In-App Purchase, How & Why Apple Developer Community Is Doing It Wrong & What Is Best for Users to Remove Confusion & hassle from Their Mind Before Opting in for additional functionality.

After the invention of the ‘App Store’ by Apple Inc. for their products like the iPhone & iPad & later Macintosh, the Apple Developer community exploded with a new market of .99 cents apps where users can find them very easily & securely in one single location, i.e. App Store or Mac App Store.

One feature that the App Store has for users & and, importantly, for Developers is in-app Purchases.

in-app-purchase

But here is what is expected & not expected by users from developers & makers of Apps.

Here is an example of what the developer thinks & what was the actual main reason for in-app purchases by Apple itself.

Say Developer ‘X’ has an ‘App Name’ app inside the App Store, but he thinks he should also do ‘App Name Lite’ for users to test the app with limited functionality so that they can utilise it & if they like it, they can later opt in for full app version,

So what does the developer do when he invents ‘In-App Purchase’ for their Lite version for users to buy the Full version by opting in for In-App Purchase but creates more confusion in the mind of users as they believed the full version for ‘App Name Lite’ but there is similar (e.g. Pro) app without the name of ‘Lite,’ i.e. ‘App Name’ App.

So away is that place only a single app with a single title In-App Store & no two apps with the same name with a suffix of Lite or Pro.

The user thinks that when he buys the full version of ‘App Name Lite, ‘ its title should changed to ‘App Name’ or ‘App Name Pro’ after purchase as he has purchased the full version, but it doesn’t work that way…

So, if the user returns your app, you will have a minus (-1) sale in your iTunes Connect portal.

I hope it helps the Apple Developer Community at Large.

Thanks & Regards
Mandar Apte

Published by Mandar Apte

Mandar is a Mumbai-based multi-disciplinary designer with UX/UI, Logo, Symbol, and Brand Identity design expertise. He currently runs his Mudrkashar Linguistic Apple iPhone, iPad, and Mac app business in the heart of Mumbai city.

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