Popular Apollo Reddit App is Shutting Down

In a surprising turn of events, Apollo, a well-regarded Reddit client for iPhone, has announced it will cease operations as of June 30. The announcement came in the wake of tumultuous discussions with Reddit over their recent decision to shift to a paid model for their API, which, according to Apollo, could result in unsustainable costs.

Apollo’s journey began eight years ago when its Canadian founder sought beta testers for a unique Reddit client on the Apple subreddit. With a blend of customizability and streamlined design, Apollo quickly struck a chord with users and eventually turned into a full-time venture for its creator. However, following Reddit’s recent changes, this journey is set to end on a sombre note, according to Halifax-based Christian Selig.

In April, Reddit notified third-party apps about its plan to introduce a paid API model. Although the exact price was not initially disclosed, Reddit assured developers that the costs would be reasonable and would not mirror Twitter’s controversial high API pricing.

Six weeks after the initial announcement, Reddit communicated its proposed price – $0.24 for 1,000 API calls. Upon evaluating the proposed pricing with his app’s current usage, Selig discovered that it could amount to a staggering $2 million monthly expense or over $20 million per year.

By comparing Reddit’s per-user cost with its own, Selig pointed out that the proposed API cost would increase to roughly $2.50 per user per month from Reddit’s $0.12, a 20x hike, a figure he termed as not “based in reality.”

Furthermore, allegations of Apollo “blackmailing” Reddit and demanding a $10 million payout to shut down were refuted by Selig, who noted he’d recorded the calls with Reddit, in which the misunderstanding and subsequent apology from Reddit were clear.

In an open community discussion, the founder addressed the multitude of issues and concerns that led to this difficult decision. While Apollo users have expressed their disappointment at the app’s closure, the founder expressed his gratitude for the unwavering support over the years.

What’s even more interesting is Apollo was mentioned by Apple on stage at its recent WWDC keynote, even by executive Craig Federighi. The app was also mentioned during the Apple Vision Pro announcement as a compatible app. It’s too bad that won’t come to fruition by the time Vision Pro debuts next year, as Apollo will be shut down at the end of this month. Reddit doing third-party apps such as Apollo dirty is sad to see.