Tell HN: Apple Subscription Trials

A bit of unfair practice from Apple that I thought to bring to HN attention.

Normally when you get a trial on a subscription for any third party app/service, you still have access to it until the end of trial period, even if you cancel the subscription.

For Apple services however, like Apple TV, your trial period ends immediately and you lose access as soon as you cancel the subscription.

6 points | by noncoml 496 days ago

4 comments

  • charlieanna1234 496 days ago
    I think most other companies do that with the expectation that you will get addicted to the product during the trial period and uncancel the subscription. I have no idea why apple does that. But I hv always felt that they are losing out on eventual subscribers.
    • paulcole 496 days ago
      > I have no idea why apple does that

      It might keep you from canceling right now.

      When you know you can continue accessing the service until the end of the trial period, what’s the incentive to not cancel right now?

      Whether this strategy is a net gain overall to Apple, who knows.

    • noncoml 496 days ago
      My issue is mainly that they treat their own subscriptions different to the third party ones. Doesn’t feel very fair competition to me
  • hayst4ck 496 days ago
    I agree with you completely.

    This is one of the bad faith things that apple does that really rubs me the wrong way.

    The other one is forcing me to use apple maps, particularly when I already uninstalled it. Making it harder to click addresses so they can be copied into google is also really poor behavior.

    I am much less of a trust buster hawk than most, but I do wish the anti-monopoly regulators would come down hard on those two things.

    Rules for thee, but not for me is not conducive to long term health...

  • vipvipv 495 days ago
    I DO believe some of their policies could be better, I agree. I’ve never used such a service where I’d end up sore or the trial ends immediately.

    There’s truth to the fact this is not right but I have no way of complaining.

    The App Store does work well. For a lot of other services, I’ve been delighhtEd in the way they work- and the transparencyy is superbb.!

  • fuj 495 days ago
    [dead]