App Rentals Coming Soon?
October 3, 2011
Within iTunes 10.5 beta 9 are several strings that suggest Apple is going to unveil app rentals. This news, which was first uncovered by The Tech Erra, comes one day before Apple is expected to announce its next-generation iPhone.
Within the latest iTunes beta is the following string:
As you can see, this text suggests users will soon be able to download apps for a limited period of time. These apps would then be removed from the user’s iTunes library once the rental period is over.
Apple offering what essentially is a “try before you buy” program in the App Store would certainly be a big deal. In fact, it would be great for those of us that would like to try an expensive app before making a purchase.
Still, we hope developers, and not Apple, are the ones that determine which apps include trials. After all, they are the ones who would be most affected when users tryout apps, but never actually make a purchase later.
What do you think? Would you use an app rental service? Let us know using the comments below.
As you can see, this text suggests users will soon be able to download apps for a limited period of time. These apps would then be removed from the user’s iTunes library once the rental period is over.
Apple offering what essentially is a “try before you buy” program in the App Store would certainly be a big deal. In fact, it would be great for those of us that would like to try an expensive app before making a purchase.
Still, we hope developers, and not Apple, are the ones that determine which apps include trials. After all, they are the ones who would be most affected when users tryout apps, but never actually make a purchase later.
What do you think? Would you use an app rental service? Let us know using the comments below.
