Apple Prevents Omni Group From Offering Discounted Mac App Store Upgrades
Last week, The Omni Group released a program called OmniKeyMaster that would allow users who purchased older Mac App Store versions of the company's software to purchase discounted upgrades in the future, directly from the company.
Today, the company said it would be unable to offer upgrades to Mac App Store customers because of Apple's App Store policies.
My apologies: I’m afraid we will not be able to offer upgrade pricing to our Mac App Store customers after all. So long as we continue to sell our apps through the Mac App Store, we are not allowed to distribute updates through other channels to apps which were purchased from the App Store.
We still feel upgrade pricing is important for customers purchasing serious productivity software, since the initial value received from purchasing an app like OmniGraffle or OmniPlan is much different from the incremental value of upgrading that app from version 5.0 to version 6.0. We will continue to ask Apple to support upgrade pricing in the App Store, and I would encourage others to do the same—but until that happens, upgrade pricing will only be available to customers who buy our apps direct from our online store.
A number of developers have asked Apple for the ability to offer upgrade pricing to purchasers -- a very common software pricing strategy -- but the App Store requires that upgrades either be offered for free to existing owners, or sold as a completely separate offering on the App Store, at the same price for all customers, new and old.
Red Sweater Software's Daniel Jalkut called the move a "chilling message from Apple" and filed a bug report with Apple requesting upgrade pricing support for the App Store:
The impact of Apple's continued lack of support for upgrade pricing has been increased by an apparent effort on Apple's part to enforce 3rd party developers trying to accommodate upgrade pricing through their own means:
http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/update-no-upgrade-pricing-for-mac-app-store-purchases
Most of us Mac developers are loyal Apple fans who would like to support the Mac App Store and keep our customers who purchased on the Mac App Store within that system. By not supporting an upgrade mechanism for these customers Apple leaves us in a position where we're forced to either treat Mac App Store customers as 2nd class customers or to forego across the board the expected compensation for major upgrades to our applications.
Apple has moved away from upgrade pricing in recent years, choosing instead to slash the prices of its major software titles instead of offering discounts for current owners. Final Cut Pro X, for example, costs $299 while its prior version was $999.
Popular Stories
Wednesday September 17, 2025 2:56 pm PDT by
Juli CloverIt's been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple's new Liquid Glass design is even more divisive than expected.
Any major design change can create controversy as people get used to the new look, but the MacRumors forums, Reddit, Apple Support Communities, and social media sites seem to feature more criticism than praise as people discuss the update.
Complaints
There are a long...
iOS 26 was finally released on Monday, but the software train never stops, and the first developer beta of iOS 26.1 will likely be released soon.
iOS 18.1 was an anomaly, as the first developer beta of that version was released in late July last year, to allow for early testing of Apple Intelligence features. The first betas of iOS 15.1, iOS 16.1, and iOS 17.1 were all released in the second ...
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small ...
Apple released iOS 26 on September 15, and it's now available for all iPhone users with a compatible device. There are a lot of changes and features to learn about, so if you want a quick, easy-to-read list that outlines what's new, we've got you covered.
Design
Liquid Glass design that reflects light and refracts what's underneath. It's system wide, with dynamic tab bars and toolbars...
iOS 26's new Liquid Glass interface has been criticized for making some content illegible in certain circumstances, and now the UI design is reportedly causing another unusual visual problem for some users.
Liquid Glass adds subtle glowing effects to the corners of app icons, creating a dynamic glass-like appearance with depth and parallax effects. However, as noted by Gizmodo, this design...
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.
The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware.
With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions.
The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said.
It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
