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Comment by Jkvngt | Hacker News Reader

Does anybody even buy “apps” any more? Google and Apple have such terrible stores, I think the last “app” I actually bought was like five years ago. Plus they all seem to stop working with regularity. The phone and tablet scene is trash and it’s mostly the fault of Google and Apple.

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Apple’s App Store grossed more than $64 billion in 2020, according to an analysis by CNBC:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/apples-app-store-had-gross-s...

I buy apps to support fellow devs, absolutely. It's hard work and it can be thankless, despite the notion that software developers make stupid money.

I recently bought Calca for my phone (iOS) and it's truly awesome software to have in my pocket. Well worth the $7 CAD or whatever it was. I gladly support this kind of work.

Yes.

> The phone and tablet scene is trash and it’s mostly the fault of Google and Apple.

Not even sure what you are talking about. Lots of great software out there. It can be a pain to find amidst some of the junk, but it's not that hard.

For me it's not that it's hard to find stuff, it's that I don't...need...stuff. I use a phone as a communications device, as a shopping device, or as a panel to services I pay for through other pathways. I actually do not remember the last app I purchased, like...for money.

IAPs are somewhat of a different story, but even those are pretty niche for me. Do people really need that much...stuff?

I can't say I buy a ton of apps either. I do use a lot of apps though. Most for services or products I otherwise own or use. My sprinklers, my bank, brokerage, and credits cards, Zoom, iRobot, etc. I do also buy a few apps. Not a ton, but a few here and there. A few calculator apps, a few random games. Things like Pixelmator and Linea Sketch I use quite a bit.

I think I've bought more apps on my iPad than on my Mac. My phone not quite so many, but I've bought a few. Mostly not many because I don't use my phone as much as my iPad or my Mac.

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