You won’t be able to sign, password protect, or merge documents, nor add, delete, and extract pages. To be fair, PDF Expert 7’s “free” isn’t exactly the same as paying $10 for the previous app. PDF Expert 7 features a minimalist user interface that makes working with documents easier than ever. That’s right, no more up-front purchase, nor in-app upgrades. And there’s absolutely no reason not to own it now, because version 7.0 of the app is free. Free is the new paidĪfter debuting on iPad in 2010, PDF Expert has lived up to its name as the premiere iOS app for working with PDF documents on the go. However, modern developers have found in-app purchases and subscriptions to be a more sustainable form of revenue in the long run.Īlthough I prefer the old way of doing business, companies like Readdle have found a way to successfully evolve from paid apps to subscriptions without raising the ire of longtime users who helped get them this far.

There was a time when buying software meant using it as long as you’d like - that is, assuming one could avert their gaze from the allure of upgrades with cool new features or OS compatibility fixes.