iPhone Game Development - Chris Craft [137]
Application size
The App Store allows you to upload a new application as large as 2GB. But be aware that if your application is larger than 10MB, it will not be available to download directly to a device unless it is connected to a wireless network. Users who are out and about and only connected via a cellular connection will not be able to download the application directly. It's best to try and fit your application in a space of less than 10MB.
Application price
You have a lot of freedom when deciding how to best price your application. You can decide to make your application totally free; in other words, it is free to download and it contains no ads. Or you could make your application free to download but there are ads displayed in the app. The next option is to sell your application on the App Store for a set price. The average price of an application on the App Store is around $2.50. One of the most common prices that developers charge for their application is $0.99.
The monetization strategy that you choose for your application is one of the largest factors in how much revenue your application generates once on the App Store. And now you find yourself in a dilemma: If you charge too much, users may decide not to purchase your application, thereby lowering your profit. But if you charge too little, you may not get enough return on your investment to generate as much profit as you could have otherwise.
What should you do? Unfortunately, you are going to have to figure out the best answer to that question on your own. Our recommendation is to keep detailed records and measurements so you can experiment and try new things frequently. This way you can adapt and change as needed and learn and grow over time to help maximize both your success and profits.
Originally, the App Store allowed developers to set the price of their applications from $0.99 to $999.99, but later Apple lowered the maximum application price. Currently, it appears you can once again set your application price to $999.99. When you add your application to the App Store, you must apply a pricing tier to your application. There are 85 pricing tiers.
Pricing tier 1 means your application costs $0.99; tier 2 means your application costs $1.99; and so on, up to pricing tier 50, in which your application sells for $49.99. After that things start to get a little more complicated, with the price increasing exponentially all the way to $999.99 at pricing tier 85.
Tier 1: $0.99
Tier 2: $1.99
Tier 3: $2.99
. . .
Tier 47: $46.99
Tier 48: $47.99
Tier 49: $48.99
Tier 50: $49.99
Tier 51: $54.99
Tier 52: $59.99
Tier 53: $64.99
Tier 54: $69.99
Tier 55: $74.99
Tier 56: $79.99
Tier 57: $84.99
Tier 58: $89.99
Tier 59: $94.99
Tier 60: $99.99
Tier 61: $109.99
Tier 62: $119.99
Tier 63: $129.99
Tier 64: $139.99
Tier 65: $149.99
Tier 66: $159.99
Tier 67: $169.99
Tier 68: $179.99
Tier 69: $189.99
Tier 70: $199.99
Tier 71: $209.99
Tier 72: $219.99
Tier 73: $229.99
Tier 74: $239.99
Tier 75: $249.99
Tier 76: $299.99
Tier 77: $349.99
Tier 78: $399.99
Tier 79: $449.99
Tier 80: $499.99
Tier 81: $599.99
Tier 82: $699.99
Tier 83: $799.99
Tier 84: $899.99
Tier 85: $999.99
Caution
You should feel free to set the price of your application as you see fit, but be aware that there are not too many iPhone owners who are willing to pay $999.99 for an application. Be careful not to price your application out of existence.
Refunds
Refunds on the App Store are uncommon. The App Store refund policy is “All sales are final.” But Apple will provide a customer a refund in the case of application quality issues. Apple recommends monitoring the rate of refunds for applications, since it is a strong indication of quality issues that you may be able to correct with a simple application update.
Parental controls
The iPhone and App Store support parental controls and age-based restriction settings. If you want your application to appeal to a broad audience,