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AI is going to kill app subscriptions

nichehunt.app

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Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#81

Post by TZubiri »

marcuskaz wrote: post #41

I just did this at work, I was working with Postman testing an API and wanted it work in a slightly different way and be able to do some bulk testing, saving responses, all slightly different then how Postman worked. I clone just the features I wanted in about 15 minutes and now have my own API test tool that works exactly how I want. It is not something I would ever release or need to share, just a local tool for me…

You mean postman the curl frontend with a lot of bloat and an account + price tag? Not really the example of a very valuable app to begin with.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#82

Post by MontyCarloHall »

ethbr1 wrote: post #62
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Addendum to counterpoint: why haven't those SotA gen-AI companies become the most productive software companies on earth, and release better and cheaper competitors to all currently popular software? People always gripe about the poor quality of software staples like Microsoft Office or GitHub or Slack. Why hasn't OpenAI or Anthropic released a superior office suite or code hosting platform or enterprise chat? It wou…

Anthropic appears to have realized before OpenAI that code gen was an important enough market to specialize in. For now though, building smarter models / general integration tooling is a better us of model companies' capital. Once/if performance gains plateau, expect you'll see them pivot right quick to in-house software factories for easily cloneable, large TAM product spaces, then spin off those products if they're…

100% agreed. When/if that pivot happens will be the sign that gen-AI is truly disrupting the software market in a profound way. "You're using the model wrong/you're not using the latest model" is an oft-repeated argument against AI skeptics. Nobody knows how to use the latest models better than their developers.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#84

Post by bwfan123 »

marcuskaz wrote: post #41

I just did this at work, I was working with Postman testing an API and wanted it work in a slightly different way and be able to do some bulk testing, saving responses, all slightly different then how Postman worked. I clone just the features I wanted in about 15 minutes and now have my own API test tool that works exactly how I want. It is not something I would ever release or need to share, just a local tool for me…

> Software world is really getting weird.

Automation of easy templated tasks will cause a huge disruption. Production of software used to be a skilled job, but now is automated to a large degree. This has huge impacts to the profession as a whole. Already, enrollment to the UC CS program is declining.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#85

Post by giancarlostoro »

dzonga wrote: post #33

I guess for the author's limited worldview - "apps" are only available through the app stores. could be an unfortunate thing of the author growing up in an era of gated ecosystems. however much of the software out there - is via web - and some desktop - some internal use - some external - some shit without ui - some billed yearly, some billed by subscriptions but I guess tell us how AI is gonna kill subscriptions

I can come up with a few ideas that could work, but lately I have opted not to give my ideas out for free. I do think we are over estimating actual apps complexity given that Apple is strict about what goes into their app store. As for websites the complexity of hosting a vibe coded app is often overlooked.

That all said, I could see some killer features coming to AI companies if they really want to make a dent.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#86

Post by rmoriz »

By using an external service, people outsource problems. Using agentic coding to „clone“ a service by naively specifying the features (not the implementation) will insource the problem. If the problem is static, separated, well understood and used internally only, it may be okay to do so. In other circumstances I highly doubt it. SaaS markt will come back stronger once people suffered enough pain in doing „the app myself“.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#88

Post by Dansvidania »

neya wrote: post #60

> it costs almost nothing to build an app, it costs almost nothing to clone an app. I guess the author hasn't done real software development. The cost isn't just for the code. It's for the whole process - especially the architecture. Which database to use for the use case, which framework and language to use, how the database should be structured,table naming standardization, best practices, security audits and every…

Vibe code to production perhaps not, but vibe code for regular personal use doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility already.

Unless there is inherent complexity in the problem (and assuming subscriptions don’t get pricey soon) I can see nontechnical people getting into designing their own apps.

It makes me think of 3d printing. A lot of people got into 3d modeling because of it. And a lot of people publish cute baubles 3d models (analogous to vibe coded ai wrappers?) but there is genuinely useful stuff that people not in the fabrication or 3d design industry create and share, some even making money off of it.

I just can’t think of a way saas margins will stay as high as they are now.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#89

Post by colesantiago »

neya wrote: post #60

> it costs almost nothing to build an app, it costs almost nothing to clone an app. I guess the author hasn't done real software development. The cost isn't just for the code. It's for the whole process - especially the architecture. Which database to use for the use case, which framework and language to use, how the database should be structured,table naming standardization, best practices, security audits and every…

I vibecoded an app for my business and didn’t need any engineers and it is currently in use for our customers.

I think this is great for everyone to be a developer, the gatekeeping has now been removed and we will see a creative explosion of apps that everyone can build.

The security and maintenance aspect of apps is just a claude skill away to be a solved problem.

Re: AI is going to kill app subscriptions

#90

Post by informal007 »

marcuskaz wrote: post #41

I just did this at work, I was working with Postman testing an API and wanted it work in a slightly different way and be able to do some bulk testing, saving responses, all slightly different then how Postman worked. I clone just the features I wanted in about 15 minutes and now have my own API test tool that works exactly how I want. It is not something I would ever release or need to share, just a local tool for me…

I agree that software without a service model faces a tough market. Sometimes, users just want software that works indefinitely on their phones without subscriptions or ads. That’s why many people are big fans of one-time purchase apps. I’m one of them; I prefer local apps because I know the software won't deteriorate over time.
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