Clear Pro (And Syncing)

[phillryu]

Hey all, in this thread we have a preview for the upcoming Clear Pro membership, plus some news on syncing that will be coming to it this year.

I’m posting this first in the forums, and will be linking it in an app update soon to give everyone a heads up some time for community feedback before we launch this.

The Situation

Last year we relaunched Clear, and among other things, it attempted a pretty experimental business model: a totally optional cosmetics shop in a productivity app.

This experiment started promisingly, and the level of support from some of you was frankly kind of mind boggling. But as the year went on the sales steeply diminished and it was quickly apparent the launch months were a venting of 10+ years of pent up energy from the super fans vs. something we could count on in a more sustaining way.

I’m still kind of glad we tried it, because it would’ve kept me up at night wondering if it would’ve worked. But disappointingly, it didn’t quite land, and we now need to figure out another backbone for the business.

Our simplest idea that feels like it would work is…

Clear Pro

The idea overall is to keep Clear’s core experience free, and upsell a package of features and perks for the fans and power users.

Compared to the shop, Clear Pro offers a more rounded bundle of perks and upgrades to more kinds of Clear users than just the ones who enjoy its collectibles. This feels like a healthier center of gravity for the business moving forward. Here’s what the screen looks like in the app:

As you can see, most of Clear Pro’s launch features will be existing features now gated behind Pro, and as legacy users you are grandfathered into these features for free. We will also be offering some legacy discount on the membership.

New Pro features moving forward, like Clear Watch and Lock Screen Widgets, will not be grandfathered.

Sync

The team has been hard at work since the summer on sync for Clear.

We hope to begin testing this feature with some of you early this year. (iOS sync + Clear Web Alpha.) But to be upfront, it will not be free. We see it anchoring Clear Pro membership.

There will be server costs with cloud sync, and more development pressure on multiple client apps to maintain and support moving forward. There are also enough of you out there that it would be irresponsible for us to promise free ongoing service and support.

I’m sure some of you will be disappointed that we cannot offer this free. Some part of me is disappointed too – I would love to market free sync for Clear, but I think this would be dishonest to our indie business reality.

(And frankly, kind of repeating our original sin with Clear 1.x – we took on sync and other platforms too early without adapting the business to support it, and it crashed us out!)

Longterm Sturdy

Zooming out a bit, Clear has proven uniquely useful to its current base for 10+ years. If there is any singular goal or dream for Clear, I feel most of you would agree, it is making sure it’s still there for you, great, and supported for decades to come. (And yes, with sync.)

We love working on Clear and it would make us happy to be improving through the foreseeable future.

Let me know what you think! We have Clear Pro largely ready but would love to see community sign-off and some level of consensus on the sensibility of this plan

[jaxson]

I am amazed I didn’t see this coming. Gating features you’ve been promising people for almost a year behind a paid subscription is wild.

That plus gating existing simple features behind the paywall as well is disheartening. I don’t think I can recommend Clear to friends and family after this, if all the cool stuff I already brag about become paid features.

[TheMadMan007]

Annnnnnddd here it is. The Monthly App subscription.

I knew this would happen, and I couldn’t be more dissatisfied. I skimmed the post and saw phases like “upsell” and wanted to throw up in my mouth. Please listen to your users and not the whales. We DO NOT want this. This will ultimately hurt your app and already hurt your reputation at least with two of your users.

As with all these types of implementations, they say core features will be free, but not long after, those basic functions get removed from feee and moved into the paid category.

Clear used to be an easy recommend, and not I will actively dissuade people from using it. I’ve seen it too many times where these situations turn from good intentions to ruining perfectly fine apps.

"Clear will always remain free…cough until we make a subscription model and charge a monthly fee cough "

You just started the beige burning process. What a shame.

[phillryu]

(I will be replying in this thread but I think it’s good to get some initial discussion going first. So will come back later after some more posts!)

[Joao05]

Whilst on this subject, sorry to go a little off subject , will a “search feature” be a part of this syncing, or a totally separate subject ie search by word for a particular reminder or note, hope this makes sense
Thanks for now
Regards
John G

[phillryu]

We actually just integrated Spotlight Search into Clear in the last update. So you should be able to search using system iOS search. (May need to tap ‘more results’ to show your lists.)

[jaga]

I’m so incredibly disappointed in this decision, I made an account to give my feedback.

As somebody who has thrown a few bucks in the shop for themes and icons: Clear has proven itself to be a tremendous help in my life because of its simplicity. In my opinion, the appeal of Clear is that it’s a free app first and foremost. It makes it super fun and easy to create lists, and it is very straight to the point in a time where everything is complicated for the sake of profit. Clear’s customization and UI/UX hooked me in immediately, while truly opening my eyes to how useful a list can be for every avenue of life.

But what I’m seeing now is that you’ve decided to go with the de facto subscription model service, like everything else, for what is a simple to-do list app.

I thought the whole point of Clear was to stand out from other productivity & to-do apps that’s usually loaded with bloat, too confusing to navigate, or the all-too-common unnecessary monetization with gated features. I can understand if money is tight, but you’re turning away your audience by spending your time on this model instead of offering more to the base experience; especially after Clear has advertised itself against other software over this exact type of thing.

Allow me to ask you this: have you considered any way of making the shop more effective and appealing to your users before landing on this exhausted model? If the shop’s profit has diminished over time, I don’t think a subscription model is going to magically get you the sales you’re desiring. It’s too easy and cheap of a solution that often drives people away from using your app instead of signing up for it. And while we’re on the topic of the shop: I can’t even remember the last time anything new was added to it anyways.

I hope you yourself are personally confident enough in this subscription model to make it work. Again, it just feels like a slap in the face to your audience who wanted something that works and picked Clear for that reason alone. I was personally excited for Apple Watch support as a daily user, but there is no justification for spending my money monthly just to access my lists on a smaller display, regardless of how convenient it may be. I just don’t see this being a good deal, currently as it is or into the future.

[tacogy3]

Makes sense, I understand and have no problem with this. Everyone has to understand that it has to be sustainable. I’m just dying for Sync, with the web app, and more than happy to pay for that feature. Please keep me in mind for early testing, I’m ready for it

[Albertkinng]

Okay, I believe my comment could provide some helpful insights. I support my family with subscription-based income; I am able to pay my team and all essential expenses. My company provides an essential service, working closely with other businesses to keep their brands relevant, balanced, and strong in terms of reputation and credibility. Essentially, we act as an extension of their marketing and media departments. You get the idea.

I understand why some design agencies pay Adobe significant amounts of money annually—I truly do. So why don’t I personally subscribe to Adobe, as an individual (not as a business head)? Well, my reasoning is simple: I don’t like renting tools. If I need a hammer, I buy a hammer. I don’t want to pay a monthly fee for the privilege of using it. On the other hand, I’m happy to pay for services like Netflix. I don’t want to buy movies; I want to watch them when I feel like it without cluttering my home with boxes of DVDs collecting dust. In that way, the service is completely worth it to me.

For my company alone, with a team of five people, I already spend more than $7,000 annually on subscription-based apps. Personally, I won’t be adding any more subscriptions to my expenses. If something exceptional comes along, I’ll evaluate whether it’s worth replacing an existing service. This implies the need to cancel one option to accommodate another. In my experience, apps that transition to a subscription model frequently encounter increased demands to meet the expectations of their paying customers. This can stretch developers thin, as they work harder to meet higher expectations. Eventually, this might lead to fewer subscribers, leaving them to decide whether to continue development or pivot entirely.

I’m not trying to be negative—just sharing my perspective on why I think the subscription path might not be the best fit for your app. Transitioning to a subscription model brings new challenges: greater responsibility, more users, and the need for consistent updates. I’ve been through this, and it can become overwhelming. Many developers who have tried it admit it is not always cost-effective in the long run.

Not every app gets its golden moment, much like many great albums on Spotify go unnoticed. To sum up my thoughts—and I say this with respect and honesty, not to spark a debate—my advice would be to clearly define your goals, needs, and financial situation. Avoid putting the weight of an entire lifestyle on the shoulders of a single app. That kind of pressure can be unsustainable. Instead, consider creating amazing apps, or building a service or platform that genuinely justifies a monthly fee.

As a side note, I’d steer clear of trends like AI unless you have a solid strategy. With recent revelations about monetization practices, particularly how some companies have been exploiting their power, it’s clear that there’s often a gap between public messaging and actual business practices—but that’s a separate topic. Ultimately, I believe a well-thought-out service model could provide you with a steady income and the creative freedom to develop as many apps as you like. Otherwise, you might find yourself constantly asking, “What more can I do to keep people subscribed for another year?” That’s a battle I’ve chosen not to fight. Hope you can read this and get some advice for keeping moving forward with the subscription plans, or trying something different. Whatever you do, I will support you.

[iOS]

Why not just make everything available to purchase in the Shop every single day instead of rotating once in a while?

[iOS]

Will Clear Pro allow me to delete themes / icons / fonts / quotes / sounds I don’t use?

[Prisma]

If you go down this route (which I find dreadful but I sort of get), will paid users at least get a little bit more say when it comes to design/feature decisions that disrupt our workflows? I’m hesitant to pay a recurring subscription for an app that can introduce workflow-breaking changes without notice, and without taking into account user feedback.

(Yeah, I’m still sad and sort of annoyed by the animations change, and by the introduction of the invisible reminders button, my usage of Clear dropped dramatically after both changes)

If you’re going to keep ignoring your users’ feedback, then the proposition of a monthly payment for an app that seems not to care about its core users (aka the ones who would be paying) seems like a very hard pill to swallow.

Also, both of those price points (the annual and monthly ones) seem high almost by a factor of 2. $1.99 and $19.99 seem like slightly more reasonable price points.

[Gabe]

Thanks for Clear, I use it all the time, ever since the old version way back in the day. It felt natural and frictionless from the beginning. I love how the defining principles are still present.

I also understand that the subscription model is the only way to stay afloat in this industry. That means introducing features and options regularly, to justify the price. I might be in the minority, but for this app (and also Ulysses, another favorite of mine) I actually don’t want it to evolve. Clear is a breath of fresh air. Its genius resides in the frictionless UX. Its polished execution adds to the value. Anything else is distraction and dilution of the core.

But the old “pay once” model won’t pay the bills, I get it. In the old era, developers made one app and then moved on to the next. So Clear as a service feels out of place to me. Ulysses is very similar (they barely ever add features) but I still pay for it, mainly because I use it for work. Hard to justify a subscription to an app that does one very simple thing.

All that to say: I don’t like it, but I can’t think of any other strategy! And above all, I wish you lots of success.

[modigliani]

For me, I stopped buying because nothing new came in the store.

Also, I already asked twice for a specific theme and nobody seemed to care to answer.

[phillryu]

I’m trying to figure out how to best reply here!

First off @Jeff, @Albertkinng, and some others I appreciate that the criticism or worries/anxiety are also bundled with much genuine love for the app and the human effort that goes into it as a project.

I will be digesting on these and try to address FAQ’s as they bubble up. Let me start with one for the frequent shoppers who we really do owe extra answers to. Tagging @modigliani for this one too.

Why not go harder on the Shop?

David and I were really starting to feel burned out by summer or so last year after focusing a ton of our energy on cranking out and supporting the shop, and generally pushing to make it as successful as we could. It was getting a lot harder to come up with new ideas that were also as good as the previous 200+ after we plucked all the most fun obvious ones, kind of like the puzzle difficulty just keeps rising as we continue.

If we somehow doubled the amount, it would ultimately mean like, one or two more months of ‘fresh’ collectibles that rotate? And then are stale again. So I just couldn’t see this turning at some point from this uphill climb grading steeper and steeper as we go, to downhill.

It is possible that over a longer period of time, we slowly build up the collection, and also meaningfully grow our base where shop sales start turning around. But it truly feels like the base would have to multiply 5x or more to get there and we are not at all on a trajectory currently to continue betting the business on it or pouring most of our creative energy into this.

I am really grateful for the support we received from the frequent shoppers and super fans of the collectibles, and we are trying to figure out something for you that can be at all proportionate to how much you contributed.

P.S. @Jeff I am generally a pretty optimistic / hopeful person, and to be honest it can get me in trouble sometimes. This business pivot is some version of that, in that I genuinely believed there was a real chance this would work for Clear, despite it being a fairly crazy experiment, and held onto this a little past the point of productivity.

It is very disappointing the experiment ultimately didn’t succeed, and we let you down. It was something of a reality check for me, and we truly need to solve this to move forward.

I’m a little pooped today so will continue reading and try to answer a couple more of the rising FAQ’s tomorrow.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts so far, I know that even if we might disagree on how, we are all generally here with the goal to make Clear successful and better. And it seems like by the time this thread wraps up we will have very thoroughly assessed this together.

[andy]

I appreciate the openness around the situation and sharing the vision of what’s to come. I’m sure some will balk at any subscription but I see it less as purchasing a set of features and more about supporting one of the best indie app teams that’s been delivering top tier for years and asking for nothing. I’ve been a Clear fan since day one on Feb 14, 2012, and will be a Clear Pro supporter as well bc the world needs less big boring tech and more of this. Go get em!

[phillryu]

Thanks @Gabe, and a couple of the others so far who are more initially supportive haha.

One thing I will note is I actually feel there was a bit of unhealthy pressure we put upon ourselves to make Clear 2 ‘exciting’ with new features and things. Many that are sensible and useful, but in hindsight, I think actually better framed and gated as Pro, to maintain the simple and minimal core of the app. And allow a layer of more power use features, but with that separation.

@Prisma I appreciate that while you feel greatly betrayed by the list animation change, and don’t like subscription, that you are still supportive for us to solve the business problem for Clear. And will note we were discussing killing the tap shortcut for reminders earlier today… just hesitant to rip off that bandaid and take it away from those who find it useful while we’re dealing with this event.

I don’t think we will halve the pricing, but I’m just realizing the mockup is actually overstating it by depicting the screen for legacy users but showing the ‘new users price’.

Current plan would be $2.99/month or $24.99/year for all of you in this thread. I’ll update the mockup tomorrow.

[Ruben]

So, while I do understand the necessity for a subscription, I think 1.99€/monthly would be borderline for most.

I, agree, that subscription makes sense financial for the team and further development. I can understand iCloud being a perk for clear pro since it’s server based, but I feel hesitant/ disappointed about the watch app.

For once it’s barebones (while extremely convenient) compared to the app, but then every other list/ reminder app seem the have it without any subscription on it. The app for the watch is super useful.

While other perks make sense behind the paywall. This I think, shouldn’t.

Maybe lowering Clear Pro, and make an hybrid solution with the store? Increase overtime, as features get added.

But, get the basics on non-pro Clear.

It’s only my opinion. No need to be harsh, I really want the app to thrive.

[r1y3]

Wait, sorry, so how are themes going to work in this model? Are they just all unlocked? Will the premium ones disappear when the month is up?

[tacogy3]

I really do think the pricing makes sense and I don’t have an issue with it, the $25/year (legacy) is about $2 a month. I cant imagine that people honestly cant afford that, and if they cant then there is still a lot of features in the core app to still use it as you have been. Not looking to get into a debate with everyone about their financial situation and how many apps they subscribe to, the point is just that $25/year is not a lot at all. I’d say that most of us here probably spent way more than that last year on the shop, I know I did.

For those saying this will push away people, I moved over to Superlist (they charge $96/year for a Pro version) over last summer due to the Clear mac app being removed. I must have a desktop or web app to use with it. Also I want reoccurring reminders which Clear doesn’t have yet. Adding sync and a web app will bring me back to using it more again and paying. So while I understand people saying it will push people away, it will also draw in people as well. I think its a smart move for the team to keep the app alive.

I do agree with other points as well though such as; user feedback for changes/features, I agree also if i’m paying I want to see a roadmap with some reasonable timelines that the team does their best to stick to.

Another point I saw as well that I agree with, as it stands currently, Clear Pro doesn’t seem overly enticing to me. I don’t have an apple watch, don’t care about lock screen widgets, and I already own a ton of themes. I know we get the legacy stuff as well, but I want to see sync listed, web app, maybe a mac app, reoccurring reminders, shared lists, custom gesture controls, etc. I can think of more but those are examples of things for truly “power” users to want to subscribe to Pro in my opinion.

Maybe I’m off base on some things, just my two cents. Excited to see what comes for Clear this year.