I prefer reading the release notes before updating, because if there was something I don't like often I can't just go back. other then that it would be better if past release notes would be readable in the app, so you can read it later.

I think apps that show the release notes right on next launch just wanted to tick off a feature request the developer did not really find useful to put enough thought into it.

It depends on how relevant I expect those changes to be to me. For programming languages or libraries I use often for example, I'll always read change logs. For other software, I'll likely only look at it if I'm waiting for a specific bug fix or feature.

I'll usually stop and read them for apps that I like. I like knowing what's changed.

If the app opens it automatically on update, I usually read them. If not then I only go after changelogs for apps I care about and apps that broke.

Quite the opposite. I don't update my apps at all and only read patch notes to determine whatever to update or not, usually not. As long as the app is working it doesn't need or deserve to be updated just to fuck up the UI again.

They're counting on nobody reading them

I don’t use alpha/beta software