For me, if Reddit is trying to get rid of third-party apps, they're trying to get rid of me. I tried their official app and found it to be not fit for purpose. Especially compared to the superior offerings of third-party developers. The Sync app basically IS reddit to me. That goes away and so does reddit.
I'll be interested to see if Reddit backs down from their current stance in order to avert a mass exodus, and also if ekought people will actually leave to force their hand. Time will tell I guess.
I did the same. I checked out the official reddit app, and it's a steaming pile of garbage compared to Apollo on Android or Relay on IOS. Much like you, those 3rd party apps are reddit in my eyes. The official app is attempting to morph reddit into something other than what it used to be and always was in my eyes.
That being said, I've been on Lemmy far more than I've been on reddit today, and I intend to continue that trend if the powers that be at Reddit Corp. proceed with their poorly veiled attempt to shut down 3rd party apps.
Doubtful, they have the data about how many users are through the API so while I'm sure they don't expect everyone currently using through API to leave (after all they're doing this to get users on their own app) they must be OK with "xx%" leaving.
I think I saw someone post the share of users that were using the "standard" options (site and app) and it was the majority.
But someone made the point that it might be the 5% which are producing 90% of the content leaving. Don't know if this is true, but there are a lot of 10+ year long redditors being vocal about the API issue.
That seems likely. There is research that in online communities there is a 1/10 ratio of people who post anything to lurkers, and a 1/10 ratio of posters to "power users"
Those 1% power users on Reddit are definitely not using the official app.