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I usually buy Apps in the Mac App Store and iOS App Store but I've always had the doubt, when I buy it, will the app be available in the future for the next releases or not?

I never brought an App two times because of a major release, but is it possible?

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2 Answers

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Yes it is definitively possible. As of now, Apple does not enable the developers to publish paid updates for their software. Due to that, developers sometimes release different versions to buy from the App Store.

E.g. have a look at http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/photoforge/id314173066 and http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/photoforge2/id435789422

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up vote 3 down vote

There have been a few apps that had been pushed out as totally separate apps when a new major version came out: Tweetie 2 for iOS (then iPhone OS) comes to mind, for example. This lead to a huge controversy, but given the price range of most apps (below $5) it's understandable that developers sometimes push out a new app instead of a free update. If you use an app a lot for a year or two, asking for another two bucks or so shouldn't be an issue, right?

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You are right, I could understand Asphalt 1, 2, etc., it's a game and everything inside it changes, graphics, interface and gameplay, so if you like V2 you play it instead of V3 because we are talking about different experiences, but for an app is unfair, because it isn't an experience, different in every game, first of all it's a service, and if you've paid for it you should still get the most up to date in exchange of support and feedback. Pay the app every time is a Microsoft/Adobe money eater politics. – vittorio Jun 23 '11 at 9:56
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You're clearly no developer, otherwise you would know how much work a decent iOS or Mac app is. You don't really want to tell me that paying - for a good app, that you use a lot - $2-$5 every year is too much, do you? – René Jun 23 '11 at 21:52
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@vittorio It is interesting that you use the term "service" when you expect to only pay once. There are two types of things that people pay for, "goods" and "services". Goods are generally material things that you pay for once and then own forever, like a car. A service is something that someone does for you once or on an ongoing basis and you pay as you go, like a maid service. So if an app is a service, then continuing to pay periodically should be expected, no? – Lee Jun 24 '11 at 8:08
Personally I just don't buy an app twice, but of course I send back the best feedback if it's good and I suggest it to friends. That's what a big piece of users do in App Store. Rovio team has sold Angry Birds 6.5 millions of times (if 0.99$ for every sale they have now 6.43 millions of $), and couting. We aren't talking of games like Crysis 2 (22 millions of develop costs). It's hard for me to believe it isn't good for an App developer, now iPhone users are 100 milions (and counting) so there is a big margin on an app like this. – vittorio Jun 27 '11 at 15:36
@Lee sorry for the bad explanation, an App do a service for you, like view a pdf, optimize the battery of your device during charge process, or apply a color filter to an image from your device library. I understand a developer would like to sell an app every time he upgrade it, but the market speaks better than me, people just don't like to buy an app twice. But of course people buy apps in excess if they will have them for their class devices forever. Basically this is the reason why I've wrote this question and probably why iPhone has sold so much. Lower price == more buyers – vittorio Jun 27 '11 at 16:08

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