Filed under: iLife, Surveys and Polls
No upgrade for iLife
A question
posted over at MacSlash brought up a great point about
iLife that's worth revisiting with this new release: it doesn't have an upgrade price/option, and never has. The
question at MacSlash comes from a reader who purchase iLife '05 on Dec. 26th 2005, barely three weeks before his
Steveness dropped the iLife '06 bomb.What do you readers think of this? iLife, in my opinion, is already a steal at $79 (especially since it blows away Windows suites that retail for hundreds of dollars), and it's obvious that Apple is basically letting go of iLife at a loss with new Macs to entice new customers and switchers. Still, I can understand the sting this user must feel, now that his $79 purchase just became last year's software, so to speak. So what say you, readers? Should Apple offer an iLife upgrade?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Michael Boutros said 6:40PM on 1-17-2006
In my opinion, the user should have known that iLife is updated yearly, and being less than a week from 2006 he sbhould of waited a little bit for Apple to release iLife 06. Apple will not releasea new edition of iLife late in the year, so he would of probablly had to wait a maz of like 2 months, and in this case 3 weeks.
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J McFarren said 6:47PM on 1-17-2006
Apple has a 14 day return policy and they even let you return opened merchandise for only 10%.
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html#Return%20Policy
Unfortunately, that wont help the person who purchased iLife 3 weeks prior to the reissue. My only advice is to check the MacRumors Buyers Guide next time you purchase hardware, and maybe they should add Apple software to the guide.
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
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ChrisM70 said 6:49PM on 1-17-2006
Don't most companies have some kind of 90 day policy that states you can "trade up" if new software comes out? I think this would be a good policy if not already in place.
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b nystedt said 6:49PM on 1-17-2006
Yes. This was a bad move. Do your homework before you buy anything that might be updated in the near future. Weigh the benefits and drawbacks.
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Dom M said 6:52PM on 1-17-2006
Not always possible to wait; if you have a new video camera with a new baby/dog or event, you might need those features now and not in 3 weeks time.
It's a tough one. It does seem mildly unfair that those who have bought each version of iLife still have to pay the full amount for the next iteration which for some apps just have minor additions or a few new themes. But then, they've also had the benefit of using the previous version for a year. Perhaps they could finally use those iLife 06 vouchers next year. Present a voucher at an Apple store and you get a discount. But the upgrade is only valid on the 06-07 upgrade rather than the 05-07 one?
There's a similar argument over whether Apple should sell the iApps separately. There are those who only use iPhoto and iTunes since they have no videocamera. Why should they fork out for iMovie/iDVD and if not musical, Garageband? $80 is a lot for photo software! The opposing thought here is that they might need it later... this time last year, I only used iPhoto. Midyear I bought a DV camera and now I'm using all the iApps so this year's iLife upgrade was much better value!
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Kevin said 6:57PM on 1-17-2006
I have to agree with Michael (post 1).
Since this user obviously has a Mac pre-2005 (otherwise he'd already OWN iLife 05) and should know that the suite is updated yearly in January. I can believe he's disheartened, but come on! How much more of a product labeld 2005 do you expect to get if you buy it 6 days before 05 is over!?
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Chris P said 6:57PM on 1-17-2006
I agree, your more than likely going to be dissapointed if you buy "what you thought" was the latest Apple hardware/software. You can pretty much assume given the recent trend that there will be a new iLife every year. Some people won't like that their software gets out dated every year, but I rather have a software company that is always pushing forward and trying to improve their product often unlike some that take years to release a new version.
I will admit an upgrade option would be nice, even if it means bumping up the price a bit. Maybe Apple will listen to this outcry.
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Paul Ingram said 7:01PM on 1-17-2006
Yes.
Knock $10 off the top, make it returnable within 10 days of purchase, something for the customer to feel good about their purchase. A customer, if handled resonably and gently, is more likely to come back and spend more money and become a lifelong relationship. If this user gets a favor now, they'll be estatic when iLife '07 comes out.
To Post #1, since Apple doesn't have a defined release schedule it is difficult for users to decide when to buy a product, waiting 3 months to do something while waiting for the next version is unrealistic at best.
Apple should offer some sort of upgrade policy. They have on other things.
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matthew Johnston said 7:06PM on 1-17-2006
I agree with Michael Boutros, even if the user was just a casual mac user who knew nothing of macworld logic dictates that being the last week of 2005 it might be worth holding back for an inevitable 2006 version. Its not like New iLife 05! was plastered all over apples site as what it is now. This should clearly show this is an established product.
I also agree with the comment that it is a steal for the money.
I really dont know of any alternatives that deliver such ease of use, functionality and quality at such a low price.
A lot of thought,work and effort clearly goes into making the iLife software and I would pay close to $79 just for one app! (bar iTunes)!
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Blair Robinson said 7:09PM on 1-17-2006
To me the regular version is the upgrade version. People don't build macs or buy them without iLife, so this is the upgrade version, and it seems to be built into the price. Software like iLife doesn't come cheap, so at 79 bucks a year, its a bargain. Unfortunately for me, the only portion of it I use is iPhoto, and whereas for any other part of iLife, I see 79 as a decent price for one component (iMovie, iDvd, etc) 79 bucks is a little steep for just iPhoto. So instead of offering an upgrade, I wish they would just sell individual components for 20 or so (and make them downloadable)
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Kevin said 7:14PM on 1-17-2006
That would be an option, but what I would really like to see is the ability to purchase individual applications rather than having to buy the entire suite. The only program I use with any regularity is iPhoto so I have a hard time justifying $80 for an upgrade to iPhoto.
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Carl said 7:16PM on 1-17-2006
If he purchased iLife on December 26th, he should be able to exchange it with whoever he bought it from. If they refuse, i'm sure if you raise a big enough stink they will exchange it.
But it's $79. We aren't talking about a $500 software product here. New versions happen, sometimes when you don't expect them to. Thats life.
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Alex said 7:21PM on 1-17-2006
How about they knock off $10 - $15 for current users? It's a small incentive to upgrade, but isn't a radically different price from what the full version retails for.
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Maha10k said 7:24PM on 1-17-2006
I think the guy has a legit gripe. I remember when I bought my Powerbook, Panther had just come out so they gave me a free copy with the purchase- this was a University bookstore though. If someone buys a product and the company drops an upgrade immediately after, why not offer an upgrade price or a voucher for the software. That's just good customer service.
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edward Ryu said 7:25PM on 1-17-2006
this is ridicluous. why do we buy entire iLife package every year rather than upgrade option? instead of $79, $20 upgrade for previous version purchase. it would be much better for users. MS does. but Apple doesn't. so bad.
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John Sibley said 7:26PM on 1-17-2006
I have purachased iLife twice for full price, original and '05. I'm tired of being charged full price over and over. I'll be stealing iLife '06.
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Gg said 7:28PM on 1-17-2006
I think that an upgrade option would be nice only for people that bought a computer in dicember.
I mean, for some reason (work?) you had to buy a new machine, you paid more than 79$, so would be rightful if you could have a discount for upgrade to ilife06.
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Tim Germer said 7:29PM on 1-17-2006
Yes, they should offer an update version. Enough with the "the user should have know" crap. Serious.
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Joshua Kagi said 7:37PM on 1-17-2006
Absolutely not! iLife is a great steal at $79. I would likely pay upwards of $79 for EACH of the six programs individually. So naturally, $79 for all six is outstanding. As for the person who bought iLife '05 three weeks before the update. Too bad. Do your research before you purchase something. Most Mac users knew that the upgrade was coming. People don't go buy a 2005 car three weeks before the new 2006 models come out (unless the price is a steal) why? because they know the new stuff is coming down the pipe. it's common knowledge. And should be such with computers/software.
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Zach Forrester said 7:40PM on 1-17-2006
This is a message to the poor guy who just bought iLife:
BIT TORRENT
Yes, yes, it's illegal, but it's the only way he's going to get his dollars worth. It's worked for my friends, and it'll work for him to.
The problem with all you people who are saying "Too bad, he shoulda checked" are assuming that this is the kinda guy who knows things like MacRumors or MacWorld or anything like that. The fact is, a lot of consumers simply dont pay attention to these kind of things, and I think Apple would benefit a great deal by showing tihese people some compasion. THat, or just deal with people pirating your stuff.
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