I understood it a bit differently.
iA Writer is offering Android users a choice:
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buy the app for 30 bucks or
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subscribe for 5 bucks per month.
So, those users can decide freely what route to go. And that is what iAWriter thinks to be the best way.
iAWriter’s developers do not provide iOS users with the same options, you have to buy the app. Why? Well, they explain it.
iAWriter states that they make more money from users who buy the app upfront per se (although Apple takes higher fees).
Apple wants developers to offer subscriptions. If you don’t do it they will take 30% from your revenue (buying upfront) instead of 15% revenue (subscription). If you offer subscriptions, your app will be promoted on the App Store more likely. If not, you have to spend money on App Store Search Ads to get exposure. Subscription apps are being listed as free which is misleading and causes confusion, but they get exposure.
Apple loves subscriptions, but it is hard to move users from buying to subscribing because developers lose users in that process. And those users leave with a bang: anonymous ratings, bad reviews.
“(…) if you offer subscriptions, you get to keep 15% more of your revenue. 15% is about half of the profit a digital company makes, on average. We were ecstatic when we first heard about the lower revenue share. Then we observed what happens and we pictured the scenario asking for a subscription on our productivity tools and the excitement dropped week after week. We discussed it internally, up and down. We concluded that, if we offer subscriptions, we had to find a way to offer both ownership and subscription.”
And that can’t be done in the iOS App Store. At least, that is what I gather from their article.
As I said previously, I really like this blog post because it offers a nuanced explanation from a developer’s point of view why Apple’s App Store is flawed and why developers are scared. Why is iAWriter not criticizing Apple more openly? Well, “developers are scared”.
But, of course they can choose not to be on the App Store. Oh, wait! No, they cannot choose not to be there: it’s either the App Store or you do not sell anything to anybody with an iOS/iPadOS device. “Developers are scared.”