Open Radar

 
Summary:

Customers end up with software that doesn't solve their problems because they cannot try it before they buy. Developers have to price their products much lower than necessary to get customers to buy it, because of the inherit risk of not being able to try before they buy.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create Surf Writer 1.0. It is awesome.
2. Sell it in the App Store and Mac App Store for $50.
3. Market it to customers

Expected Results:

That the customer would be able to try the software for a limited time before buying it, to ensure it meets their needs.

Actual Results:

The customer can either buy it or not. If they're a particularly savvy Mac user (and it's a Mac app) they might find the developer's website and find a free trial there, but the developer is disallowed from linking to it directly. A trial is outright impossible in the iOS App Store.

The result is the customer just doesn't buy. Developers will compensate for this by lowering the price or simply not developing rich, but higher priced, applications.

Regression:

No problems outside the App Stores in custom stores powered by FastSpring or other payment processors.

Notes:

This change is good for both users and developers. A time limited trial is sufficient for most applications.