Sometimes I wonder what the most downloaded app would be if free apps simply didn't exist. Let's put $1 as the minimum. Would TikTok still be #1?
Apparently Minecraft is the #1 downloaded paid app. Would TikTok beat Minecraft? It's kind of fascinating. TikTok's ability to hook you in is truly amazing.
The barrier is what you pay for the phone, either with Apple's margins (both in the up-front cost of the phone and via the 30% paid via in-app purchases) or, on Android, Google's ability to target ads at you. If consumers didn't have to pay these (arguably hidden) costs, and had to pay $1 minimum per app, then yes, it wouldn't exist or be nearly as popular.
Most people on the planet don't use ios, and in 2016 when whatsapp had, IIRC about 900 million users was about when they cancelled it. It's fair to assume a lot of people paid that dollar.
If you look back at just HN anecdotes from past threads. The majority of people talk about never paying anything. On any platform. Since again, I was only talking about iOS in my post. But Android “charged” after a year too. So pointing out Android doesn’t change anything
Why did you assume I wasn’t only talking about iOS in my post when I only brought up iOS? I did not even bring up Android. Regardless, most of you’re reply isn’t true.
First, people who talk about iOS maimly charging $1 usually also bring up android charging a dollar after the first free year. Are you only claiming the iOS part? If so. Why ignore the android part?
Why would Facebook, one of the most profitable companies, keep charging a dollar for Whatsapp in 2015 and 2016? They didn’t.
In reality, almost no one on android or iOS paid for Whatsapp. WhatsApp was regularly free on iOs in between stints of being a dollar. On android, almost no one got charged the dollar that came after the purported free trial period.
Why would it be fair to assume a fair amount of people paid for it? The fact that no other app whose success mattered on being viral has successfully followed this strategy would make it fair to assume it did not happen.
If tens upon tens of millions were charged for iOS [and android], is there any thing to back this up? to back this up? WhatsApp was cagey with their private company revenue. OTOH anecdotally on forums like this and others, It’s hard to find too many early WhatsApp users who paid for it.
All my friends in two friends groups were on WhatsApp pre FB buy out. I only remember myself and one other friend in each friend group paying for it.
Apparently Minecraft is the #1 downloaded paid app. Would TikTok beat Minecraft? It's kind of fascinating. TikTok's ability to hook you in is truly amazing.