I have an app I am working on that I want to be free but with ads. I want to also have a premium version that does not have ads but costs a small amount to purchase ($1.99). I want to know if other developers, especially those that have distributed such an app, if it is a better practice to create 2 apps or if it is better to make one app with an upgrade option built-in. I like the idea of having a separate listing for the paid app but I can see where that could be a lot of extra work to maintain a separate app for such a small feature difference.
first of all,
if you are going to develop apps for appstore, you can't create 2 apps have the same basic features but one has pro features
that's according to app-store review guidelines 4.3 spam
says....
4.3 Spam
Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has
different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities,
etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations
using in-app purchase. Also avoid piling on to a category that is
already saturated; the App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight,
fortune telling, dating, and Kama Sutra apps, etc. already. We will
reject these apps unless they provide a unique, high-quality
experience. Spamming the store may lead to your removal from the
Developer Program.
Blockquote
if not.
then second.
both will work fine,
there are games like limbo have free and paid versions on google play
that's your decision anyway,
if there is a lot of difference between free and paid,
if it's just about unlocking some features and remove ads,
it's a simple answer. if both of options will give the same functionality,
choose the easiest way
and "separate listing for the paid app" not a good idea, why?
#KiloKw2 mention to that
It depends on your personal preference. If you would want to create 2 apps then you need to also have two unity projects at once and if you would integrate the premium stuff as paid expansion then you would need add a code into the game which enables them if the used bought them. I would personally go with having just one game with a built in paid expansion as I find easier that way. Having two of the same apps at once just complicates everything for no reason
Related
For marketing (as opposed to technical) reasons I'm about to submit a financial services iPad app that comes in two flavors, "regular" for individual users working on their own behalf, and "professional" for financial planners working on behalf of clients.
The "Pro" version functionality includes everything in the regular version and also provides the ability to save and switch between client datasets. Most of the code is identical, only a tiny sliver of code is added to the Pro version build (although more features may be added in the future that might widen the gap in functionality).
Here's the question: Is it better to maintain two separate apps in the store (with separate application IDs?), or as a single app with an InApp purchase to upgrade?
I'd rather avoid the infrastructure of InApp purchase, but I want to "color between the lines" of Apple policy and keep it reasonable for users and for future development.
Most "regular" users will never upgrade. But many (most?) "Pro" users will probably want to start out with the cheaper single user configuration before spending significantly more dollars on the "Pro" version. Advice on how to package?
It seems like the best bet is to create a second target, setup the project to archive both, and then load them as separate apps to the App store.
I base this mostly on reading between the lines in the various answers about provisioning (at least there seems to be some evidence others have taken this route). I'd still welcome comments or other input from those who have gone down this road (or taken the other one). Thanks.
I have almost finished my iPhone app and would like to send it in for approval. However, I would like to make this available as a free app, as well as a paid app. In the free version, advertisements will show up, and in the paid version, advertisements will not show up.
My question is, to create a free app and a paid app, do I need to create two similar projects in Xcode, and for one, add the code for advertisements to appear?
You could use an in-app purchase to buy the full version and remove the ads. This way users won't have to download your app again.
See the in-app purchase programming guide for more info.
Yes. You need to have two seperate versions, one with space for ads, and one without. In many cases, the paid version will have extra features, in addition to the lack of ads. In your case, it doesn't sound like you have extra features, so the two versions should be very similar.
The easiest way will be to copy the target, get a second appID, probably with a "Free" or a "Pro" tacked on the end, then try to make one a very finely different, IE. including a header that defines a single value kFreeVersion, or something. then use that to define your logic.
so you don't end up having to maintain 2 branches.
Yes, you'll need to create two separate products. If you spend a little time looking around in the app store, you'll notice that many apps have free and paid versions; sometimes the free versions have the word "Free" in their title; sometimes the paid versions have "Pro" or something like that.
I'm going to develop an iPhone app, and want to make sure what I want to do is possible, and will be approved by Apple.
I'm going to create an app that will be fully branded on per submission basis. I want to have one app per customer (our customers are companies) with their logo, skin, etc.
This apps will be downloaded and installed by the employees of each one of our customers.
In other words, we would use the same base code (logic doesn't change), but will brand it for each customer. Something similar to what Magento (http://www.magentocommerce.com/product/mobile) does, they created an Ecommerce mobile app, and they brand it to their customer, but the app logic remains the same.
Would Apple consider this as duplicate apps? what is the best way to do it?
Thanks in advance.
I would have said "no problem" until I read:
This apps will be downloaded and
installed by the employees of each one
of our customers
It sounds like what your creating is (a set of) private applications, which are intended to be targeted only to specific users - i.e. employees of the company.
Apple has a separate "enterprise" development program geared towards this - allowing developers to deploy programs for their own company - and do it outside of the App Store.
If your program is very specific towards the companies, Apple may make you do this - rather than putting the Apps up for general consumption on the App store.
See here for more details:
http://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/
Also:
If your application is really intended for a wider audience, and your could in-fact sell/distribute it a such - you could "skin" the app dynamically. For example, on first-time launch, when you "register" with some "service" - based upon your email address it could download the appropriate skinning graphics.
I can say I know of several companies built on this strategy. The code doesn't change one iota from app to app, only images and names change and they continue to bring in revenue.
EDIT: Note this is against apple policy and if they find out they have been known to ban accounts. They consider it spamming and prefer that you sell one app that provides in app purchases. Directly from their feedback on a particular group of app submissions:
Thank you for submitting your
Photography apps to the App Store.
We've completed the review of your
apps, however, we are unable to post
them to the App Store because they
provide the same feature set and
simply vary the content. Apps that
replicate functionality with different
content create clutter in the App
Store, hindering users' ability to
find apps, and do not comply with the
App Store Review Guidelines
https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html:
2.20 Developers 'spamming' the App Store with many versions of
similar apps will be removed from the
iOS Developer Program
You can now use Apple's Volume Purchase Program to release differently branded versions of the same app to different customers. The app can be free or paid. Each customer must have a DUNS number (Dun & Bradstreet). See the FAQ for details.
I have created an application and I have purchased an account in AppStore.
I wish to configure the app such that it will run for free twice and after that the user will have to purchase the full version. I want to implement the purchase of the full version inside the trial version (using in-app purchases).
Apple does not allow trial software in the App Store. You can have 'lite' versions of your applications, but Apple requires that they are fully functional applications that do not expire and are not simply advertisements for your for-pay app.
Once you figure out what type of features you want to offer in a 'lite' version, one thing you could do to offer an in-place upgrade for customers in to use the in-app purchase mechanism. Apple now allows free applications to sell in-app purchases. So you could have an app call 'Foo' and inside 'Foo' you could have a menu option to unlock additional features, which would bring them to the in-app purchases dialogs where they could pay you to unlock more content of the app.
Check out Apple's tips & tricks for App Store submission: http://developer.apple.com/iphone/news/appstoretips/
There (listed on Sept. 18th, 2009) you will find a tip titled Just Right "Lite" that reads:
Using a "Lite" version to show how it
feels to use what you make and what
kinds of things your app can do is
definitely a good way to find
customers who will pay for the full
version of your application. But store
shoppers tell us it only works if you
follow a few simple rules:
Make sure the functionality you decide to include is complete. Battles
that require weapons only available in
the full version, for instance, are
annoying and irritating instead of
enticing.
Don't set time limits on your "Lite" version, either for run times
or life times. Applications that will
only run for a set number of minutes
per session, or that expire altogether
after some period of time, don't
recruit customers so much as leave a
bad taste in their mouths.
Only display the UI for what your "Lite" version will do. Grayed out
menu commands, "more track/car
choices" you can see but not select,
etc. makes your "Lite" version feel
more like a commercial than a product,
and an annoying and ineffective one at
that.
Do include information about your full application, including an option
to buy, in either your application's
About section or on the splash screen.
Just make sure the option to continue
using the "Lite" version is there as
well. A good impression lasts forever.
It's important to follow these simple
rules not only to create a better user
experience, but also because your app
will be returned to you by the App
Review Team for modification if it is
found to have time limits, incomplete
functionality, or disabled
functionality.
The most relevent part of that text for yourself and your proposed App design is the last sentence that contains "... your app will be returned to you by the App Review Team for modification if it is found to have time limits..."
Here's a good walkthrough on adding in-app features to your app.
http://blog.mugunthkumar.com/coding/iphone-tutorial-%E2%80%93-in-app-purchases/
I have an app that I was going to release as a free (lite) version with some of the total functionality and a paid full version with advanced functionality. Now, with in app purchase for free apps I am thinking of going that route with the ability to unlock features as needed. I'm not talking about a trial version that expires.I want people to be able to try out the app and get an idea of the interface and functionality before deciding to purchase the full functionality of each major section of the app, basically.
Here's an analogy of what my app would be like. Let's say you have a cooking app that teaches you to cook in different styles. There could be major section for French, Italian, and Chinese. Each section could have some rudiments unlocked in the free app so users can see the UI and basics of the functionality. Then, the user could decide to purchase each major section (or not) individually with in app purchase or buy the full versioned app (with the free/paid model).
One concern I have with offering a free app with in app purchase would be with feedback. I would be very clear in my description in the app store that there is in app purchase for full features but I'm worried that less serious users could/would leave negative feedback. I suppose that's always a risk but curious about any experience with this.
It also seems that it could be a whole lot more complicated keeping track of what portions of the app are locked and unlocked with in app purchase. I know I'd have to have all the code for the full functionality and "lock" the portions that haven't been purchased. How do people usually lock portions of their code? I'm not talking about the process of purchasing (I've read the In App Purchase Programming Guide) but after the purchase has been made. Would I just keep track of what the user has purchased and put conditionals on the sections that are initially locked? Or is there another way to do this as well?
My instinct is for the in app purchase (particularly since users could purchase the major sections that they want individually).
I would highly recommend using the in-app purchasing over having different versions available.
If you have different versions, users need to re-download the whole thing if they want to upgrade. This means they need to have twice the storage space and use up twice the network bandwidth to upgrade.
I don't think your review concerns are founded. If your application is well made and users like it, you'll get positive reviews. To avoid having users be confused, make sure the application clearly states what can be purchased. Also, some people just dislike everything and will give you one star. These users are unavoidable, but if your app is good, there should be enough good reviews to balance them out.
You're correct in your assumption that you would have to have conditionals for locked/unlocked content. However, this shouldn't be an enormous issue. Just persist what the user's purchased in a plist (suggested by Apple) or other persistent storage and make a class that you can query to find out if a particular feature has been purchased.
I suppose it makes sense to have lite app (with unlockable content via IAP) and full paid app. I'm saying this basing on own experience of selling apps on the AppStore. If interested you may want to look at my post in our company blog about IAP vs paid app.
http://bees4honey.com/blog/marketing/in-app-purchase-vs-paid-app/
In two words - having lite version with IAP and paid version will increase a total revenue in comparison with having only lite with IAP or lite+paid.