https://www.marco.org/2013/09/28/underscore-price-dynamics
I'm sure of one thing, though: the market for paid-up-front apps appealing to mass consumers is gone. If you have paid apps in the store, you've probably seen the writing on the wall for a while.
Yep. I've seen app sales decline drastically over the past couple of years — about a third of what they were two years ago. It just doesn't seem to be a viable business model anymore.
In-App Purchase (IAP) might be a solution — anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that, in a lot of cases, it can actually boost sales.
IAP comes with its own pitfalls, however. The main reason I dropped the free versions of Muud.io & EirText was that it reduced support queries for those apps, and allowed me to focus solely on the paid versions. If I were to implement IAP into those apps, it's right back to square one.
Add to that the one-star reviews from upset users who download a "free" app, expecting it to be free, and you've just moved from one set of problems to another. Not exactly an ideal solution.