Now that iOS 7 is officially out, we are starting to see some prominent App developers releasing new versions of their software where an upgrade fee applies. One such developer is The Omni Group, which has recently released a new version of their OmniFocus productivity app as a completely new app that needs to be re-purchased. This has caused quite a kerfuffle on twitter.
OmniFocus is the 300lb. gorilla in the room when it comes to time and task management apps. It is, for all intents and purposes, the Adobe Photoshop of the ToDo app space. It isn't comparable to the built-in Reminders app, or apps such as Clear or even Wunderlist. These apps fulfill a need with their respective customers, but they don't come close to providing the ability that OmniFocus does. Yet strangely, people have this odd sense of entitlement when it comes to either getting the upgrade for free or at upgrade pricing (let alone that Apple doesn't permit any form of upgrade pricing in the App Store).
Assuming for a moment that users of OmniFocus are those that take full advantage of everything OmniFocus brings to the table (GTD, contexts, perspectives, syncing across all platforms). It's far likely that the value OmniFocus has brought to these individuals is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the cost of the software. Including version 2, I've spent $130 on OmniFocus apps in the last 5 years (I work at an academic institution which means I'm eligible for a $30 discount on the Mac version). The time saved and the value it has brought to both my professional and personal life has been immeasurable (really, I can't put a price on it, most likely in the thousands of $'s). If you don't find that kind of value in the OmniFocus family of apps, chances are you probably aren't using them to their full potential.[^1]
The Omni Group has built its' business for the last 20 years in providing high quality, well designed and extremely beneficial productivity apps for the Mac and iOS platforms. Like Adobe, these are premium products and deserve premium pricing. Creating these types of applications takes a lot of time, effort and money, which people are seemingly forgetting. A parallel I like to draw is one of an average office worker. In the example, let's assume this individual is working for a big company. Imagine if this person only got paid the first time they produced a yearly report and their supervisor expected them re-produce a new report on a yearly basis without getting paid. How long do you think it would be until that individual goes and finds another job? Or maybe they lose their home, can't feed their kids or even worse? Take the job you do everyday and imagine you not getting paid even though you're still showing up for work, still doing the work you've been tasked to do? How then, is this any different from the people working hard at The Omni Group making the apps you love to use on a day to day basis? The answer is that there is no difference.
Producing apps such as OmniFocus that people love to use every day takes a lot of time and effort. Do developers work for free? Do you work for free? If The Omni Group continually provided new versions of their apps for free to individuals who purchased a previous version, they wouldn't be in business today. Period. Full Stop. I for one want The Omni Group to keep producing these apps I love to use everyday.
The lesson here is if you use an app day in and day out and that app produces value to you, pay the developer for an upgrade. Just like you, they have mortgages, families and obligations and just like you, they also don't work for free. You wouldn't expect Adobe to release a new version of Photoshop for free, or Apple to provide a new version of their professional apps such as Final Cut, Logic or Aperture at no cost, so why other developers? Don't blame developers just because they can't provide App Store upgrade pricing, because even The Omni Group would provide upgrade pricing on the App Store were it possible.
[^1]: If you're having difficulty leveraging OmniFocus to its fullness, I strongly recommend Kourosh Dini's Creating Flow with OmniFocus: Mastering Productivity and Asian Efficiency's OmniFocus Premium Posts