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Canva Acquires Serif's Affinity Apps
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Thanks for the link. I was not aware he was planning a new release. I am a Raw Power user from the beginning like I am with the Affinity apps. I threw some money their way because I wanted to encourage them to keep going. Nitro looks interesting. Still appears to lack organizational capabilities. I like that there appears to be some masking now. That is missing from Raw Power. A loupe would be cool. The ability to open/use Aperture Libraries would be nice.
What exactly makes Canva for beginners? It's a tool, and as such can be used by anyone. I use Canva when my clients want me to, and I make a pretty darn good living as a graphic designer. After 35 years of doing this, I hardly consider myself a "beginner." Affinity apps are great little apps for specific market users, but what makes them professional quality apps vs beginner apps? I can't use them for much of anything in my business (though I paid for both versions of all three apps just to support them). I know more than a few "beginners" that use Photoshop, does that make Photoshop a beginner's tool?
What I see from you (and some others) in this thread (and virtually every other one for any product or service that has a subscription) is "I'm not a professional, and a mere $600 a year for Adobe Creative Suite (or insert any product name and price) is so steep that I can't justify spending it."
That's a YOU problem, not an Adobe problem, and certainly not an industry problem.
I don't know what people are considering "amateur" or "pro" these days... but I pay for an entire year of Adobe Creative Cloud in one day between breakfast and lunch. I don't like subscriptions either, but this constant crying and whining about them is tiresome. They're not going away, and the amount of time and effort to avoid them costs more than the subscriptions people are complaining about (not just Adobe).
I don't particularly care for Canva, nor do I consider Affinity's apps to be all that great for my particular needs. But I'll use whatever tool is necessary to accomplish the end goal. That's one difference between a professional and an amateur/beginner... stubborn ignorance.
Basically a subscription model is adequate if you use frequently the software e.g. as a professional.
If you are using it sporadically, it hurts having to pay monthly for something you haven't used.
So both have their justification.
Currently Canva have declared not wanting to change the sales of Affinity products.
Maybe, they just want to syphon the know-how for their on-line tools.
I purchased version 1 when Affinity Photo launched and went on to buy Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher. I held off from upgrading when the new version came out, seriously considering going back to Photoshop as I was unimpressed with the feature set of version 2. However, I moved away from Adobe after decades because I didn't want to rent my software so I eventually upgraded to Affinity v2 on 22 March 2024. So seeing this announcement within a few days made me wonder if I'd wasted my money.
Some of the comments here are valid. Adobe's full price before CS was high. I paid hundreds for a full software suite every 18 months or so, so subscriptions have their place. They still hurt a lot, to be honest, and while I could justify it for my work, what about all the hobbyist users or retired professionals out there?
My gut feeling is that subs will come to Affinity 3 but I'll stick with my version 2 with the 30% off as the price was good. I'll keep my powder dry until Canva takes it down the subscription route at which point I'll re-think. If they go sub, I'd likely go back to Adobe.
They've paid $26million for the company so it's certain they are going to have to get that back somehow. All the people who have bought one time licenses are going to add nothing to the pot so either they have some marketing plan Serif haven't thought of or they are going to hit the existing customer base with subscriptions next time they launch a big update.
Those people have no business using any of Adobe's apps (outside of maybe Acrobat) to begin with. I mean, why does one finance a Porsche when one can only afford a base-model Chevy Malibu and then complain about the monthly payment? The argument is ridiculous.
For hobbyists, Affinity apps are great - as are numerous cheap and/or free options out there. If I weren't doing this for a living and only had the needs of a hobbyist, I would be on Affinity apps like stink on... well, you know.
I was talking about subscription apps in general. Yes that includes Adobe but also Affinity if(when) Canva goes down that route.
I think what you say is a little unfair. When you no longer have an income that can support it, you may still have historic files that you want to open. Paying a regular monthly fee for the privilege of accessing your own work occasionally is not great!
Canva just made four pledges here, including a pledge to always offer perpetual licensing. https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/affinity-canva-pledge/
Time will tell, but I have been using both Affinity and Canva for several years. I've never faced a price hike with Canva, and I will trust, but verify.
Time will tell, but I have been using both Affinity and Canva for several years. I've never faced a price hike with Canva, and I will trust, but verify.
Those people have no business using, say, lightroom? I beg to differ.
You earn 600$ in a morning? Good for you, but you have to remember that this is not the case for everyone.
"Crying and whining is tiresome?" Maybe you think so, but when enough people complain, companies sometimes listen. Look at what happened when Waves decided to move to a subscription model… they received so many complaints they had to revert their decision.
Also, it’s very arrogant to say that the difference between a pro and a beginner is "stubborn ignorance". Every pro was a beginner at some point. And I know many amateurs who are just as skilled as many so called "pro".
This is some ********. You know that 100 million takeover bid will be financed by turning this software in a subscription based model, like what they did with their own ******** software.
Yet, the USA and EU government are too busy about the iPhone which consumers actually enjoy rather than looking at these anti-competitive practices by taking over the competition by financing it with a subscription based model that nobody wants.
Yet, the USA and EU government are too busy about the iPhone which consumers actually enjoy rather than looking at these anti-competitive practices by taking over the competition by financing it with a subscription based model that nobody wants.
Exactly, me too. The only reason I have the Affinity Suite instead of Adobe is because of no subscription based model.
And considering that Canvas is subscription based, we all know what Canvas is going to do with Affinity Suite.
In the end, they paid $100 million for it and this will not be financed with "one-time purchase".
"If we do offer a subscription, it will only ever be as an option alongside the perpetual model, for those who prefer it. This fits with enabling Canva users to start adopting Affinity. It could also allow us to offer Affinity users a way to scale their workflows using Canva as a platform to share and collaborate on their Affinity assets, if they choose to."
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This reassures me a bit. I see they're talking about offering subscription alongside perpetual. Some on here suggested that might happen and it's a given now. I suppose the main thing is point 1 - fair pricing. If it carries on as it has been and they really do accelerate updates and bring some much needed Photoshop-like AI to Photo (amongst other improvements) then this may be a good thing after all.
Actions speak louder than words. We'll all be watching!!
Just like how Amber Heart pledged her donations?
yeah the 2nd time I got burned after Zbrush. I guess I stop buying software. They don't care about individual customers anyhow 8(
Serif shot itself in the foot by going 5 years of fairly substantial free updates on version 1 of Affinity as they openly admitted that their cash flow suffered. I think we're likely to see more frequent paid version upgrades going forward both as a way to keep generating revenue but also a means to continue justifying the optional subscription pricing.
It would be nice if they added a fourth Lightroom-style application to really go after Adobe, although to me Affinity Photo's raw engine isn't as good as Adobe's and doesn't come close to DxO or Capture One.
I wasn't happy yesterday hearing this news....
And I am quite certain that V3 will come as a subscription only.
However, I received an email today with Affinity and Canva's pledge which has four parts.
And in the first part they say that Affinity apps will always be available as usual, with a licence.
Even if there will ever be some subscription.
So let's hope they will keep this pledge.
And I am quite certain that V3 will come as a subscription only.
However, I received an email today with Affinity and Canva's pledge which has four parts.
And in the first part they say that Affinity apps will always be available as usual, with a licence.
Even if there will ever be some subscription.
So let's hope they will keep this pledge.