“It’s less than 2 years old, but Setapp — a monthly subscription service to Mac apps — has been called the ‘Netflix of apps,’ credited with ‘filling a hole that needs to be filled,'” Anita Balakrishnan reports for CNBC. “Compared to Apple’s 1.3 billion active devices, Setapp’s reach is miniscule: It has 17,000 paid users and recurring revenue of $1.5 million. But those who use the service can’t stop talking it up. In fact, the previous owner of Setapp’s Twitter handle accepted a lifetime membership in lieu of payment. Setapp has also received kudos from Product Hunt and SXSW.”
“Setapp is gaining steam at a time when Apple’s future is increasingly in subscriptions, education and enterprise, three areas where Setapp thrives,” Balakrishnan reports. “The subscription service also supplements an area where some people think Apple is lacking — MacOS.”
“Setapp’s rave reviews and its different way of thinking about apps as a bundle could be a map to Apple’s future plans, as the company tries to double its software and services sales by 2020,” Balakrishnan reports. “For $9.99 a month, users get access to Setapp’s catalog of apps, which includes everything from file organization apps to translation apps and study aids for the periodic table of elements. You might have to pay thousands to buy any of these apps on their own, but for the flat monthly fee, you can access as many as you want through the Setapp icon on your Mac. There are no in-app purchases, paid upgrades or ads, and all the apps included are fully updated. The only catch? Stop paying the subscription, and the apps stop working.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As per “Apple Prime:”
We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices. — MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Analyst: Apple should mix hardware and services into ‘Apple Prime’ subscription – February 5, 2018
Survey finds Mac developers continue to be unhappy with Apple’s Mac App Store – June 15, 2017
Macworld’s hands on with Setapp: Getting started with the Netflix of Mac apps – January 25, 2017
Mac App Store alternative: MacPaw’s Setapp service offers a suite of Mac software for $9.99 per month – January 25, 2017
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]