DTTG possible subscription model

I believe @tjluoma was referring to DEVONthink 3.0 for macOS, which was introduced in 2019. There has been no change in pricing/number of seats since its introduction. Which would be a challenge if a developer ever did that with a product that users had already purchased.

2 Likes

Apple App Store Review Guidelines Ā§3.1.2(a)

If you are changing your existing app to a subscription-based business model, you should not take away the primary functionality existing users have already paid for. For example, let customers who have already purchased a ā€œfull game unlockā€ continue to access the full game after you introduce a subscription model for new customers.

I believe whatā€™s happening is that the old v2.x app is being discontinued and a new app v3.x is put on offer in the App Store.

3 Likes

Unfortunately customers donā€™t really have a say. Developers own the IP & development and do what they want. DTTG V2.7.7 bugs been there for more than 8 months without any fix. Kept saying on forum those bugs will be addressed and looks like fixes are only done in v3.0. Keep bugs ridden v2.x or upgrade to subscription (assuming thatā€™s the route theyā€™re insisting on) v3.x.

I must disagree here. Customers do have a say. They can choose to pay or not to pay. Customers also donā€™t have a right to unlimited free updates and if the dev work necessary to maintain backwards compatibility between potentially infinite versions is too high, I donā€™t think itā€™s even reasonable to expect a developer to offer that (e.g. the ā€œAgenda modelā€).

4 Likes

Agree with you on that :+1:. Will see what DEVONtechnologies will do with DTTG licensing and decide from there. Pure principal of hating to be held hostage by developers and will gladly switch if forced to subscribe for a product that has a constant record of very slow upgrades. No worries about subscription but developers need to show constant releases like Greg did with Drafts.

1 Like

Agreed on the need for devs to show they will use the subscription model well. For my part, if they end up going this direction, I will give DEVONtechnologies a chance for sure to show me they can update regularly with a new model. Seems fair!

3 Likes

Some discussions on their official forum.

The most telling comment is from one of the main developers who said:

There are no current plans to move to subscriptions for DEVONthink on the Mac.

Those last three words loom fairly large.

1 Like

I have DTTG and use it more for capture. I would like it to have more features on par with the Mac App.

I prefer not paying for subscriptions. I wish they would release bug fixes along the way to better fix the current version and hope that Iā€™m not forced to switch over to a possible subscription model.

1 Like

There was a fair bit of consternation at launch time for the new version I think at least partially because of the macOS release cadence, and the presumption that you pretty much have to upgrade DT or risk not being able to upgrade your OS. For an app thatā€™s as expensive as DT, I could see how that could be rather frustrating.

1 Like

My general thoughts on this are that if they pursue a model that takes the current pricing of DTTG (something like $15-ish if I remember correctly?) and annualize it, possibly with a small hike, I might well be interested. $15-$20 per year for a really good app isnā€™t too crazy.

Itā€™s when devs do the ā€œwell, it used to be $15 one time, and we released outright new versions every few years, but now weā€™ve decided we need $60 per yearā€ that I get the sticker shock.

I agree that DTTG is not a great app now, although I think that some of the big issues (sync) are more related to iOS than anything the devs have outright done poorly.

Itā€™ll be interesting to see what happens. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Generally most of us might accept subscription model if reasonable price AND constantly update with new features & bug fixes. DTTG is stagnant for years. Brought DTTG with in app upgrade as well and still have to put up with bugs without any fix for nearly 9 months is extremely frustrating. Contacted them multiple times with same old BS replies - weā€™re fixing but canā€™t tell you when. Doesnā€™t even have option for dark mode :man_facepalming:. Now they want charge subscription :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

1 Like

If the yearly subscription of the iOS app is USD15, and it includes all the future premium features (currently sold as IAP for USD8), I may subscribe.

With the condition of this

Well he also said this when the OP asked why he couldnā€™t find the info on subscription pricing.

We havenā€™t made pricing publicly available at this time. Announcements will be made in due time. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

So theyā€™re basically waiting to drop the bomb.

1 Like

Every company has internal marketing discussions when making decisions about pricing. Thereā€™s nothing nefarious about that. Itā€™s no surprise that someone from a company would answer a question with ā€œwell, weā€™re thinking about what to doā€.

3 Likes

My use of DTTG is strictly for reading the numerous reference things I keep in DEVONThink. Iā€™ve never really tried to edit or create on the small devices, only on my Mac. If it goes subscription I will have to bite the bullet and get it because I do not want to separate my information storage and retrieval into iOS vs Mac segments.

2 Likes

Or, like most organisations, theyā€™re waiting until they release the product before announcing the price.

Perhaps, just saying, we could wait until thereā€™s an actual product with and actual spec and an actual price before we start debating its value. Right now, weā€™re in Duck Soup:

ā€œā€¦so! You refuse to shake hands with me!ā€

1 Like

I think thereā€™s some value in the discussion before it actually drops, so the dev might take into considerations of more feedback.

2 Likes

I suggest it is worthwhile for anyone here who has a strong opinion one way or the other to go to the DEVONthink forum and DM the president @eboehnisch and tell him what you want him to know. Heā€™s very open to listening. You might or might not like the result, but at least you registered your opinion.

4 Likes

I agree, discussion is good. Iā€™m just wary of taking a strong position on something thatā€™s currently highly speculative.

Also, Iā€™ll take any pretext to link to that clip. :joy: If I had a pound for every time Iā€™ve seen someone get wound up about something that hadnā€™t happened, Iā€™d have ā€¦ several pounds.

1 Like