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Comment by inconceivable | Hacker News Reader

right, i'm sure this guy is going to turn his company into a very specific type of enterprise software vendor just because you want him to.

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> turn his company into a very specific type of enterprise software

They would just need to release a pro version of their app you can pay upfront in the App Store, and then release paid updates later following the same model. No need to "turn a company" into anything.

> and then release paid updates later following the same model.

How? Paid updates are not possible with the app store. If they were we wouldn't have to jump through those anti-user IAP and subscription hoops.

You just release a new version of the app at full price. Like Silvio Rizzi has been doing with Reeder for 5 major versions since 2010, pretty successfully.

So you litter the App Store with N + 1 versions of your app — where N is the number of major versions you’ve released plus the subscription version for non-enterprise end users. I mean sure, that may work, but it’s really ugly and it’ll probably confuse end users when they search for your app. Apple should account for this model in a better way.

Completely agree, but in the meantime…

I searched the app store and was only able to find "Reeder 5". As someone who hasn't purchased 4, it doesn't show up, so new users aren't confused. Old users are presumably able to figure out that the idea that the bigger number is the one they want.

As for "littering" Apple's app store, it's just rows in a database, of which there are millions. Waste sucks, but we're not talking about a meaningful amount here.

What OP is talkin’ about is “The Way” that Apple requires such devs to interface with its (not their) Business customers via its AppStore. Mac-only devs do have to cater to those customers whether they have them direct or resell thru MacAppStore, or they don’t make it very long. The problem with selling direct is that the Business customers all want the conveniences of only dealing with a single vendor (the Apple) since that’s possible now (via the MacAppStore).

Platform gatekeepers in 2023 should simply vet third-party app stores and award them a Certificate once they pass anti-Fraud. The hardware itself should otherwise run open source firmware that only enforces UL/FCC certification requirements and basic UI standards (be they audio, video, or network). If Apple wants to go beyond that, they can setup Claris or something with its own such Certificate to compete with Amazon and all the other potential third-party ecosystems. This hunk of garbage may look ridiculous, but cast it in an Al custom NC enclosure with miniLED and an m2ultra and… https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/brother-geobook-nb-80...

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