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Investment in IOS
In 5 years time will the apps we have invested ££££s in still exist or will they have been long abandoned? Would we have been wiser buying hardware that becomes vintage hardware? Views? 
Comments
Well for a start, not all hardware becomes vintage. Much of the cheaper hardware made today, really won't last much longer than most hardware we run software on. Much of it is pretty much non repairable or uneconomical to repair. So don't expect hardware by its nature alone to be much more of an investment in the future.
Yes you may be able to back up your software. Keep backups of hardware linked to certain versions of iOS etc and keep your apps running for so long, but it will be a pain in the ass and probably not worth the effort unless you are young and have lots of years remaining.
I'm pretty much on my third generation of music making 'stuff' and none of my prior 'stuff' has made the journey with me through life shit. So, I say to you, probably best not to worry too much about the future of your music making, because you may find that it takes up too much of the years you have left worrying needlessly. Just enjoy what you have, while you have it and let the rest take care of itself
The money invested in apps, I tend to regard them as bus tickets. Some journeys are wasted, some aren't.
It's a risk on any platform really. No developer is obliged to continue supporting their software and even big companies will sometimes drop support for entire lines of software and hardware because the demand is no longer there or it's too expensive.
I guess when you buy an app for like, 5 bucks, you go into it knowing it's a risk. Things like Gadget and Cubasis, I naturally assume will stick around and continue to be updated for some time because the price tag justifies it and the companies behind them are reputable. But I can understand how it's hard for smaller, independent developers to continue updating their cheap (or free + IAP) software on an ongoing basis.
The other thing to consider is that iOS being what it is, if Apple make fundamental changes and apps no longer work, you're at the mercy of the developer to update the app. There are no options. You can't roll back. You can't choose an install of iOS that works for you (not easily anyway). You can't dive in and tweak the system to fix the problem. So not only will they be abandoned; they'll be unusable. So it's just something to factor in when deciding what to buy.
So in answer to your question the answer is probably no (for the most part) and...maybe? Depends what you buy! Not everything will be vintage just because it's old.
I tend to agree with you Fruitbat. My testimony would include a garage full of hardware which is either on the blink or superseeded by much more convenient gear. Having said I suppose with something like Ableton there's a strong likelihood of evolutionary upgrades whereas the lifespan of IOS apps is largely unproven. I suppose as well as the cash it's the investment in learning the apps too- once you have got to grips with ableton or another DAW the low learning curve helps to keep focused on composition rather than the tools.
Having said all this, most of the fun I have making music these days is an IOS rather than on ableton so I guess its a price worth paying. And of course sometimes there is as much fun in getting to grips with the new tools as there is in the musical output (for me anyhow)
I like the way you put that!
Yeah - perhaps the "bargain" prices are a reflection of this uncertainty of longevity. Wouldn't it be great to have vintage software in the same way as vintage hardware - today's SP1200 could be tomorrow's Korg Gadget under IOS 9.
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Haven't seen a conductor in ages.
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True. But we can get to a point where everything works just as we'd like, and refuse further IOS updates. That way, what we have should stay working, and via backups be transferable to another iPad.
We would also have to pay attention to app updates, or course, and there would come a point with some when the IOS we were running would not accept a new version. But the process would increase longevity at no expense.
May be cause you're spelling it wrong.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZhT05Crmi8Y/maxresdefault.jpg
With an ever changing platform like iOS the only way to really make sure your apps stay updated is to support your favourite developers. Buy their (new) apps and allow them to do their work.
I'm fairly certain there are quite a few iOS apps out there with more longevity than their counterparts on other platforms.
A ) Brilliant.
B ) You wait and wait and then three come along at the same time.
I can still afford all 40 of my iOS synths for less than what a single flexible piece of hardware would cost. When I bought hardware in the past, very rarely did I keep for more than 3-4 years - generally selling it to buy something newer. Many times, the hardware also stops being supported after 4 or 5 years - though you didn't have to worry about an OS update breaking it.
I use 2 ipads live, and still use a few apps that came out very early in the life of iOS - and all still work just fine under iOS 10, even though some haven't received an update in over 2 years. If any of them suddenly stopped working, though, it's not like I dont have inexpensive options to replace them with. It's also been a lot easier to carry a backup iPad that can have a duplicate of the setup of either of my primary ones without requiring me to repurchase the apps.
Not worried and definitely prefer the flexibility.
As long as you have a friendly bus driver you're good to go.
Maybe we are moving into a "post ownership" era given the various subscription models that have appeared for example in relation to Adobe software. I still struggle to apply this concept to productive software when as an amateur not everything gets used all of the time, but I can see the principle would both support continued investment in software development whilst keeping financial entry barriers low
An investment makes you money. So, unless you're making money with your music/audio, it boils down to the entertainment value for your dollars/pounds/euros.
I'm happy with the value I've gotten from my music making apps. They're much easier to store and transport than hardware, too.
The way I look at it is this... I evaluate how much pleasure and/or usefulness I'll likely get from the app for approximately a year's time. I don't think many apps go obsolete much quicker than that, even if they're completely abandoned after a couple months. If I think the app with give me $15 of use and/or pleasure over a year's worth of use, any usefulness or pleasure after the year is up is gravy. If the dev actually maintains the app beyond the first year, that's an even extra bonus.
Some really interesting views here and a degree of agreement it seems. In some way refreshing to see apps as purely tools and a source of entertainment rather than fetishistic belongings in a way that perhaps Eurorack setups seem to be for some folks. On the other hand they could be seen as another manifestation of consumerism and the increasing disposability of products.
Vintage hardware costs a small fortune to keep running. Even if you're smart enough to buy the right piece of hardware.
Who buys gear as an investment ? Not many I suspect.
Think back to the 80s when you could pick up a tr808 for 200 a TB303 for under 100 jupiter 8 for 400 ... if only we knew
It breaks my heart every time I think I sold a Juno 60 to fund the purchase of an XP 10
As my old mum used to say, you can't take it with you. Enjoy the moment.
I border on being an idiot when it comes to technological matters so forgive me if my comments are stupid in this case.
I suggest recording plenty of material from every app that you buy. The apps might vanish eventually, but at least you still have the recordings made from them.
When an app makes noises, sounds, notes, or anything you particularly like then make samples of that material for later purposes even the app itself has died.
Just as a quick addition one of my mottos is to record, record, record. You never know when the material will turn out to be useful later. I don't have any completely dead apps because I recorded a lot from every app that I've ever bought.
Well it costs about £3.50 to rent a 2 hour movie. So as long as I get at least a couple of hours entertainment out of most apps I won't lose a lot of sleep over them. Having said that it still slightly miffs me when apps vanish from the AppStore and I can't redownload them z3ta for example.
Carpe diem.
There will most definitely be IOS emulators in 2200 and likely you (or children of your children's children) will be able to buy the whole library of apps for next to nothing and it will take it 1ms to download the lot.
The future is bright.
Great advice
So many good posts in one thread. Nothing to add.
I have similar horror stories.
Also, I do actually know a fella that buys gear as an investment. He's got money to begin with and chooses to buy vintage guitars and amps with it, knowing that they appreciate as well as any fund and he gets the benefit of using the stuff while they climb in value.
Just to add. If it's just a choice between, I would and have chosen iOS. However, I am about iOS'd out now. If I get some spending money in the future, I will be adding hardware to my music making again.
I learned a valuble lesson after selling the Juno.
Since then, Apart from a kawai k1m I've sold nothing.. yep I even kept my qx21 and rz1
Thing is I am seriously considering selling my microkorg to part fund a Jd xi
If you want invest in old music gear, best investment is old guitars and microphones they can stand the time much better than amps and old analog synths they eventually will rot and leak. New tech stuff is in most cases build to be replaced.