App Store free trials
Try before you buy now an option for Mac or iOS apps
Now you can try before you buy the latest apps.
Users and developers alike have long wanted a way for potential purchasers to try out an app from the App Store before buying. This has been possible in the case of subscriptionbased apps, which can offer a trial period before they begin billing, like HBO Now or YouTube TV. And some developers offer their apps for free but lock features behind in-app purchases (IAPs). This remains an option, but this kind of feature-limited version can be a tricky balancing act for developers — how much is enough to give users a taste of what the app can do for them but withhold something they’ll want to pay for? Developers can now offer a timelimited trial of the full feature set of any app, not just a subscription-based one.
Apple announced the change at a developer session at WWDC 2018 in June. It is effective immediately, although developers will need to produce trial versions and make them available.
Free trials will be welcomed especially on the Mac App Store, because Mac apps commonly cost more than iOS ones. Vendors have complained that it was difficult to persuade users to install apps that weren’t from major publishers or already well-known.
Trial versions must be clearly named “14-Day Trial” or whatever it may be. Users will be able to install the app for free, then start the trial period using a “non-consumable in-app purchase at price tier 0” — developer-speak for a one-time, no-cost IAP. (This means the clock does not start ticking the second you install the app, only when you choose to start the trial.) At the end of the trial period, you’ll have the option of another one-time IAP, this time at the app’s regular price, to unlock the app permanently. The app must clearly set out up-front how long the trial lasts, what (if anything) is restricted in the trial, how much the permanent unlock will cost, and what features or contents will be lost when the trial ends if you choose not to buy.
There are other changes, too. Back in iOS 11.2 and macOS 10.13.2 Apple added the option of “introductory pricing” for subscription-based apps — that is, a discounted initial sub rate. As from iOS 12 and macOS 10.14, developers will be able to offer different introductory pricing to different subscription groups — such as one price for monthly subs and another for yearly.