Canva Acquires Serif's Affinity Apps

[Pafoofnik]

I use the Affinity Suite and, on a relic MacBook Pro, PSCS6. I can't think of any cases where these acquisitions work out for the users. The $25, one-time purchase price will morph into a $250/year subscription, there will be no upgrades to Affinity 2 apps, and, in a few years, Adobe will buy (and bury) Canva. And so it goes...

 

[citysnaps]

What app should I get for photography improvement (edit), and creating content every once in a while?

If you want to get take your photography and image editing to a higher level I would bite the bullet and go with Adobe Lightroom. There is nothing better out there with respect to non-destructive image editing/processing features and organization.

Ever since Lightroom went subscription, Adobe has been regularly releasing a ton of outstanding image processing improvements.

 

[foobarbaz]

EDIT: I reckon it could be worse. Canva is an Australian, private company that’s been around since 2013 - at least it’s not some Wallstreet bound flash-in-the-pan AI company that’s public and it’s only role is to make more money for it’s investors.

Did you read this part?

Cliff Obrecht, Canva's co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, emphasized that Affinity's portfolio is the "final piece in our jigsaw," indicating how the apps are expected to complement Canva's existing array of AI-powered design solutions and collaborative online workspaces.

There's your AI, right there. And "final piece" likely means they're getting ready to IPO.

 

[dredlew]

Well, there’s still Pixelmator Pro, which I increasingly prefer over Affinity Photo. PMP is more intuitive than AP and it has great ML (AI) tools. Unfortunately, they don’t have an alternative to Affinity Designer & Publisher. However, Photomator would be an alternative to Lightroom now, so for photographers it’s still a viable alternative to Adobe.

 

[jayducharme]

I really like Affinity's products, and like many am worried about a transition to a subscription model. It seems like every piece of software is moving in that direction. Even Apple tested the waters with FCPX and Logic for the iPad. I imagine that one day they'll move to that model for the Mac as well. It's as if the entire world is being restructured for no one but the wealthy.

 

[dredlew]

I have wanted to buy this apps for a while, and I’m not going, in any way, buying into a subscription.

What app should I get for photography improvement (edit), and creating content every once in a while?

What app consider is a must get from Affinity? Affinity Photo? Affinity Design? Maybe publisher? What about the device? Is the iPad version versatile enough or it lacks functionality regarding the Mac app?

I’m afraid I’ll have to purchase them ASAP but I don’t want to spend a lot. Especially if they will stop updating this one time purchase versions.

Thank you.

For photography, you would need Affinity Photo. Although, if it’s just for photography rather than image manipulation, consider instead these options:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/canva-acquires-serifs-affinity-apps.2422854/post-33037088

 

[jonnysods]

Personally I'm probably gonna hold of on installing any updates for a few months at least. If I don't let them install anything they can't break anything!

That's a great idea - I just disabled auto updates from the app store.

 

[mannyvel]

hmm, I haven't upgraded to 2 yet. Maybe they'll have a > 30% off sale.

 

[stiligFox]

Did you read this part?



There's your AI, right there. And "final piece" likely means they're getting ready to IPO.

I did see that, but they've been around a lot longer than the current new hip AI trend, which to me means the company is stable.

 

[stiligFox]

They seem to be heavily financed by venture capital:

Source: Wikipedia

So their role is absolutely to make more money for its investors. The only difference is that you and me cannot be investors

Oof, well there goes my feeling of comfort hah

 

[Rainshadow]

So everyone is worried about subscriptions, I’ll actually take this in a different direction. Im a graphic designer and I use Affinity daily, while also having paid access to the adobe apps because you can’t be a professional designer without adobe. Affinity apps are just so… much… better… they have a responsiveness that the adobe apps don’t have. Would subscriptions be disappointing? Yes, however Affinity suite severely lacks behind in two areas: AI and stock assets. If canva can build in their AI stuff (magic erase, background remover, etc.) and integrate their stock asset library into the affinity suite that would be KILLER.

So sad to see one time payments go? Yes, but I am very optimistic about the apps if canva can integrate what they have done in AI and their stock image library into the Affinity suite.

Those things sound great and I even agree. However, the reason I love this app suite is because I don’t make a living off this software. It’s a hobby and something I do personally once in a while. I create posters, booklets, pamphlets, stickers for local groups and work related events. I cannot afford a hefty subscription price since it doesn’t bring in money for me. Could it? No. Those places wouldn’t pay for it. They would have some guy sit on Microsoft word and make a welcome sign in 12pt Helvetica font. The one time purchase is essential since I don’t use it consistently.

Forgive me, but for someone who makes a living on the stuff saying they don’t mind a sub, that bothers me.

You’re right, but my hope is you are not the target user.

 

[Artsketch]

Unfortunately, the Affinity Suite could hardly offer any innovations and development is very slow. After no upgrade price was offered to upgrade from version 1 to 2, I switched to Vectorstyler and Pixelmator Pro. For DTP I use QuarkXPress much more professional than Afffinity Publisher.

 

[bousozoku]

Noooooo


EDIT: I reckon it could be worse. Canva is an Australian, private company that’s been around since 2013 - at least it’s not some Wallstreet bound flash-in-the-pan AI company that’s public and it’s only role is to make more money for it’s investors.

Serif Publisher was available in the 1980s.

Hopefully, this isn't the end.

FXHome, who make HitFilm Pro, was acquired a while back. All of their products are available on subscription now.

 

[grammatica]

Step 1: Eliminate competition.

 

[bostonMAC]

I'm hopeful that they don't move to subscription only.

My guess is they move to a yearly release at around 2025 / 2026 with both subscription and non subscription options, where subscription includes updates and Canva Pro and the non subscription includes Canva Free with a discount for pro and updates for a year. That would at least be an acceptable compromise and is similar to what ON1 does.

 

[GeneralChang]

Unfortunately, the Affinity Suite could hardly offer any innovations and development is very slow. After no upgrade price was offered to upgrade from version 1 to 2, I switched to Vectorstyler and Pixelmator Pro. For DTP I use QuarkXPress much more professional than Afffinity Publisher.

Ah yeah, Quark, I forget about them. What's that cost these days?

Ah, right. That doesn't really make them a direct competitor to Affinity then, does it?

 

[Pafoofnik]

hmm, I haven't upgraded to 2 yet. Maybe they'll have a > 30% off sale.

They have a 30%-off sale on their apps right now.

 

[Tagbert]

Incredibly sad to see. I guess I should head over to Gimp. Took a chance and went all in with Affinity a few years ago, should have known not to trust paid software.

You might want to actually wait to see if anything changes

 

[Switchfoot]

I'm hoping non-profits keep getting some licenses for free. We use it all the time.

Affinity licenses or Canva?

 

[Artsketch]

Ah yeah, Quark, I forget about them. What's that cost these days?

I upgraded my old version a few years ago for about $300. Good value for a solid subscription free version.

 

[typecase]

Disheartening news. I love using these apps and love the one time pay model. Acquisitions are rarely a good thing and since this company already offered a subscription model, I fear this jewel has now been plundered.

 

[CalfCanuck]

If you want to get take your photography and image editing to a higher level I would bite the bullet and go with Adobe Lightroom. There is nothing better out there with respect to non-destructive image editing/processing features and organization.

Ever since Lightroom went subscription, Adobe has been regularly releasing a ton of outstanding image processing improvements.

I second the Lightroom/Photoshop package. Those of us using it from the beginning still get it for $9.99/mth. Might be $19.99 now. But a sweet deal for LR, which really is the backbone of any serious digital photo catalog…

 

[spazzcat]

Affinity licenses or Canva?

Canva, I'm wondering if they're going to change their licensing model now.

 

[satchmo]

Sad to hear, they did things in a good way. That said I'm not that surprised since I thought they didn't do the upgrade from v1 to v2 quite right and may not have got enough from that operation.

There wasn't enough in v2 to get me to upgrade either.

I've always treated Affinity products as an emergency backup to Adobe. They're okay, but not quite there yet, IMO.
Who knows what Canva money will bring to the Affinity roadmap.
Will they pro-level up Affinity to go against Adobe?

Or will they dumb it down and roll it into Canva and try to mass market the Affinity suite?

 

[arkmannj]

Here’s to hoping we don’t see subscriptions be the required path on these apps. One of the big reasons we buy them and pay for updates, and promote them to other people is the one time purchase Licenses.