iOS and OSX separate purchases?! Do we have to pay twice?

[Syncopation]

So far as I know, the answer remains as previously posted in this thread.

Hm, but that was before universal purchase existed, which is why I wanted to check if anything had changed.

[massimobio]

Apple recently introduced universal purchases between iOS and macOS but this only applies to new software releases.I would have to remove the current Mac version from the Mac App Store and re-upload it as new version of the app as part of a universal bundle with the iOS version.
This would be bad for us on two fronts: we would loose all users reviews and download numbers and we would loose all revenue from the Mac app that we spent years building and still regularly update and maintain.
More importantly though, it would be bad for existing users who purchased for the Mac version on the Mac App Store as they would loose access to future updates.


This move from Apple is to encourage iOS app developers to make a Mac version of the app since the Mac has seen a decline in the number and the quality of software released by third party developers in recent years. Apple added a technology in macOS Catalina called Catalyst that allows to run "almost" unmodified version of iOS apps on the Mac.

There is another option we are hoping Apple will start supporting and that is App-Bundles. Currently if a developer has multiple iOS apps in the App Store, they can be bundled together and sold for a discounted price. As Apple is slowly converging the Mac and iOS App Stores, we are hoping that they will soon allow for App-Bundles to work across platforms so that we could offer a discounted version of iReal Pro for Mac to existing users of iReal Pro of iOS and vice-versa.
This would be the best option for existing users and for us to be able to keep staying in business and update the app regularly with new features and for compatibility with the latest versions of iOS and macOS.

[Syncopation]

Thanks for elaborating.
Update: GoodNotes seems to have solved the problems you mention: https://9to5mac.com/2020/04/14/goodn...hone-ipad-mac/
They found a way to move existing customers to the new listing. Obviously a compromise and GoodNotes is using Catalyst.
So there are no plans to move iReal on macOS to Catalyst?

[massimobio]

Catalyst only runs on Catalina and up. Also, it would take me weeks or months of work to get it to work correctly (it's not just check a box like Apple advertises) and it wouldn't be as good as the current Mac version. 70-80% of our user base wouldn't be able to use it because of Catalina and those who did get the automatic update suddenly would have to learn a new app after years of using the current version. On top of all this my revenue go down now that the price if the iOS version includes the Mac version. It doesn't seem like a win for anybody.

[stalkinghorse]

Is there some mechanism to get a discount on the second purchase? I don't know if the App Store lets you do that, but if I buy the Mac version, perhaps you could send a one-time code for the iOS version, and vice versa.

[atmosfaire]

i just bought ireal pro for iphone and i have the bad surprise of not being able to use it on a mac computer? it refuses the license number that i was given! is it necessary to have a license per device? thank you for your help

[pdxdjazz]

Different app, different App Store, different product, different purchase.