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Apple To Offer iOS Developers 85-15 Revenue Split; Debut Paid App Store Search Ads (theverge.com)
Apple says it will now take a smaller cut of commission from app developers provided they have customers who stick with their subscription model for longer than a year. Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, told The Verge in an interview that the company will revise the 70-30 split for such developers to 85-15. In addition, the company will also begin showing search ads for apps in its iOS App Store search results. Also, the company says it is speeding up app review times "to the point where 50 percent of submitted apps are now reviewed in 24 hours, and 90 percent are reviewed within 48 hours." From the report: If the new subscription model becomes widely adopted, it will represent a fundamental shift in the economics of the App Store. Developers will be incentivized to sell their apps for a recurring fee instead of a one-time cost. It could change the way consumers pay for certain apps, but it also presents a massive opportunity for developers, many of whom feel the app economy has been become moribund in recent years. And as iPhone sales growth slows, a move to app subscriptions is another way for Apple wring more profits from its existing user base.Apple columnist John Gruber has more details.
Shush. That amount is only horrible when Apple does it, even if the developers do end up making more money than with Google for it.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
It sounds like you have trouble paying for people's work at all. But here's the thing: nobody cares and you won't be missed. You weren't paying ANYWAY.
I have a few apps that I immediately buy when they have to put out a new revision to fund their development. The one that comes to mind most immediately is tweetbot. I always buy the new version because I want them to make more of them and keep up with Twitter's API. That doesn't come for free. I will absolutely pay a subscription to that app to make sure that there's always a new version ready for me.
I also use an RSS reader called Newsify that I really like. They monetize by providing a subscription to a bunch of services that I have absolutely no interest in. I don't pay that subscription fee. But if they have a subscription option--say, $5/year--that I can pay that just makes sure they stick around and make changes to the app, I'll pay that.
I don't know why you have such trouble paying people for their honest hard work for applications that you actually use. The other option is to let them fill the app with ads, and we've seen how well that's been going for the web in general. No thanks.
An app you paid a dollar for once (or got for free) was abandoned by its developers? Why on earth might that be?