Why the "Get"... In-App Purchases messages?

[MorrisTheCat]

OK, with the end of summer in my part of the world and the end of daylight saving i thought it a very good time to change my password for security reasons with Apple. I have experienced the hassle of not doing enough so thought since i had enough spare time on my hands being as it was Good Friday and a day off work ....

I've been a Mac user for many years, iPod when they 1st ever arrived with a coloured screen to multiple iPhones, iPads, Macs, PCs (and a Surface ordered last week on its way)..

So i proceeded to change out my Apple Password. Oh dear is the only thing i can say.... It took me almost 9hrs to make things settle down. At last i can again access and buy songs on iTunes with my PC, Macs, iPad or iPhone. The new password finally ties back to my creditcard details ....all good. In the past it took minutes but for some reason yesterday it took ages.

Things settle down ok however.... WHY are most Apps on the App Store now showing as GET with the teeny tiny microscopic warning of 'In-App Purchases'? Ok i guess this just came out or something because i have not bought a new App in like the last 2 days.... How does this work, that you download the App as free but you are charged everytime you use the App or some other arrangement? I can't find anything on the subject and i haven't lockated any discussion on here (sorry if my search-word choice isn't good).

In all this is that once upon a time the actual price of the App was displayed there infront and you knew straightup what you were paying plus the fact you saw it in your exchange-rate for your country. I'm just a bit concerned that i no longer can see an up front genuine cost and have to start jumping through hoops to find out what i might end up being stung.. My latest App is the Microsoft Excel for iPad but things went well off track with no indication of what i will be paying so i aborted. I didn't know if its $10 or $100 i am signing up for!

Any input to my concern on this appreciated...

 

[twerppoet]

Apps that have an upfront cost should still show the price.

The GET button is a response to several several civil suits involving in-app purchases, children, claims of false advertising, and some informal government investigations. While there was some grumbling in the U.S., the European consumer protection laws and government investigations are probably the major motivation. The in-app purchase warning has been there a bit longer, and was prompted by the same issues. I guess it wasn't enough to quite the critics; who seem to seem to feel that if something says Free, it better be 100% free with no strings attached, no extra costs for extra features, and that parents are not to blame for what their children do on an iPad.

Another words, it's Apple covering their behind in a litigation happy world.

I believe Google Play did something similar recently, though I haven't checked it out lately.

 

[twerppoet]

As for the in-app purchase things, there are several flavors.

There are apps that are free to play (games mostly) but have in app currency to buy extra features. You usually earn a certain amount of currency playing the game, but you can purchase more using real money. The games are almost always playable without purchasing anything, but they will tempt you with perks and other things that make progress easier. This is called freemium. Free, but you pay for premium content, perks, or power ups.

Some apps are essentially demos, or basic feature apps. You get these to try the app out, then make an in-app purchase to unlock the extra features. It's the app store answer to demo ware.

Combinations fo the above.

One off weird apps that have unusual in-app purchases.

Subscriptions are the only monthly/yearly re-occuring charges, and they are limited to the Newsstand. Pretty much every magazine app is free. What you are paying for is your issues, not all that different from subscribing to physical magazines in bygone days.

All apps should clearly describe what you are purchasing when you make an in-app purchase. Well, games tend to be vague about it, but the freemium game model is so common now most people understand it without explanation.

 

[MorrisTheCat]

Thanks for the input. I can understand why Apple have been forced to do it.... New Zealand is awash with similar nit-picking styled bureaucracy that needs individuals to constantly have to 'pussy foot around' even though we are a nation numbering around 4.5million!

In the case with the Microsoft Office Apps for iPad i see that it is they who have the prospective buyer jumping through all kinds of hoops and loops to finally (one hopes) to find out the cost of having such software on the en-users iPad.

In this case because i have spent so much time messing around and still cannot find what my NZD$ cost is going to be i have given up and will rely on using my already perfectly working Apple Apps, namely Numbers, Pages and Keynote to cover off any work.

My assumption here too is that this might be a setup/arrangement more akin the Large Corporate Company whose specialist IT Team automatically installs the Microsoft Office Apps onto iPads they issue to their staff and the costs are all integrated into their huge User License with Microsoft. It's not specifically aimed at home users that occasionally need to open a document in in Excel or Word...

Getting back on topic though. It will seriously curb my App buying though if i do not see a proper no-nonsense upfront cost in the future. I have always tended to buy on a whim especially if an App is under twenty bucks and there's a little voice in my head saying that's really neat you can do lots of stuff with that.... i guess the positive outcome here is i will reduce the number of Apps that end up hardly ever opened save from the 1st day they were purchased.

 

[scifan57]

If you scroll down the App Store description of an app with in-app purchases you'll see a heading called in-app purchases. Tap on the view in-app purchases link and you'll see a list of all the in-app purchases together with the cost of each one.

 

[twerppoet]

The Microsoft Office apps require you to have a Microsoft ID. In the U.S. you can get a free account that will unlock almost all the features, enough for most people. You can do this from within the app. I don't know if it's any different in New Zealand.

To fully unlock the Microsoft apps you need a paid Office 365 account. These are mostly advance and business features.

I don't have either of these. My needs are simple enough that the iWorks apps are all I need. More than I need, actually.