2023-10-11
Goodness, such an unexpected but very welcome outpouring of kind words. We can’t thank you enough for those.
We’re sorry not to be able to respond to your comments individually. If you have a specific question not addressed here, feel free (as always) to reach out to us at essupport@emeraldsequoia.com — we’ll be around at least until the end of 2023.
To respond to a few common comments and questions:
Subscriptions: Subscription revenue is unlikely to generate sufficient income to matter: Apple’s rules correspond to our own ethical position, which is that people who have already purchased the app should not be forced to buy a subscription just to continue enjoying the same content they originally purchased. So subscription revenue would be quite small, and even if all new customers who are currently downloading the apps for free paid for a subscription instead (doubtful!), it wouldn’t be enough to sustain us. It would also be a fair amount of developer work just to set this up, so it’s not a zero-cost experiment.
The Google WearOS version (for many non-Apple watches): It is documented at https://emeraldsequoia.com/aw/index.html, and there are “how to buy” links there — note that all of the apps are free now (as with iOS), so just download the full “paid” app with all of the faces if you want to try it.
A special note to Google WearOS users: At the suggestion of a user, we have posted an “unsigned APK” (download link here) to allow “side loading” (installs that happen outside of the Google store). Doing a sideload is a tricky technical process typically done only by developers, but it has been well documented elsewhere (e.g., here), and unless Google changes how this works (unlikely given the upcoming DMA in Europe), this should allow installing an app even after it has been removed from the store (until the OS no longer supports the version the app was built for).
Apple side loading: As Apple doesn’t currently allow side loading, the above mechanism won’t be available for our iOS apps. There have been reports that this might change, at least in Europe, when Europe’s DMA goes into effect in 2024, and if it does, we’ll definitely look into it, and post an update here if we do anything.
The companies can change their minds about that policy at any time, and
The policy may not extend once incompatible new OS versions are available (we already know that this won’t apply if you upgrade your phone to the new OS, but at some point they may stop supporting downloads for older OSs as well).
Selling the company (or its code IP): Before taking the steps we are taking now, we did in fact look seriously at selling the company. One thing to keep in mind is that if the company doesn’t make sense as a money-making venture when the original developers are doing the maintenance, it is unlikely to be an attractive option for someone else who doesn’t have that background and experience. And this was borne out by our market research. Even if we installed ads (something we were loathe to do, but we considered it), the number of people who are looking at our apps daily is too small to generate significant revenue there and thus affect the value of the company. We appreciate the offer to set up a non-profit to purchase the app, but if we do anything in this area, it will be open sourcing the code (the next item).
Thanks again for all of your support,
- Steve & Bill
m-eleca 2023-11-01 03:40:10
Two questions on sideloading these beautiful apps to iOS / iPadOS, and, thank you again for these!
1. It is possible on iMazing macOS, to download an app from the device, via “Manage Apps” tab, to an .ipa “backup” file. Do Steve & Bill, or anyone else, know if this will then let one restore and run the same app via iMazing on a new device if the app is no longer in the store - so is this a workaround as long as the software still runs?
2. Does anyone know if it is possible to use the .ipa saved above via iMazing, to install the app in an Apple Xcode Simulator iPad, iPhone or Watch, thus extending the life if one uses an older OS image for the Simulator? I am not familiar with Xcode and tried setting it up to test this when I had a spare hour, but it is not easy to figure out for a novice in an hour, and I do not have spare time to try again for quite a while. Thanks!
tokyodave 2023-11-24 20:24:07
Thank you so much for the greatest iOS app ever written! I have purchased hundreds, probably 1000s of apps over the past many years, and my absolute favorite is Chronometer. Your labor of love is the most gorgeous, functional, cool, beautiful, wonderful app ever written, and it’s obvious that it was a labor of love, as well as an incredible display of skill and artistry.
Thank you for considering how we can keep this app alive available for all of us who already love it, and for future generations!
I saw your blog post this past summer about your decision to remove it from the App Store next year, and I was greatly saddened, but also understand your situation. I very much HOPE that you will be able to get your app resources onto GitHub, if that is the best way to preserve your work, as I had been planning to suggest it.
From one watch and clock lover to another, yours truly, —david scott