This will be a poorly worded post since I’m typing on mobile.

I’m so tired of subscriptions. There’s already so many bills to pay, I don’t want to think about my phone having a dozen micro-bills.

All of the top apps in the iOS app store, mostly excluding Google and Microsoft, have subscription pricing. (And now Outlook requires a subscription to remove ads.)

Note taking app? Subscription. Reminders app? Subscription. An app with exactly one function and hasn’t been updated in months? Subscription.

It seems that the idea of one-time purchasing has all but died on iOS. The last one-time purchase I’ve ever made for an app on that platform is Apollo (RIP). After that, I just stuck with Apple’s default offerings (Mail, Calendar, Notes etc). However decent those apps may be, they’re stuck to the Apple ecosystem.

On a whim I wanted to try out the Pixel 7.

I discovered: Cinexplore, Feeder, Moshidon, Oto Music, and many more, of course.

So many quality apps that are either free or offer a one-time purchase. I used them for a bit and either paid the one-time purchase or donated if it was free.

And side-loading is the cherry on top. Having an open platform and more competition gives me a choice. It’s refreshing and helps reduce the mental burden of subscriptions.

  • @AMillionMonkeys
    6•1 year ago

    Now this might be down to my search skills, but -
    A media player like MPCHC that gives previews when you scrub the timeline
    A reasonably small text editor that understands the different line endings like Winpad.

    I found Elmedia Player for video, but I end up using VLC most of the time since Elmedia doesn’t generate previews for remote files. For text I found TextMate, which I like quite a bit.

      • @AMillionMonkeys
        4•1 year ago

        Haven’t tried BBEdit - it looks pretty nice. But again, while it is free it’s a complicated free that you don’t see as often with Windows software.

        • HeartyBeast
          2•1 year ago

          Basically, they had a free application called ‘Textwrangler’ for many years and decided to wrap it into the free version of the paid-for BBEdit etc.

          Ive used the free version for 10 years and have never felt the need for the paid for features. It’s pretty cool. Here’s what yuo get in the free version:

          https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/comparison.html