I always liked Pixelmator.
They can go take a **** to themselves now.
They can go take a **** to themselves now.
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Pixelmator Photo Switches to Subscription Pricing, Launching on Mac by Next Year
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Where does it say that existing users won't get updates?
Pixelmator testing the waters with their side app, before switching their main app to subscription based
There's a difference between selling something privately and selling something as a business.
I've sold a **** load of stuff in my life and yeah of course I want the most I can get for it but I'll take what I can get. I'm not being a greedy ass. Pixelmator has been one of the most popular apps for who knows how long and still it just isn't enough for them. They want even more money now.
The same can be said of Apple! They make obscene profits and this year we will get another price hike alongside more ads in the OS. Greed at its very definition yeah that's Apple.
Calm down there. Poor Apple can't afford to spend time/money on improving their own apps...unless, of course, it means adding in more advertisements!
Yeah, I think we have to accept that some App pricing is totally unsustainable.
I impulse-bought Pixelmator (Classic) for Mac when it was on offer for something like $10 almost 10 years ago - it got several significant updates and, even though I passed on the PixelMator Pro upgrade, stone me if it's not still getting occasional minor patches (last one 2 months ago). I mean, kudos to Pixelmator for doing that but it is way beyond any reasonable expectation of developers who like to eat hot meals and sleep indoors.
I don't really see any problem with Pixelmator's pricing structure - extortionate monthly subscription (but might make sense if you just needed it for one job), far more reasonable annual subscription, or lifetime purchase for the cost of about 2 years.
The general problem with subscriptions, though, is the danger that your software could turn into a pumpkin the millisecond the publisher ceases trading - but then, on iOS, that applies to pretty much anything in the App Store and reluctant to buy any software on iOS that costs significant money because of the number of things that have just unexpectedly vanished with an iOS upgrade.
Subscriptions. On the App Store it seems no matter now small, there are subscriptions for nearly everything. PDF readers? Subscription. Note taking? Subscription. No, I will not pay monthly. This business model is a cancer. Thank you, Adobe.
Most of your replies are actually adding to my point point of view.
I'm in no way a pro in this domain, but I think I'm experienced enough to recognize something that is not designed with the end user in mind.
Apple's App store customers are the developers, not the end users. They should listen to the developers and not try to push them towards a model that may be beneficial for them on the short term, but is not sustainable on the long term.
Let's say I have 50 paid apps on my phone/ipad. As an standard user, if I can afford an Apple device, I can probably shell out 100, or even 200$ for these apps over the lifetime of my devices, so that means over several years at least.
It looks reasonable to me, and if some apps become dated, I can replace them with a newer version on my terms, if I still find them attractive. I don't expect new features with my current apps, just compatibility with the latest OS unless there are major changes.
Now if all my 50 apps become subscription based as Apple wants to, that means I have to shell out at least these 200$ each year, probably much more. Subscription are almost always more expensive on the long run, with the argument that you would have had to buy the upgrade anyways, which is fallacious.
I don't agree to this system as an end user, but I also think it's only profitable to Apple because it's indeed a better solution on the term for them as it brings a steady cash flow. But for the developers, they will probably lose customers, or at best end up having a bad reputation like the first posts on this thread suggest. Pixelmator is a huge player in the field that can afford this, but what about smaller developers ? We have already seen so many games turn to freemium and the poor result it is for the end users (and oh the irony, you can now subscribe to Apple Arcade to get back the experience you had before). Now should we accept the same fate for our favorite apps, limiting their features unless you add to yourself yet another leash with a new subscription ?
I stand to the fact that this situation is something designed by Apple and the likes, and I'm NOT happy about that. Not only is my app consumption more and more controlled by Apple, but even if I jump ship to Android, I will face the same issue because developers can't afford to have too many different selling strategies and Android apps will mimic this scheme.
In the end, what I suggest doesn't really matter, because it's Apple decision to have the store work like that. Unless everyone, users and developers complain enough, they won't move an inch. I can only raise awareness, and hope the developers will one day be able again to do what they want (having fun making weird and marvelous apps) instead of struggling each time Apple decides a new direction.
Yes I'm bitter, because I don't like what I'm currently seeing and I am old enough to have experienced better days.
I want a a calculator app for my iPad (wtf Apple?) and one of the best seems to require either putting up with a lot of ads or subscribing.
SUBSCRIBING TO A CALCULATOR!?
Insanity!
"A lifetime purchase option will remain available for $59.99"
Im in favor of this moving forward if apps feel they need to go subscription. Just have a high price one time purchase for people who still want that.
Im in favor of this moving forward if apps feel they need to go subscription. Just have a high price one time purchase for people who still want that.
Pfft! Subscription-only model is so last decade. The cool new thing is Subscription with ads. Just look at Netflix, Disney, et al. 
I actually do agree. Give me the option for a life time license. I'm just not paying you $x.xx/Month!!
According to MacStories, there is an option to buy a lifetime purchase for $54.99.
Pixelmator Photo Switches to Subscription Pricing and Provides a Sneak Peek at the App’s Upcoming Mac Version
The Pixelmator team announced today that its iPhone and iPad photo editor, Pixelmator Photo, has moved to subscription pricing, and a Mac version of the app is on the way. Existing Pixelmator Photo users won’t have to subscribe to continue using the app and should be able to add the Mac version...
www.macstories.net
I stopped using LR when they went down the subscription based model. Started using FOSS editing software like Darktable and haven't looked back. A bit of a learning curve but once everything is understood it's better than LR.
Well, Apple’s customers are both the developers and end users. But tbh, Apple will choose the end users over the developers… that’s always been the case. But they have made strides to improve developer relationship… with offering them 15% fee for small developers.
Well, yeah.. I remember back when the App Store first arrived. It wasn’t much competition in the space and it allowed developers to flourish. And the end user was able to take advantage of getting lifetime updates. It benefitted both the developers and the end user.
One of the problems with the current App Store model is that developers cannot charge for updates in an easy way. In the past, most updates that weren't mere bug fixes cost money. Even iOS updates used to cost money, at least for iPod users. Then developers could justify improving their software as it would bring in more revenue when customers updated. Now people expect new features for life after splurging on an app for 99 cents. The most convenient way around this for developers today is thus, unfortunately, to start a subscription service.
I totally understand and agree, developers have to eat. BUT... they also have to develop.
What I mean by that is that, in exchange for a subscription, I expect very regular (monthly) updates and premium support (personalized answers within 24 hours).
Next, quite some monthly subscriptions have the same cost as the lifetime app itself used to cost before, in which case I expect an important chunk of new functions and improvements on a yearly basis.
So, hoping that my above expectations sound reasonable, I invite anyone to name a developer that indeed delivers. I have yet to meet one, hence I deleted all of my subscriptions.
And the developers that don't live up to this - I fear I call them, indeed, just greedy.
If they was greedy. They wouldn’t offer lifetime subscription to their existing users.
I recall some developers put clauses when they transition to subscription model… indicating that those who purchase at a certain date is eligible for the lifetime subscription.
And as a iPad user, they acknowledged that the development of Pixelmator for iOS slowed down due to this decision. Which has me wondering that a huge update is coming for the iPad.
While a little angry about this change, I’m more worried about the possibility of them changing their minds and charging existing users in the long term, like what Darkroom and Halide did.
I really wish there was a subscription model where you only paid for the weeks or months where you used an application.
Developers can already support this if they want, can't they? I know I've used apps that had a weekly, monthly or yearly subscription price. I have a need to fax things exactly once per year. So, I pay for a one week subscription to my favorite IOS Fax app, use it a couple times, and then cancel the subscription.
Please shout this in the back for all the iPhone phone warrers who cringe at the idea of downloading software outside of an App Store.
Well, as a casual user it's good bye Pixelmator. Can anyone recommend a pay once alternative for Mac desktop for when they stop updating the non subscription thing?
Thank goodness. For a second I thought I was going to start being charged to use the app I already purchased. I don't like subscription based models so I'm happy to see that they are still offering a lifetime purchase option as well.
I don’t expect monthly updates. But I do expect improvements as far as visually or speed enhancements from time to time. Perhaps, anything to improve my workflow and bug fixes are mandatory.
But some subscriptions are based on server cost… so you have to consider that as well.
I don’t use subscription based apps, at all.