Can someone explain why pro fonts are so damn expensive?
There are a bazillion free fonts which are great for most uses, but for a font like this where it's not as if the font was custom calligraphy (e.g. for a video game or something) and is just a "good normal font", what exactly goes on to make this font and others like it worth the money?
I genuinely don't know if there are special features of this font that are beyond what you can get from very similar free fonts or if it's just some brand recognition thing.
Brand is definitely a strong driver. The number of styles, and the number of glyphs is also an aspect. Being worth the money is compared not just the font itself, but to what you expect in return. If you're thinking about how popular your mobile OS got, it could make sense to design a distinct font for it.
There are a bazillion free fonts which are great for most uses, but for a font like this where it's not as if the font was custom calligraphy (e.g. for a video game or something) and is just a "good normal font", what exactly goes on to make this font and others like it worth the money?
I genuinely don't know if there are special features of this font that are beyond what you can get from very similar free fonts or if it's just some brand recognition thing.