HomeWinBuzzer NewsAdDuplex Discontinues UWP AppRaisin Development

AdDuplex Discontinues UWP AppRaisin Development

AdDuplex CEO Alan Mendelevich states that many of the problems came from Microsoft's decisions surround the Windows 10 Mobile platform, and claims that their app was blacklisted from certain parts of the store.

-

AppRaisin, a UWP app that helps Windows users to keep up with the latest Windows Store deals, will no longer be actively developed, says AdDuplex CEO Alan Mendelevich.

Though the application will remain accessible, no new features or fixes will be coming in the future. In a blog post from today, Mendelevich justifies the decision.

Lack of Growth

The main reason behind the changes to AppRaisin is its lack of user growth, and therefore lack of a profitable model:

Our plan was to have 100,000 monthly active users by the end of this year and various “napkin” revenue projections were based on that number,” says Mendelevich, “As of early August we have a little under 25,000 monthly active users and adding 1–2 thousands every month.”

The CEO admits that unless there is a sudden explosion in users, AppRaisin won't reach its goal of 100,000, and won't break even in its first year. Medelevich also talks about what factors led them to this point, and first on his list is :

“The biggest tax on our numbers comes from Microsoft's ‘strategy' around Windows 10 Mobile. I put “strategy” in quotes because there either isn't one or it is so deep and ‘forward-looking' that I fail to understand it.”

The second problem was Microsoft's late adoption of the Windows 10 Mobile platform. AdDuplex expected the update to roll out to all Windows 8.1 users. The reduced list of phones announced at launch meant that the app lost almost half of its predicted user base.

Windows-10-Mobile-Upgrades-AdDuplex

Furthermore, those that could upgrade didn't receive it automatically – they had to download a particular app manually. More that 79.1% of Windows Mobile users are still on 8.1, and 4 out of 5 AppRaisin users are on phones.

Windows Store Bias

Mendelevich also accuses Microsoft of intentionally keeping their app away from the “featured” section to control app merchandising. He claims Microsoft employees suggested this to him personally:

“I was in Redmond in early November (few weeks before our launch) and demoed AppRaisin to a bunch of Microsoft employees among others. Everyone seemed to like it, but when I tried to discuss possibilities of being featured, their facial expressions changed. The responses ranged from “Hmm. I'm not sure they would want to feature you.”

Over nine months, AppRasin did not feature on the store, nor did it appear in the Windows Store “New and Rising” or “Top free” lists. Medelevich claims that he pressured Microsoft to change their practice, but by then it was too late.

The CEO also lists a number of other business decisions that were behind the app's downfall, and you can read the whole story over on his blog.

Despite the lack of active development, AppRasin will still update with the newest Windows apps, and you can still download it today. Just don't expect a lot of feature updates.

AppRaisin is hosting a crowdfunding campaign to try and receive the $10,000 funding it needs. You can find that here if you wish to donate.

Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

Recent News

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Mastodon