Can't you trivially reframe the initial purchase as being subsidized by that license? Your $200 smart knife sharpener would be $300 if it weren't recording audio 24/7 (for VAD, surely!)
I don't like it either but here we are
I do not think the value difference is $100 ;-) In fact, the longer you use it, the more money they can make off of you. (In that sense, that $200 is already WAY too expensive to start ;-) )
So yeah, reversing this would make the most sense. The default is: local data only and not connected. They need to pay me to get data.
Just like car companies, phones, etc, should be forced to do that as well.
RSS or Pocket client?
But no, nothing, just the subscription stuff. So it's a no from me.