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
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 lineup may bring some of the most significant display improvements we've seen in recent years. While the iPhone 17 series isn't expected until late 2025, multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on substantial screen upgrades across its entire smartphone range.
From enhanced refresh rates to advanced materials and improved power efficiency, these display...
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that Apple illegally deceived customers into paying for iCloud storage, according to a court filing. The decision was reported by Law360.
The lawsuit alleged that Apple deceived customers into purchasing iCloud-enabled devices by misleading customers into believing that they can...
Microsoft has discontinued its Surface Studio 2+, marking the end of the company's only direct competitor to Apple's iMac, leaving a gap in the Windows ecosystem for high-end all-in-one PCs.
Microsoft has confirmed to Windows Central that it has ended production of the Surface Studio 2+, a premium all-in-one desktop designed for creative professionals. With remaining stock now limited to...
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model.
The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...
