Apple Updates Pixelmator Pro With Apple Intelligence Support

[MacFarmer]

would be interesting to know how much apple payed for pixelmator.

 

[Adora]

Is that screenshot from inside the app? Because I still see the lifetime options in the applestore description, so if they removed them from app code and didn't even bother updating the app store then that is really bad.

Apart from that confusion, pricing and longterm businessmodel is one of the big questions for the future of pixelmator/photomator apps. The take-over statement said nothing, the pixelmator supprt refused to answer anything about the future and Apple says nothing.

So the old pricing model was either rented software with recurring payments or a lifetime license. Product packaging was such that a lifetime license on pixelmator let you buy a discounted lifetime license for photomator. So there was a reasonable option for those who dislike recurring payments. However, who would buy a lifetime license when the future of the products is uncertain?

That is why Apple should have been very clear upfront what their intentions were with the take-over. Instead, they have been silent for 8 months and still basically does nothing to the product.

Everyone in the market is now left to make their own analysis of the situation.

The silent addition of a one-time-purchase at 59,99 (half the price of a lifetime license) indicates to me they are moving into the classic app-store behaviour, "hidden subscriptions". This is where you buy into the software at a seemlingly low price, but will have to buy all subsequent versions at new price. ie The current version sold at 59,99 will be as-is and recieve very little attention. Then a new version will appear with every new macos version and you will need to buy that one at 59,99. Rinse-and-repat.

The lifetime license was the way to protect yourself against that, but only works when the vendor is transparent with their future goals and intentions.

This is in Photomator's main menu:

And this in Settings:

Both lead to the App Store and your purchases list and when I choose Photomator in there, It get this:

After clicking on see all plans, this:

Maybe the yearly plan is just colliding with Lifetime and it can be chosen after the trial has ended. I have to wait 6 days now to find out. But it's strange that the App Store is showing four different "Yearly Subsctiptions here". And three Lifetime subscriptions here:

Maybe you get the Exclusive Offer when you buy Photomator before.

I have no clue what is going on there and I will never subscribe to an app, when there are alternatives without subscription.

 

[Adora]

It just works. 🙃 I don't even know what app could be better for me because I know nothing about both. Wasn't there a WWDC recently? Maybe they should have given those apps for free to the people (not me) who purchased Aperture.

Can't even try the trial because it's too short for my slowness.

 

[Wx_Man]

Why does this cost money? I want it for free.

Seriously? If you want free then go with GIMP. Version 3.x.x is out now and a big improvement to the 2.x.x version. There are even scripts to make the interface look more like Photoshop. Tons of tutorials online and in YT. Is it as good as Photoshop or as easy as Pixelmator Pro? Nope. But you’re concerned with free so GIMP it is.

 

[Wx_Man]

This is in Photomator's main menu:

View attachment 2524820
And this in Settings:


View attachment 2524824

Both lead to the App Store and your purchases list and when I choose Photomator in there, It get this:


View attachment 2524821


After clicking on see all plans, this:

View attachment 2524822

Maybe the yearly plan is just colliding with Lifetime and it can be chosen after the has ended. I have to wait 6 days now to find out. But it's strange that the App Store is showing four different "Yearly Subsctiptions here". And three Lifetime subscriptions here:

Maybe you get the Exclusive Offer when you buy Photomator before.

I have no clue what is going on there and I will never subscribe to an app, when there are alternatives without subscription.


View attachment 2524823

Yep….was about to purchase Pixelmator Pro before Apple bought them. Decided to wait. I’ll give it until end of year and after Tahoe and what the continued fallout of their App Store lawsuits with the E.U. and even Epic. If Apple really feels their sweet, sweet cash flow scheme with huge cuts of app purchases and App Store exclusivity is significantly threatened I can see them going with Adobe style subscriptions for Pixelmator, Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.

 

[somethingelsefl]

And so begins Pixelmators eventual downfall.

Ummm. Isn’t your avatar image playground? Which was at the core of this article?

 

[Radeon85]

Ummm. Isn’t your avatar image playground? Which was at the core of this article?

It is, but Pixelmator is not the place for it. It would be like shoving image playground into Adobe Photoshop.

 

[Adora]

Yep….was about to purchase Pixelmator Pro before Apple bought them. Decided to wait. I’ll give it until end of year and after Tahoe and what the continued fallout of their App Store lawsuits with the E.U. and even Epic. If Apple really feels their sweet, sweet cash flow scheme with huge cuts of app purchases and App Store exclusivity is significantly threatened I can see them going with Adobe style subscriptions for Pixelmator, Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.

As alternative to Photomator Darkroom has a one-time-Purchase "Unlock Everything Forever" option and both look very similar to the Photos App I think. Just like Aperture to iPhoto.

But I can't compare it anymore directly because I have already macOS 26 and now want the old design back when compared.

Especially when photos are partly hidden under the top bar, what isn't a bar anymore because it is merged with the category shown, can be look horrible depending on the colors of the pictures behind it. It changes text color, background color all the time and sometimes just don't fit, especially if there are mixed colors in one row.

Darkroom

Photomator:

Photomator compared to Photos (11.0):

 

[bice]

...

Maybe the yearly plan is just colliding with Lifetime and it can be chosen after the trial has ended. I have to wait 6 days now to find out. But it's strange that the App Store is showing four different "Yearly Subsctiptions here". And three Lifetime subscriptions here:

Maybe you get the Exclusive Offer when you buy Photomator before.

...

I gave it a try, and downloaded from appstore. On the license splash screen there is a "see more plans"l:

That leads to these options:

So the lifetime is there and it might be just like you say it will be an option once your trial is over.

I can't find the "Exclusive offer" though. Yes, it is connected to having a lifetime purchase of pixelmator, but I am not sure how/if the appstore can display different purchase options in one product crossreferencing puchases of another product. Maybe it can, it just seems quite intrusive apps are able to know which other apps you have purchased and what purchase option you used.


PS
The dated tagline "Mac App of the Year 2023" goes to show how little effort goes into managing this porduct and its sales these days.

 

[Adora]

I gave it a try, and downloaded from appstore. On the license splash screen there is a "see more plans"l:
View attachment 2525504

That leads to these options:
View attachment 2525505

So the lifetime is there and it might be just like you say it will be an option once your trial is over.

I can't find the "Exclusive offer" though. Yes, it is connected to having a lifetime purchase of pixelmator, but I am not sure how/if the appstore can display different purchase options in one product crossreferencing puchases of another product. Maybe it can, it just seems quite intrusive apps are able to know which other apps you have purchased and what purchase option you used.


PS
The dated tagline "Mac App of the Year 2023" goes to show how little effort goes into managing this porduct and its sales these days.

Thanks. Seems I overlooked that. And the special offer might only be for users who bought Photomator Pro before.

I found it now after uninstalling it and reinstalling with my other App Store account and then again with my US account. It seems they forgot the included 19% sales tax for the lifetime version here.

It can even be used without trial but you can't save anything. So back to the account where it is activated...

Bad that there is no Mac only version. Normally it should be cheaper than Pixelmator Pro if that's also a Lifetime license.

 

[Algr]

Another good thing about the mac has died. Time to look for alternatives:

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