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Apple Acquires Photo Editing App Maker Pixelmator
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Depends on the usecase. Affinity Designer v2 is the competitor to Illustrator and is quite nice. Pixelmator is my #1 Image editing tool. Would have taken the company several more turnarounds to get where PS is - but for the users that need PS for their businesses, the subscription is ok. For me, a „sometimes“ user, subscription makes no sense.
This is exactly what I fear will happen - and expect to, sadly.
Sorry guys but Apple is simply not in the business of buying people out and making them better. Pixelmator must have something Apple wants or sees as a threat so rather than compete against them or threaten to delist them they simply acquired them and will fold them up internally. These sorts of things rarely if ever are beneficial to the end user.
In the end, the people that ran this app simply sold out to the mega corp for a nice payday which hey, good for them if that was always the end goal. I'm sure a lot of us would do the same if offered the same deal.
In the end, the people that ran this app simply sold out to the mega corp for a nice payday which hey, good for them if that was always the end goal. I'm sure a lot of us would do the same if offered the same deal.
Truth!
I used Aperture since .. well the 2000’s until I could not due to OS updates.
IMO still nothing has equaled it for workflow.
Why? It didn’t happen with Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. And unlike Dark Sky Pixelmator doesn’t have a direct counterpart on Apple’s side to get absorbed in.
This is fantastic news. I gave up Ps 4 years ago and have exclusively used Pixelmator Pro. Awesome.
This is the problem right here. I edit photos maybe once or twice a year there is literally no option for a casual user.
Rather than the Arcade/Music/TV suggested by others (which are services, and not software), this is more like what I was thinking. Also, are they? That’s extremely strange.
Your concerns are not unfounded.
I just bought the Pro version as well. Please don't microtransaction us until death, Apple.
Wow there, hold your horses please!
First, I just copied this list, since I find it a useful list of Adobe alternatives and just understanding what's out there in regard to possible replacements and which platforms are supported.
Secondly, I agree the "spy" thing is a step too far. Again, I merely copied the list. I dislike subscription/rental business models, and try to avoid those as much as I can.
And thirdly: while I also agree that not all alternatives are applicable for professional level users, for many other users that level of software would be complete overkill. And it also depends on the context: for example, Photoshop is terrible compared to specialist pixel art editing apps for professional pixel art work. Gimp is pretty dire for compositing work compared to Photoshop.
The context and job decide which tool fits best and the knowledge/skills of a particular user further define the tool choice. As well as financial means.
Example: I would never touch Canva myself for print and graphic design work. My printer hates Canva. My design colleagues hate Canva. And for good and valid reasons. But our front-office colleagues at HR love Canva, and it works for them, since they print stuff on their own digital printers. They are not designers, nor do they wish to be. Canva is suitable for them and their usage context. More power to them, I say!
Another example: I wouldn't touch Photoshop to finish 16bit imagery, because the so-called 16 bit image mode is actually only 15 bit per channel (+ a 1 bit value). PhotoLine, Affinity Photo - those work in a true 16 bit mode. Pixelmator Pro only supports 16 bit per channel, though. If I have to work with HDR imagery at 32 bit per channel, Pixelmator Pro isn't capable to deal with that. PhotoLine and Affinity will work. Photoshop as well.
But Photoshop throws out half the 16 bit values without warning the user, so I still can't use it for that type of work. So is Photoshop not professional level enough? Well, in this context and specific case it's not.
Anyway, it's still a good list of Adobe alternatives in my opinion.
To avoid triggering further outbursts of negative emotions I removed the spy thing and X reference and I also added VectorStyler (which is a true powerful alternative for Illustrator - better than Affinity Designer).
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As mentioned, I think Apple admires Pixelmator Pro and would like to own and nurture it. It's always been developed, treated and marketed by its third-party team as a deliberately "made for Mac" app that could barely exist without the Mac's frameworks and technology stack, very much aligned with the spirit of Apple's own apps. Presumably (obviously?) Apple doesn't have to have a dedicated image editor, but decided to reach out to acquire it.
Speaking for myself, I favour iWork, FaceTime and Safari because I think they're the best.
So, this is sounding more like a personality thing. If you like other apps or systems better, I hope you have a great time using them.
I predicted this a few years ago. I mean, Pixelmator oozes 'apple' already. Look at their design aesthetic and website. Look at how heavily they optimise at the deepest level for new Mac/Apple features. It's fantastic and I think this is a great opportunity for Apple to provide a fantastic image editor under the Apple brand. Who knows, maybe it will become an included piece of software like Pages, Numbers and Keynote - at least the light version.
You can still use Aperture on modern macOS: https://github.com/cormiertyshawn895/Retroactive
EDIT whoops - it no longer is developed or supports macOS 15. Glad I have not moved to it yet!
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I agree. I loved Dark Sky until Apple ruined it. I still believe that it was intentional. They'll probably do the same with Pixelmator. That's one app I wish they had kept their hands off of.
Yep, and I don't want any of them. I used to have Apple TV+ but ditched it when they raised the price. I never wanted Apple Music and hate the way they try to push that subscription on you. I prefer the iTunes store and buy only the music I want.
This is obviously the case. All of the rampant dress hiking and craziness on MacRumors over this is ridiculous. They will fold this into photos and everyone will be disgusted by how much more functional photos is but so hard to use.
Fact, check me in 3 years.
I would agree that there is no 1 all-in-one solution for Photoshop, but there are for Illustrator and InDesign.
VivaDesigner is an interesting and feature-rich InDesign alternative which isn't that widely known, but reads and writes InDesign files. It is even possible to share (and edit) these online with clients. And quite affordable for a perpetual license.
Designer
VivaDesigner is a professional AI-based design, publishing, layout, typesetting and illustration program for desktop, server and web.
viva.systems
And of course there's still Quark.
And VectorStyler, while a relative newcomer on the market, is developed at a rapid pace and already provides in more vector illustration functionality than Affinity Designer. it's become a great Illustrator alternative, and the developer is very responsive to requests and fixes bugs quickly.
Photoshop is replaceable, though. I replaced it with a combo of PhotoLine, Krita + genAI + AI selection extensions, Inkscape, and OpenToonz/Tahoma2D. But for PhotoLine all free and open source.
That said, you are right that Photoshop and Illustrator are still needed if we need to share files with other professionals. And I have a CC license for exactly that. But no more: I prefer to work in other design software now.