Camera+ iOS Photography App – Updated And Loses Customers!
Possibly the ‘most popular mobile photography app in the world’ Camera+ has possibly just undone all the good. Customers appear to be uninstalling Camera+ from their devices at a rate of knots. Why, you may well ask. Has the new update broken something? Filled iOS devices with bugs? Well, it appears not, but reports are flying in that the editorial that accompanied the update has set some customers aflame (not just in the Halloween sense).
Taptaptap the developers of Camera+ according to the reports via their Twitter feed have played this one too controversially and naturally it hasn’t gone down well.
‘Ridiculous update notes from @taptaptap Camera+ today. Deleted. Said Christine Chan via Twitter. Ben Ho via the same medium had this to say ‘@taptaptap I totally lost all my respect for you after reading your release notes’. Matt Farmer went on to say ‘@taptaptap and now I know what app I’m deleting off my phone’ and so it goes on – what did they say? Seems their success has gone a little to their head. Makes me recall a conversation I had with an Editor of a camera magazine I worked on when promoted to Technical Editor, I was incredibly excited and proud, he said to me and I’ve held these words close for many years ‘keep those feet on the ground Joanne, once they start to rise, you’ve lost it’. Wise words.
We’ve attached a copy of the release notes below, let us know your thoughts…
Update Notes Below
‘So the jury’s in… based on all the feedback from our last update, you nice guys & gals made it loud and clear that you really appreciate that we continuously update Camera+ AND that we don’t try to nickel-and-dime you in the process. There’ve been the cries of, “devs gotta eat!” by a small handful, but we’re more of the mindset that some devs can stand to shed a few pounds (we’re no stranger to the allure of the Baconator ourselves, so we can empathize).
We’re very hard at work on Camera+ 5, which will have some really awesome things in it and will be a totally free update for you… but today we have a very nice, minor update that fixes some problems that some of you are having, especially if you have an iPhone 4S.
We also fixed a few sharing issues including one where the “Open In…” feature wouldn’t always work properly. And we added a bunch of options for what you can do with the links you get after you share photos.
In this update we took a little time put more spit-shine on some of the details that we missed during the big rush to get the iOS7ified version of Camera+ out in time for the iOS 7 launch. Our excuse for missing these things the first time around is that our eyes had been recovering from being blinded by all the bright, candy colors in iOS 7′.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
15 Comments
Robert Lancaster
I, for one, don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Robert-Paul Jansen
A few people say they deleted the app, probably people who already use other apps? C+ has sold millions of apps and only a few don’t het this. It’s humor people.. Humor with a message, but still.
I don’t mind paying for an upgrade when it’s all new, but I do like the way c+ keeps their updates free.
StaceyM
What am I missing here? That they are proud of a great app and that they don’t make you pay for every filter pack? This is bad? I don’t get it.
Mike
Me either. I see nothing offensive in these statements. I installed Camera+ several years ago and then moved on to another I like better. Maybe I’ll reinvestigate C+ now so I’m going against the grain I guess. 😉
Misho Baranovic
I don’t think it’s very funny Robert-Paul. I took the release notes personally as did a lot of app writers and developers. Development is very difficult, I saw up close how much time and effort went into the new ProCamera 7 over the past six months.
Camera+ should consider themselves fortunate that they are in a situation where they don’t have to worry about finances. Telling other developers how to run their business is disrespectful. Really uncool.
They should instead focus on making the app as good as it can be. They certainly have the money for it.
Darren Richards
Hey Misho,
I know we spoke before about Procamera charging for 7.0 and I was one of the people who was totally happy to pay for the new version – you’ve got the only really good preset browser I’ve used for starters 😉
So I understand your point as a developer, but I am surprised that end-users are so upset by the comments. Its a pleasant surprise that people are so sympathetic of the developer’s perspective.
Oliver
It’s not obvious at first, but when you look at the situation closely it’s clear that they’ve tried to smear other apps in their app update.
Why would the makers of an app that has charged users for features through in-app-purchases throughout their existence take a swipe at other developers for charging for new versions?
What a cheap, cold and calculated attempt to look good -absolutely lacking in clarity.
Darren Richards
“There’ve been the cries of, “devs gotta eat!” by a small handful, but we’re more of the mindset that some devs can stand to shed a few pounds”
Maybe it was that ? Personally as a dev who could shed a few, it cracked me up 🙂
David
hmmm. I don’t think this is true. Just a couple of people don’t make a news, probably the figures from taptaptap are different.
Personally, I like their release notes, I always read them with pleasure and I like their style.
However, there are so many camera replacement apps that today Camera+ is not so necessary as it was at the beginning. In any case, one of the reason I keep the app is because of their continuous updates and original release notes. 😉
StickyQuote
I think it has something to do with the way they bashed the other Devs who make you pay again for updates. You know it’s like you are buying it twice, so I guess it’s like they’re bragging and saying are not charging you like the other Devs is what I got from it.
Skip
I’m a massive fan and advocate of ProCamera and ‘happily’ shelled out to buy the new version. However, if Camera+ want to take a swipe at that business model I don’t see any harm in it. The ProCamera thing didn’t sit easy with me at the time. I agree with what a few have said that some seem to be being a little over sensitive about this – mainly developers maybe? Comparing those 2 apps though Camera+ seem to have contacts in high places because they’re still allowed access to volume shutter functionality (unless it’s removed in the latest update) whilst ProCamera aren’t (despite trying to get it). I’d be quite interested to understand the decision making processes behind that.
Ryan
I must be missing something because I don’t see anything even remotely controversial in the note. It’s lighthearted, has a nice, conversational tone and a consumer-friendly bent. Some people have far too much time on their hands.
Clint Cline (clix2020)
A little snarky perhaps, but really much ado about nothing…!
Geri
I didn’t take offense to the comments at all but maybe that’s because I didn’t understand the “devs gotta eat” phrase was a dig at the developers who charge – hey I’m old and I missed it! (give me some grace). I guess in a world where there is so much serious stuff going on, this would hardly cause me to get a twist in my knickers!
Tracy Mitchell Griggs
It’s a teeny bit self-aggrandizing but really more of a marketing spin than anything. Much ado about nuthin’….