That would be a choice, wouldn't it! The thought crossed my mind but somehow I see people not being happy with having to pay $X to unlock every little feature, heh.
"Tell 'em what's behind tab number 3, Johnny! Johnny: More gated features!"
It might work, depending on your cadence. If a user is interested in getting a particular feature NOW, they pay for it specifically and then get the rest of the new stuff when they buy the next version upgrade.
