I think the free-to-play model has been destructive for many apps and games. The rush to the bottom with $1 price tier, introduced by Apple, was also destructive in itself.

The App Store is a huge market, fortunes have been built, but I know many indie developers who have been reluctant to adopt the F2P model.

As a user, I don't like it either.

In theory.

So I have no issue with subscribing to many apps I love to fund development, or maybe paying an extra “tip” through IAP. Or just IAP for more content.

But IAP and subscriptions enabled a few models I hate.

Free game (either with ads, IAP, or both) have flooded the App Store and destroyed the market for quality games. Even the better made ones (like Candy Crush) are still designed to wring money out of people.

On the subscription front there are so many scam apps. Buy a calculator app, and pay $5/week for it because they trick people into it.

I’d be happy with no consumable IAPs in games. Or just no IAPs in games at all. And Apple should probably review high subscription prices to find scams. Realistically is there any reason for weekly subscriptions? Maybe just monthly/yearly only.

It might be if they had better filters. IAP being used to effectively turn a demo into a full, paid version is one thing. Or IAP for some limited number of expansions in a game. IAP being used for "consumables" or to nickel-and-dime every feature is something else. But it's hard to distinguish between the two uses when browsing the store—and that's a big part of the reason I hardly game at all on iOS, browsing their games to sort wheat from chaff is too much of a chore and their games section in particular is a horrible mess because IAP exists and their filtering options suck. Problem goes away if the apps are simply paid or free, no IAP. Or if they'd create more categories for various uses of IAP, and let you filter by them.

Definitely not better for users. You used to buy an app and get everything it has to offer. You wouldn't have to worry about getting a useless app and having to pay another $1,000 to get it functional. And you'd know that any reviews of the app are inclusive of functionality you'll have access to.

With IAP, it's really difficult to know what you're getting and how much it will cost you in the end. And reviews may be discussing a completely different app experience. Plus the constant feeling that you're being nickel and dimed.

IAPs don't share over Apple Family, purchased-apps do. So I'm going to say no.

Let’s not pretend that the App Store is full of Indy “makers”. It came out in the Epic trial that 85% of App Store revenue came from slimy pay to win games and loot boxes.

Which IAP model?