Just curious… I sell my apps for Mac and Windows
For years, the Mac edition has outsold the Windows edition.
Some of that has to do with ‘more competition’ on the Windows side, I know.
But Im seeing a marked swing towards Windows sales this year.
Anyone else seeing similar?
Do you sell only via the In-OS-Stores? Maybe Windows Users are just becoming used to buy Apps in the Store, like on macOS?
I do not sell in the OS-specific stores.
Although I use a Mac, most of my users are Windows users in Europe and Japan. They do complain a bit about the interface, but since I write scientific apps, it is not a major issue. I have to give Xojo credit for providing cross-platform targets. Thanks to the 64-bit compiler, my apps are now competitive.
This could be attributed to word-of-mouth growth as the number of Windows users is greater than the number of Mac users. As your app gains in popularity, such a change would likely be a natural result.
@Jeff Tullin I remember a quote from French TV where someone said "I can’t afford to buy cheap shoes", meaning that a good pair of shoes lasts so much longer than buying crap shoes every year.
For a long time, Apple users used to be more prone to pay for quality softwares (and a good part of this quality came from the very strict Apple guidelines).
I think that both the users and the developers in the Windows/Android worlds are converting to that idea.
My programs are designed for professionals in the oilfield, and in 30 years I have only seen one small company that had Mac computers while all the rest have been Windows. That previous company has since switched to Windows.
These programs will typically never ever be placed on a store for sale. Liability for the programs are large and in order to use the programs there is a prerequisite that you first must take the course to understand the programs. Lots of physics, chemistry, math, and graphics. Just this morning I had to support a client with a $55 MM decision.
I guess it depends on your target market for the sales of the programs?
Although I have been a mac user for many decades, I do enjoy working with Windows 10 and find it to be comparable to OSX in most respects. I will not upgrade to the next OSX because it does not support 32-bit applications. When Apple made the decision to drop 32-bit support, it was the final straw for me. The arrogance of Apple will eventually be their undoing.
You can pretty much throw all the big name tech companies into that bus unfortunately.
As Windows 10 becomes more common, the Windows Store tends to grow (it does not exist for prior versions).
[quote=451462:@StphaneMons]@JeffTullin I remember a quote from French TV where someone said "I can’t afford to buy cheap shoes", meaning that a good pair of shoes lasts so much longer than buying crap shoes every year.
For a long time, Apple users used to be more prone to pay for quality softwares (and a good part of this quality came from the very strict Apple guidelines).
I think that both the users and the developers in the Windows/Android worlds are converting to that idea.[/quote]
That is just the Apple propaganda in action, not reallity.
But he said he dosnt sale on the store anyway.[quote=451455:@JeffTullin]But Im seeing a marked swing towards Windows sales this year.
Anyone else seeing similar?[/quote]
It is really a lot of variables in place to see it as a OS specific trend. Depends on your market, the competition, the comunity, etc.
Not all developers have that narrow a scope.
In an email from @Geoff Perlman recently he stated that Xojo users are now about 50/50 windows/mac which to me is a great thing - there’s a huge windows user market out there.
One thing I hate is the impact of tablets on the desktop space - this flat UI experience rather than the rich UI we’ve all lost. Software used to be beautiful.
+1 to that. The UI is unpleasant, and the switch to tablets is concerning.
I irrationally see them as toys or ‘big phones’ In the home, they are lighter browsers, but once bought, they deter people from buying a laptop.
Actual tablets will likely put me out of business within 3 years.
+1 from me too. I get bile reflux when I see a Microsoft or Adobe desktop application that acts like a single browser window. I wrote a document management system (in Xojo, for desktop and web, released, working and making money) for a client whose new CEO is wanting to re-write it in Electron JS so it can run in one window and look ‘modern’.
That said, I am making my desktop/web/mobile apps more similar since this is where the market is going. Look at all the reviews of desktop apps the biggest ‘Cons’ is no mobile version.
Oh ?! I always thought that many (70% or more) users were Mac. What was this ratio before? 5 years ago, 10 years ago?
@Jeff Tullin are you sure you haven’t been featured in some magazine, picked in some podcast or got otherwise some attention in the Windows world?
Sales split for a month can be very different from last month depending on what customers come.
Especially if a few bigger companies buy a lot of licenses for one platform, it can change your sales for the month a lot.