Blink Shell, Build & Code

The way the upgrade is done, lead existing users to think they have to signup for a subscription ... and maybe they must.

Was told that existing users would be able to use this app for regular ssh. But there are only subscription options and the like to restore purchases does nothing. If you’re not going to support existing customers in the new app, maybe consider to put the proper icon back on the old app? Update: Thank you for your response, if I had known about the changes, I would certainly have “taken the time”. I will look for the option to restore the icon and hope that the app contributes to function in future. UPDATE: They have now removed blink shell classic from the app store, so that purchase was a waste of money.

The old app was great I had not problem with it, this got replaced with a subscription service. I didn’t make the cutoff window. This is not a good way to earn trust. I guess I am stuck with alternatives. This is sad as it was my go to shell for years.

It was a good app

Groan. Loved this app when I had an iPad before. After getting a new one, now I return to find you have to pay whatever option you pick. I guess I’m spoiled to expect a base set of features for free.

GitHub Codespaces support. Please add it.

Taking away an app I already paid for because you wanted to add a subscription to continue supporting it is pretty shady. Don’t support these developers. They don’t deserve your money. Go pay for Prompt 3 instead, at least I can still use Prompt 2. Blink is totally useless now.

Clean and simple interface for turning your iPad into a programming terminal. This is the only app that renders all NerdFonts correctly if you are trying to use something like LazyVim with all the bells and whistles. Supports things like Mosh, but I find that Tailscale + SSH and a terminal multiplexer like Tmux or Zellij are more than enough.

I bought this tool a few years ago. Paid for it. Haven’t needed it in months. Now, I go to use it and they want to charge me $20/year for the same features. I don’t mind paying for extra services that cost money to provide, but don’t try to get me to pay annually to the same tool I was using before. No changes, just more money! Also, I didn’t get any notification that they were going to do this. What a rip off.

This app is my favorite SSH and Mosh client. I appreciate the local Unix utilities it provides and the fact that it looks and behaves like a terminal emulator. The visual minimalism by default is excellent. My one issue is with the recurring subscription model. I would rate it five stars if there was a one-time purchase option (even if it was per device — I’d happily pay $5-10 per device I needed Blink on). It makes it hard to recommend to interested friends or colleagues when there isn’t a free option or a one-time purchase option. Thankfully, I was grandfathered into the Blink Legacy pricing (which offered a one-time purchase). Please bring one-time purchases back!