If I put on my tinfoil hat, I think Reddit might have a long-term plan here.
Hike up the API price to a point where 3P apps like Apollo will have to shut down, making them worthless, after so much was invested in them
Get users upset with the lack of features on the official app
Make the 3P app developers look like bad guys
Wait a month or so
Publicly offer to buy a popular, and now worthless, 3P app ^for way too little money^, in order to use the features for the official app
Point out that the 3P dev is a monster if they don't sell, since it would help users so much, and Reddit is a Community, after all
If I put on my tinfoil hat, I think Reddit might have a long-term plan here.
Hike up the API price to a point where 3P apps like Apollo will have to shut down, making them worthless, after so much was invested in them
Get users upset with the lack of features on the official app
Make the 3P app developers look like bad guys
Wait a month or so
Publicly offer to buy a popular, and now worthless, 3P app ^for way too little money^, in order to use the features for the official app
Point out that the 3P dev is a monster if they don't sell, since it would help users so much, and Reddit is a Community, after all