Soulver 3 for iOS is now back on the App Store. However, it requires three separate purchases for each of the platforms, making it a bit expensive.
Isn’t “only having to pay for the playforms you actually use/want” a good thing? instead of having to buy all or none.
(Now, one could absolutely think the app is too expensive - but that’s a separate issue.)
I have purchased it instantly. What a brilliant app.
1 Like
I guess there’s some flexibility to it being offered separately for each platform, but I prefer to have apps available across all platforms as a single purchase (possibly with a bit of a discount). Not a major obstacle, though, but it still ends up being rather expensive, especially when AI can nowadays answer most of the simple math questions using natural language for free.
Soulver is a fun app to do simple math, but it is no substitute for a spreadsheet. Can it do any of this Numbers - Function list - Apple (AU)?
Can it graph data?
So I would buy it again if it was cheaper, but $35 for the Mac app plus another $34 for the iOS apps is definitely not worth it to me. I’ll keep using my free, constantly improving Numbers app.
Plus it took 5 years to finally recreate the iOS apps? Seriously? Why would I trust this developer after borking a perfectly good iOS app and taking so long to finally add it back to the App Store.
1 Like
@jcarucci: I think you’re misunderstanding what Soulver is trying to be. (Even though you mention “fun for simple math”.)
When discussing solving math problems, different complexity levels makes us turn to different tools. I’d say it usually looks something like this:
- Very simple → In your head
- Simple → A calculator (app)
- Medium to complex → A spreadsheet app
Now, you could say “why would anyone use a calculator, when a spreadsheet is so much more powerful??” - but usually using tools that are overkill is less convenient. Soulver isn’t trying to replace spreadsheets in the list above - their theory is that there’s room for a tool between a calculator and a spreadsheet. (Typically for “back of a napkin” maths). So their theory is this:
- Very simple → In your head
- Simple → A calculator (app)
- Medium → Soulver
- Complex → A spreadsheet app
Now, people’s breaking points for the different categories are different. (And also affected by if you use the default calculator app or the best one 
). How much we do the different types of maths also varies greatly from person to person. And I assume that you’re very accustomed to Numbers, so firing it up to make a quick-and-dirty spreadsheet probably doesn’t involve much friction. But I think Soulver’s idea here is solid, and a valid idea and market for an app.
As a maths teacher, I of course love my spreadsheets - but most people don’t! (Even though I’m doing my best…) For most people, it’s really like this:
- Very simple → In your head
- Simple → A calculator (app)
- Medium to complex → Nah, never mind
And then this would be a nice upgrade:
- Very simple → In your head
- Simple → A calculator (app)
- Medium → Soulver
- Complex → Nah, never mind
Re: Pricing (which also touches on @dario’s comment):
This is the cost structure:
- Mac: $35
- iPad: $20
- iPhone $14
I think that is pretty fair, and pretty well adjusted for how useful it is on the different platforms. You also get all versions with a Setapp sub (which I think is amazing value in general - I use like 15-20 apps through them).
So, in total, it’s $69 for a lifetime purchase. I can agree that it would be nice to be able to pay, say $60 for all of them. (But I don’t even know how easy that is to do within the App Store?) But I don’t think “$60 for all as the only option” is better than the current offering - which is the case when only a universal purchase is possible. This would make it a much worse deal if you knew you only want to use it for your Mac, or you simply don’t own an iPad.
Now, you might say “no, I don’t want the only option to be $60 for everything, but $35 for everything!”. But while saying it should be significantly cheaper than what it is today is perfectly valid - it’s not the same as discussing universal purchase. How we pay for something is a (slightly) different discussion than how much we pay.
4 Likes
You make very good points and this is pretty much how I used Soulver in the past. But then the developer pulled the iOS versions from the App Store and this was a major problem for me since I use iOS more than macOS. The “soon” rewrite took 4 years which is absurd. I had to find an alternative so I decided to use Numbers instead even though it is a bit clunky to use on an iPhone, but I’ve gotten used to it.
Sorry, I can’t support a developer who exhibits such flaky behavior. Who can say they won’t abandon iOS again? And how does that make sense from a business perspective since the market for iOS apps is much bigger than Mac apps?
If they pulled the Mac app back in 2020 and left the iOS apps, I wouldn’t have been happy, but I would have probably continued to use it.
Yeah, I absolutely get those points!
People who previously bought the iPhone app could download it though, right? It was “just” delisted? But yeah, no matter how you slice it, that seems like bad business practice. I’m not defending that at all. And if they had good reasons, stuff like that needs to be comunicated very clearly!
I only got into the app after the iOS one was removed, so to me it was just “Hmm, weird.” - but I didn’t get rug pulled like that. =/
1 Like
Yes, came here to say I see soulver in setapp, trying it now! Setapp has been a fantastic value.
1 Like
Sure, you can install it, but I don’t want to rely on an app that is never going to be updated again. I treat delisting as this app is no longer supported, find an alternative before some OS update breaks the app.
I have a couple of apps that haven’t been updated in years and still do what I wanted from them perfectly.
1 Like
Actually, they updated the original Soulver a few months back to work on modern phones. If you had initially purchased you could download it.
I use it all day for my job. The new one is okay but I much prefer the older version.
1 Like
So how do you actually download it on the iPhone? I found my iTunes receipt from 2011, but when I look in the App Store, they seem to have changed the UI. Now you have to go into Purchase History, select the year and then it shows that I purchased Soulver, but I don’t see any link to download it.
On the iPhone, open App Store. Tap on your icon in the upper right. Goto Apps (not purchase history) and do a search for Soulver. It should show and have an option to download.
Ah yes, there it is. The iPad Legacy app also installs and works on iPad.
I’m seeing $14 for the new iOS version, so I guess about $50 total. Easy buy and glad he’s finally finished it.
1 Like
Mea Culpa on Soulver
I’ve been taking advantage of the free trial that is offered for Soulver 3. First thing is that I emailed the developer and he immediately responded about support for the old version on iPhone. He continued to make updates if anything broke with Soulver 2, so I could have kept using it during all this time. So my criticism of the developer being flaky was wrong and he was actually the opposite. Spending his own time keeping an app up to date that could not generate any new revenue. I applaud him for that.
Now for Soulver 3, I really like the new UI and new features. One thing that I’ve been using all the time are the date calculations. I have an important event on May 12, I have a Soulver doc with just one line “days until May 12” and when I open it, it instantly updates to tell me how many more days until that date. I also have a friend visiting New Orleans this week, “time in New Orleans” tells me the current time there before I give him a call. Great stuff!
I also had to share some simple calculations with a friend, so I created a solver doc and used the “Send Styled Email” Share link which sent a nicely formatted email which created a nicely formatted email without much effort.
Once the free trial is over, I’ll definitely buy it. It is certainly a better calculator than the built-in one and I’m glad that it is finally back.
4 Likes