New blog post:

[lapcatsoftware@mastodon.social]

New blog post:

How do you comparison shop in the App Store?

https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/2026/1/10.html

[cbirdsong@mastodon.social]

@lapcatsoftware you mention the lack of app reviews on the web - that is also partially Apple’s fault. They shut down their affiliate link program in 2018, which was a reliable way to make money reviewing apps:

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/08/02/apple-removes-apps-from-their-affiliate-program/
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/10/23/toucharcade-is-shutting-down/

I assume it hit editorial coverage of non-game software the same way. The Sweet Setup had Wirecutter-style roundups/reviews for apps, and now it’s selling productivity courses:

2018: https://web.archive.org/web/20180224074848/https://thesweetsetup.com/
now: https://thesweetsetup.com

[jimmylittle@hachyderm.io]

@lapcatsoftware every time I see this I assume I'll try the app, wait a few days, then get an email with a link to the discounted annual rate.

[thinkling@mastodon.social]

@lapcatsoftware The inability to see which features are free and which not is a long standing complaint!

I suspect the conflicting prices happen because they occasionally discount the app (eg on Black Friday) and Apple lists every level that they have active subscribers on. Or something like that.

[dxzdb@mastodon.social]

@lapcatsoftware These multiple prices are a huge pet peeve of mine. I believe if you ever put your app on sale - AppStoreConnect keeps every price and what you called it forever. Also if you use a name longer than 26 characters it's going to truncate and the differentiating text may never be seen by customers.‍️

#xcode folks - any known ways to fix this?