When the second iPad came out my father got one. The idea was he is not very technical and the iPad is easier to use. My brother later purchased one and while talking to me 6 months later he complained about how much money he was spending.
I always use an Android tablet and I hardly spent any money at all. Taking my father’s iPad for about 3 months showed me the problem. I do more technical things like logging onto a cloud server and it seemed every direction I turned Apple was asking for my iTunes password to pay for an app or a service.
A year later my father got an Android 7″ tablet and sold the iPad. We were all a lot happier. I shared my thought that Apple devices are not just more expensive but that the operational costs are high.
At every Smartphones purchase I carefully consider the long-term costs. Always I’m thwarted by the prices in the iTunes store for routine apps. It has driven me to commit to Google’s ecosystem. Not just because of Android but the Google Apps ecosystem for business is excellent.
Reading this article about re-paying for iTunes apps the point is made clear. Apple products are primarily fashion accessories. I’ll grant that Apple is innovative and well designed but the market views Apple products as trendy. This extends throughout their services, apps and peripherals.
The reason that most apps come out first on iOS is the fashion market pays a lot more for them. Even routine minimal function apps are often not free. Throughout the Apple ecosystem there is an expectation that iPhone owners will pay. And so they shall.