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Realmac Software Reverses Course, Reinstates Original 'Clear' App

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With the launch of iOS 7, Realmac released a new universal Clear app to replace its original iPhone-only app, which it planned to discontinue.

Following customer backlash over the plan to eliminate the existing Clear for iPhone app, Realmac has reversed course and announced plans to continue support for both the original Clear app and the universal app, which has now been rebranded as Clear+.

The original iPhone app will now receive an iOS 7 update, complete with the iOS 7 redesign and new themes, and Realmac will continue to support all versions of Clear.

clear

We're bringing back the stand-alone iPhone version of Clear, and we'll be updating it for existing users with new iPhone features.

To that end, we've submitted an update that includes the iPhone enhancements for iOS 7 (including the new list themes) and will be releasing it as soon as Apple approves it.

To make it easy to differentiate, we're now calling Clear for iOS 7 "Clear+" to signify that it’s for all your iOS devices.

Launched in early 2012, Clear is a to-do app that received accolades for its minimalistic, gesture-based design. Since its iPhone release, the app has been expanded to both the Mac and the iPad.

- Clear for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for $0.99. [Direct Link]
Clear+ for iPhone/iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99 [Direct Link]
Clear for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

violaboy Avatar
162 months ago
Well that was very unclear...:confused:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Schtumple Avatar
162 months ago
I'm not gonna lie, when I saw Clear in the app store and that I hadn't paid for it, I thought there was an error with the app store, upon closer inspection all I could really take away was that I needed to pay again to receive thinner fonts and a slightly changed icon?

I love Clear, but this is exactly what happens when you make minimalist software, unless you add in a bunch of genuinely evolutionary features it just looks like you're money grabbing.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rwilliams Avatar
162 months ago
Omni should do the same for OmniFocus. I'm still bitter they've discontinued support for a $20 app.

Isn't the old OmniFocus 5 years old now? How long should they continue to support something that old?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
162 months ago
I wish Apple would reverse course and reinstate iOS 6!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
162 months ago
Lovely how Apple keeps coming away from these exchanges unharmed in the customer's eyes. Upgrade pricing and a mechanism to deliver bug fixes to old versions would sort most of this out. People would still whine but they wouldn't have much to support them.

Isn't the old OmniFocus 5 years old now?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
162 months ago
This solves nothing - I have the original clear on my iPhone, but if I want it on my iPad I need Clear+, which will also work on my iPhone. Made a dumb move even worse. For your next "reversal", might I suggest getting rid of Clear+ and applying its changes to the original Clear like you should have done in the first place! :mad:
There are three things you have to be aware of. One, the developer gets nothing from you anymore once you paid for the app. In other words, the price you paid has to cover both initial and further investments of the app's development. Second, you don't have any claim on getting updates either. Developers need to be paid too to deliver updates, but they are getting nothing from you anymore. Third, and related, the original app had no iPad support and you accordingly never paid for it. The fact that universal apps do exist, does not give you any claim on additional features if the developer never offered those to you. If you want iPad support, you have to buy Clear+, simple.

The heart of the problem, in my judgment, is the rigidity of the App Store. Developers have no easy way to market their apps beyond the tools Apple offers. That is: no upgrade pricing and no partial pricing (e.g. to pay and get only iPhone support of a universal app). Instead developers have to make a choice between offering the update for free, raising the price, offering a completely new app, or making something work with in-app purchases. Why not give developers the flexibility they need? Who is Apple to decide how developers can market their apps?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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