last time i researched mac email clients a few years ago, i found that spark was one of the worst in terms of privacy and tracking. i settled on canary mail (https://canarymail.io/) as it was better in that regard, while still supporting gmail (which i no longer use).
Spark email client goes subscription path
31–40 of 61 posts
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
For ongoing development there already exists a model where you buy a license that lets you use the current version plus maybe any upgrades happening in the next X months. I'd be happy to regularly pay 5 or 10 bucks for an app I love if it gets updates but that's not what we're seeing I think. The current model is based on subscriptions because of exactly one reason. Hope that the consumer forgets about the recurring…
I think that's a cynical view of the model. People are unwilling to pay a lump sum price that'd justify the development costs, many SAAS companies offer a lifetime license that matches the average life time value of a customer but people don't want that. The long ramp of death for SAAS products is something like 12 to 18 months (if I remember right), without the subscription model I don't see customers paying enough…
Why not have both pricing options?
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#33Warning for folks using or considering using the Spark client. I downloaded and set up the Spark email client back in 2019, thinking I'd enter my IMAP credentials for local email usage.
My fault for not reading how it works, including storing my email credentials (username and password) on their servers, and storing my emails on their servers to send push notifications.
What's worse is that I've got almost 1000 email aliases (company@mydomain.com) set up over the years to filter email and block companies that send spam or get hacked. And I started to receive marketing email from Readdle (company behind Spark) to my main email address (which I would never give out to any company).
Tl;dr: they store your email credentials and send marketing emails to your main address.
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
For ongoing development there already exists a model where you buy a license that lets you use the current version plus maybe any upgrades happening in the next X months. I'd be happy to regularly pay 5 or 10 bucks for an app I love if it gets updates but that's not what we're seeing I think. The current model is based on subscriptions because of exactly one reason. Hope that the consumer forgets about the recurring…
From what I understand the iOS App Store doesn't support that model. I've heard complaints from developers who have used that model with success on the Mac, and are frustrated that they can't do so on iOS.
It doesn't explicitly support but today people work around it with one-time in-app purchases for all the functionality. Two apps I can think of doing this are Halide and Darkroom.
But yes, you can't just pay $X upfront in the App Store directly. The app makes you this offer, not the store. I agree it's not ideal.
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that's a cynical view of the model. People are unwilling to pay a lump sum price that'd justify the development costs, many SAAS companies offer a lifetime license that matches the average life time value of a customer but people don't want that. The long ramp of death for SAAS products is something like 12 to 18 months (if I remember right), without the subscription model I don't see customers paying enough…
Why not have both pricing options?
Many companies do, it's generally advantageous from what I've read.
At the start you go for the slice of the market where (size of slice * price the slice will pay) is the maximum. So not the largest slice that will pay 1$ like in an app store, nor the smallest slice that will pay the luxury prices. And then once you've got that middle slice nailed down and product market fit you expend your pricing plans to account for price sensitive customers with lower prices and fewer features, and luxury customers with higher prices and more features.
Going off what I've read and a few talks I've seen, I'm not an expert.
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#36Subscriptions are uncontroversial when there's a perceived cost to the user of the ongoing usage. In fact I believe it tracks very closely with the "Cost of Goods Sold" (COGS). No one questions whether Dropbox should be a one-off price or a subscription, there's obviously ongoing cost to storing the data. However for apps that don't have this there's always going to be push back. Developers typically point to custome…
> No one questions whether Dropbox should be a one-off price or a subscription, there's obviously ongoing cost to storing the data.
I'd wager the data storage costs for Dropbox are less than 1% of what it charges for subscriptions, though.
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#37Unfortunate that people who make more than $100/hr won't pay $60/year for an app they use every day.
So my carpenter should be happy to keep paying for his drill or his circular saw?
He should be grateful for the subscription to the lathe that he inherited from his grandfather?
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#38Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#39When apps like Ulysses and 1Password went down the subscription route, I had no issue with it because Ulysses has continued to get better and better over time (by adding great new features), and I use 1Password's cloud sync service (and I think there's an argument to be made that password management apps need to continue evolving with the web to maintain usability). I realize Spark is doing a bit more than your run-o…
As a long-time Spark user who has become increasingly frustrated that Spark does not have the ability to show full headers and the developers refuse to add this simple feature, this subscription move is the last straw for me. Back to Apple Mail I guess.
Re: Spark email client goes subscription path
#40Unfortunate that people who make more than $100/hr won't pay $60/year for an app they use every day.
So my carpenter should be happy to keep paying for his drill or his circular saw? He should be grateful for the subscription to the lathe that he inherited from his grandfather?
Drills and saws are reliant upon attachments that need to be replaced to have any value.