A subscription doesn't give someone an incentive to update software.
If anything, it does the opposite: if I'll get paid whether I add a feature or not, why spend the money to add the feature when I could just pocket the money?
That's why companies love the subscription model so much: Instead of having to find compelling new features and updates to sell new versions or attract new customers, they can just sit back, put their feet up and the money keeps flowing in.
You’re making a lot of faulty assumptions about how customers engage with subscription models. When I pay for software every month, I’m evaluating the value of it every month. That includes things like the update frequency, how often I use it, etc.
I know subscription pricing isn’t popular around here, but these wild speculations about how things work are getting a little silly. Especially coming from people who, I’m guessing, don’t use that many subscription apps.
Maybe it's just me, but evaluating my subscriptions every month sounds like discussing OS upgrades with friends - normal people just don't do that. I sign up, and then leave it on autopay until they do something I find abhorrent enough to cancel my subscription (I'm looking at you, NYtimes). Which is why subscriptions are so lucrative - people don't regularly check their subscriptions on a monthly basis.
(Not saying this is the most fiscally responsible position to take, just a far more 'normal' one.)
No, companies love the subscription model because it makes for a predictable cashflow they can plan around, and which they can use to support software long-term.
I think your parents meant subscription gives recurring revenue to sustain a ongoing cost which is software development.
It is not an incentive, but a criteria. I often wished Remarkable would be brought up by big companies with more resources to work on it. But most companies these days aren't interested in making better products. Not to mention the possibilities of ruining it.
If anything, it does the opposite: if I'll get paid whether I add a feature or not, why spend the money to add the feature when I could just pocket the money?
That's why companies love the subscription model so much: Instead of having to find compelling new features and updates to sell new versions or attract new customers, they can just sit back, put their feet up and the money keeps flowing in.