Just searching for tuner apps, in the first 10 or so results there were no options for me without ads or without "upgrade to pro" or "subscribe to us" or "3 days trial".

The first three had an ad-free option around 10-15 dollars to unlock, which is fair but the price of a good hardware tuner that will certainly last WAY longer than any of those apps and will operate 10x better.

The first one without the subscription is the Boss tuner, which is free, but has spammy notifications for Boss advertisements.

The first one that isn't complete crap is in position 30 or so.

So yeah, I'm gonna diss something I didn't pay for, and I didn't even download. Simply because those products are better off not existing for me as a consumer, since they lead to confusion and redundancy and prevent me from finding truly quality things.

Answering the sibling post that is now dead:

Considering the option I went for is buying a proper product with proper warranty, operates 100x better and whose manufacturer spent WAY more R&D than all those shitty small apps, I fail to see how I am the entitled one.

Also, my current tuner is Polyphonic (TC Polytune). I bet a couple of the 30 or so apps I saw might be too, but how the fuck should I know? There's nothing in descriptions. I'd rather spent the time getting some proper device than cruising trough shitty products that want to show me ads.

Also, my Polytune doesn't charge me extra for tuning a Ukulele. Unlike some of the apps in the store.

The only "entitled" people here are those SaaSholes flooding the market with copycat shitty apps.

> How is that fair.

They chose not to charge money for it. They chose to ruin it with annoying ads nobody wants to see. It is absolutely fair.

OP is dissing one app, but making a generalised comment on all software apps in the tuner/metronome category.

There is no shortage of well done apps that cost very little (most of them cheaper than the cheapest korg tuner) and packing in way more functionality. If OP's comment was something to the tune (heh) of "I tried a bunch of paid top-rated apps and I prefer my hardware tuner", I'd consider it a fair comparison.

> There is no shortage of well done apps that cost very little (most of them cheaper than the cheapest korg tuner) and packing in way more functionality.

Name three.

The problem with app stores (both Google's and Apple's) is that it's impossible to find those good quality apps for commodity needs, in the sea of advertisement/IAP-backed garbage.

Right! 5 minutes per app to evaluate. And no assurance the "good" one won't change.

The free one from Fender is not terrible - but still behaves like crapware.

I can’t name three because the first one I bought is perfect for my needs on iOS. Guitar Tuna https://apps.apple.com/us/app/guitartuna-guitar-bass-tuner/i...

I read it as dissing all free/crap/adware. Which is like dissing TV adverts or billboards or, I dunno, stickers on racing cars.

So, cough up for Netflix, or move to an area where people have expended effort to make sure billboards are not permitted, or, I dunno, go watch the ponies. It’s all out there, just got to pay one of the prices.

If you don’t want ads, you pay, or pick up one of dozens of perfectly serviceable used hardware tuners on eBay for 5 quid all day long.

I guess I'm in the opposite camp. I have a drawer of clip-on tuners which broke or ran out of battery which is hard to change or just weren't easy to use or reliable. A sturdy boss tuner somewhere in my drawer of cables that's pain to pull out. And two apps that are on all my devices, easily always accessible at home or friend's, and can tune my guitar my bass and my kids ukulele. I wish I preferred the hardware unit, I do - but the convenience factor of the app is too high. I am not spammed with adware but I assume I paid for them at some point - I get value so I gave them money. My expectation of free apps are exactly what price would suggest. We have a choice between ad supported and paid product. Put your money where your mouth - or rather righteous blogs and comments are.

Edit: google "best tuner apps" and the two I use are consistently at the top. If those aren't in the top 30 of your appstore search, then we have a discoverablity problem, not a free or ad supported software problem. And again, if you picked random tuner from Amazon instead of going to store or reading reviews your experience might be the same. So - let's focus on what true issue / rage is, and compare apples to apples :)

I'm ok with ads. I just don't want to see them everywhere I look.

And no, "just" move to another place is not a proper argument:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergo_decedo

You're right.

I didn't mean to say “move to an area where people have expended effort to make sure billboards are not permitted”.

I meant to say “expend effort to make sure billboards are not permitted, or move to an area where people have expended effort to make sure billboards are not permitted”.

> Which is like dissing TV adverts or billboards or, I dunno, stickers on racing cars.

Absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing any of that. Paying for TV channels yet being forced to see ads is an indignity. Billboards and all other forms of advertising are nothing but visual pollution, cities that have banned them are nicer. Stickers on racing cars are also visual pollution.

> If you don’t want ads

You block them.

Except you can't. At least not easily, and that's just for now.

I don't think any app can compare favorably to a clipon tuner, if for no reason other than clip on tuners work in noisy rooms. Tuner apps are useful if you have no other options, but compared to a clip on or tuning pedal, no question what's better. You ever see a musician on stage using their phone to tune?

Sure, that's an excellent reason to prefer hardware.

But think about the "exposure" you're getting by giving away your app for free.

(Musician joke)