Most people want to be able to test out an app before making a purchase. Therefore on this note, Apple is now promoting a new section in the App Store called, “Try it for Free.” This section highlights apps that offer a free trial period before you will have to pay for a subscription. The introduction of the new feature is in some ways reasonable as Apple is also trying to promote its subscription-based apps as a new business mock up for app developers.
If you intend to get to the new section, go to Apple’s App Store on iOS, and then tap the Apps tab. The new section is the second thing listed on the screen.
As of this moment, there are only four apps being offered in the section. Current apps with free trials take account of an annual membership for 1Password that’s normally $35.99, a subscription to USA Today for $2.99 a month, a subscription to Panna: Video Recipes & Classes for $71.99 a year, and a subscription to Lake: Coloring Books for $2.99 a week. It appears as if annual, monthly, and weekly subscriptions are all lumped together, as a result users will have to be careful to note the frequency of a specific plan, lest it charges them more often than expected.
There is also the usual peril of free trials if you accidentally forget to cancel the trial before it starts charging you, if you don’t end up wanting the service. With 1Password, you have to agree to pay for the service in order to get the free trial, which lasts for 30 days. The length of the free trial also varies by app as well, so that’s another thing to watch out for.
What’s worthy of note however, is that these apps have long offered free trials, but Apple is putting a stronger focus on those trials.
