Free with AT&T)

Netflix ($4 per month) I subscribe to the $16 plan with 4K and four screens then split the monthly cost with three another people

iCloud 200GB Storage ($3 per month)
 
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Avid switched to a mostly subscription model for all their software. This means that, even though I have paid for a perpetual license for Sibelius, I still need to pay $90 per year for updates. Also, after seeing it reviewed here, I recently started subscribing to Smart Gym. That costs $39.99 per year, which is ridiculously over priced for a phone app, but I couldn’t find anything else which had the exact features I needed, and the app helps me save so much time that, when I did the math, the time savings alone are worth the 40$ per year. When my subscription comes up for renewal I will try to see if I can find something cheaper.
 
Oh uh this is gonna hurt

Apps:
fantastical
Carrot weather
Last pass
Fitbod

music:
apple music
Sirius XM

Video:
Netflix (Free with T-Mobile)
MLB.TV (Free with T-Mobile)
Quibi (Free with T-Mobile)
YouTube tv + hbo max
Prime
Disney+ (Prepaid for 3 years)
Apple TV+ (free with iPad)

news:
The athletic
Washington post (through amazon)
 
NapoleonIV said:
Avid switched to a mostly subscription model for all their software. This means that, even though I have paid for a perpetual license for Sibelius, I still need to pay $90 per year for updates. Also, after seeing it reviewed here, I recently started subscribing to Smart Gym. That costs $39.99 per year, which is ridiculously over priced for a phone app, but I couldn’t find anything else which had the exact features I needed, and the app helps me save so much time that, when I did the math, the time savings alone are worth the 40$ per year. When my subscription comes up for renewal I will try to see if I can find something cheaper.
Click to expand...

To make you feel better, $40 a year ain’t bad. Peloton is $40 a month.
 
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Interesting... I don’t see a lot of Strava, AllTrails, RunKeeper, or other fitness subs. I use the free versions of all those but am seriously considering paying the $20-30/year for AllTrails.
 
dwfaust said:
Why do I need to pay for weather info
Click to expand...
Because it’s not free — even if the raw data itself is free (as is the case for most weather data in the United States by way of the federal government and especially the NWS), processing and serving that data presents significant ongoing costs that make a free and ad-free weather app unviable.

Some weather apps use an intermediary data source, like Dark Sky or The Weather Company, which presents added costs to acquire the data, but most or all of the legwork of processing the data is handled for them.
 
jonblatho said:
Because it’s not free — even if the raw data itself is free (as is the case for most weather data in the United States by way of the federal government and especially the NWS), processing and serving that data presents significant ongoing costs that make a free and ad-free weather app unviable.

Some weather apps use an intermediary source that does processing for them, like Dark Sky or The Weather Company, which presents added costs to acquire the data, but most or all of the legwork of processing the data is handled for them.
Click to expand...

Nope. Don't need a subscription. The Apple stock app is sufficient for me.
 
dwfaust said:
Nope. Don't need a subscription. The Apple stock app is sufficient for me.
Click to expand...

I didn't like the idea of paying monthly/yearly for weather either. I ended up getting Dark Sky and I found it to be a much bigger improvement over the stock weather app for just $6 one time. I like the integrated radar that the weather app lacked.

I know it might change now that Apple owns it, but we'll see.
 
1. Evernote (my other brain, I'd be lost without it)
2. Ulysses (I grumble a little at the thought that this had to go subscription, but its a very good app)
3. 1Password
4. DayOne (got a deal)
5. Papers 4 (early days... but they seem to be making it a lot better over time, and I'll still with it until Zotero has an iPad app)
 
NervousFish2 said:
1. Evernote (my other brain, I'd be lost without it)
2. Ulysses (I grumble a little at the thought that this had to go subscription, but its a very good app)
3. 1Password
4. DayOne (got a deal)
5. Papers 4 (early days... but they seem to be making it a lot better over time, and I'll still with it until Zotero has an iPad app)
Click to expand...

For Day One, what kind of a deal, and from where?
 
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