Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched two long-standing apps release new versions with business decisions that led to an outcry from many users. Pocket Casts went free but introduced Pocket Casts Pro as an optional subscription that included Desktop applications access to the web player. Customers who had previously paid $9 to unlock the web player were frustrated because they were awarded three years of Pocket Casts Pro but would need to subscribe after that to keep access to the web player. Weather Line 2 was also recently released with a new optional subscription to unlock new features. Users who choose not to subscribe will now have ads inside the app. Some customers were frustrated that an app that previously didn’t have ads now required a subscription to avoid them. Are app subscriptions fair to customers? more…
