I agree that this model has a lot going for it.

What it does really well is set expectations upfront: you’re buying a version and a defined update window, not an open-ended promise.

Where I think many products stumble is skipping that clarity and retroactively redefining what users thought they bought.

If users know from day one: “this includes X months of updates, after that you can keep using it or pay for more”, most of the trust issues simply don’t exist.