Ask HN: Are there/What are some good local-first apps?
I was thinking this morning about an idea for a reading app: It would act as an alternative to something like GoodReads, would be free and offline, but could have an optional subscription to enable the social/cloud features if that was your bag.
It seems like most apps these days fall into either:
A) neutered apps (usually free) with an optional full-feature paid unlock (e.g., a social reading app where you can only track 5 books, can't read reviews, can't make public lists, etc., without paying a recurring fee).
B) fully functional (free/paid) apps that are 100% offline with no social/cloud features (e.g., an offline reading tracker with no social, no sync, no reviews, etc.)
The challenge with A is that if you need to cancel the service for some reason (e.g., adjusting your budget, going through a period of time when you can't focus quite as much but plan to resume, etc.) you're essentially cut off from the service.
The challenge with B is that it's harder for the developer to monetize on an ongoing basis, and users have to be committed to offline-only (which I know is a feature for a lot of people).
Are there any good examples of apps/services that follow this pattern? Is it something that would change how you use apps?