The 2023 App Store Awards recognize 14 apps and games that empowered users’ creativity, introduced a world of new adventures, and more.
  • feherfarkas@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Guess what. Not one of them is pay-once. All are subscription-based. I guess getting 30% does skew one’s judgement…

    • jugalator@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      AllTrails is a funny one. It’s founded largely on the crowdsourced notes from their community. But I wouldn’t be surprised, even expect, that the developers get 70% of the cut and Apple 30%, none of which have anything to do with this main aspect of the app that is highlighted in the App Store’s “featured app” page.

    • Kevtron@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Not one of them is pay-once.

      The Lost in Play iPad app looks like a one-time purchase.

    • Leavism@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Photomator has a pay once option. Too Good To Go is literally free with no IAP. That’s just from the apps that I know about from the list, not sure about any others that aren’t subscription based or offer a pay-once option.

      • feherfarkas@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I just scrolled through them. All had in app payments except for the Arcade one which in itself is a subscription, and the MacOS one. Maybe it’s showing me different ones than to you. :)

    • KingKingsons@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I wouldn’t even mind it if they were more affordable, but asking me to pay €60 for a weather app or €120 or whatever for Ynab is ridiculous. I usually only start yearly subscriptions around the start of the year, for budget reasons, but that would easily add up.

      I wouldn’t mind paying for some apps if they offered monthly subscriptions at the same price as a yearly subscription. I get that the whole point of yearly subscriptions is to lock people in, but they usually only offer a weekly trial, which isn’t enough to see if I’ll use the app enough to be worth its money.

      • A-Delonix-Regia@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        What does the subscription weather app even do? Give you a free umbrella every time you forget yours? I don’t think there is any app worth money on mobile except for some games and professional apps.

        • Tom_Stevens617@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          What does the subscription weather app even do?

          It funds the exorbitantly expensive costs of constantly tracking and updating weather

  • FollowingFeisty5321@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Lost in Play, Lies of P and Honkai Star Rail are the only non-subscription apps, and the last one has IAPs up to $100. The best apps and games on the shittiest app store.

        • karlzhao314@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          They are, but they’re completely optional and you don’t need to make any purchases to progress through the entirety of the game content. Plenty of people are pure F2P players.

      • jaehaerys48@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I don’t play it because I mostly quit gacha a few years ago, but Mihoyo really are the best at making really nice looking mobile games.

    • Iinzers@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I recommend Automatoys. Download full game and unlock entire thing with 1 iap. Its really sad seeing all the reviews dogging on it for “scamming them”… because it wasnt entirely free.

      People just expect free games now. Even if it means its grindy as fuck, with tons of ads and IAP. People just want free.

    • overactive-bladder@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      For anyone searching for a strong puzzle game, one time payment and no IAP, please support Loco Looper: https://www.locolooper.com/

      I am not the dev, but I wish people supported smaller studios who actually put out quality apps on mobile without riddling them with ads or subscription mechanics.

  • snowe99@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Ehhhh most of the “free top 100” still had ads

    What I feel like doesn’t exist anymore is the ability to pay like $0.99 for an app like “Jelly Car” and have it hold or collective attention for months. Phone games evolved and we didn’t know how good we had it.

  • Rothuith@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I remember when Infinity Blade 3 came out. It’s a shame they don’t make games like that anymore.

  • Due_Kaleidoscope7066@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I recently deleted AllTrails when I tried to filter the results by distance and it wanted me to pay a monthly subscription for that privilege. Sorry, if you’re gating basic functionality behind a paywall I’m not interested. A paid membership should offer tailored services.

  • MoskiNX@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Shoutout to Honkai Star Rail. Never thought I could get into mobile gaming, but HSR proved me wrong. It’s quickly become my most played game the past few months. Play it more than my Xbox series x, steam deck, switch, and steam library

  • DrFloyd5@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    What is your opinion should AllTrails earn for organizing all the data into an app with a great presentation? And providing a way to add to the data, if the user is inclined?