New OS X Photoshop Competitor

From time to time we have discussions about the best apps for image processing, logo design and the like here and I just stumbled upon Affinity Photo which is available as Beta for OS X and I must say I am mighty impressed: Non-destructive, blazing fast and even opened a PDF with the graphic elements as separate layered objects and the text editable. Now they “just” need an InDesign replacement and things don’t look that good for Adobe anymore:
https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/beta-download/

Slowpoke :wink:

Also have a look at Affinity Designer!

Yes, sure, I already have a license for the latter one. And like it a lot, although I still miss line arrows. And Photo: Has it been discussed here before? In that case sorry!

Hehe, and I just found that on their website:
OS X | Affinity Publisher (later this year) :smiley:

Yeah, they are going after Adobe big time. :slight_smile:

I do use Serif PagePlus, DrawPlus and PhotoPlus for years and I have to admitt, it is very good software. A month ago I upgraded to the latest version of DrawPlus X8 and you can make stunning graphics with it.

Serif improves their applications on a regularly basis, despite the fact we had to wait for DrawPlus X8 for more than two years. For your information, there was never any X7 upgrade, they skipped that number to bring it more in line with the other applications in their product range.

I use DrawPlus together with a wacom Intuos 5 touch L tablet for all the drawing work, including objects for Xojo applications.

There was a lot of frustration by some DrawPlus users because they felt left behind because a lot of work was done in Affinity. Serif has a strong Windows reputation and with some people it just did not feel right start creating applications for the Mac too. Nevertheless I feel it is a good decision made by Serif to deliver Mac applications besides the Windows ones. I expect it will be beneficial for both sides.

You can compare Serif which is based in Nothingham (UK) and sometimes humorously called “Sherif from Nothingham” with Xojo inc. Both are small companies but with a lot of potential which both already have proven.

It is very nice to see Serif mentioned here on this forum. Maybe it is an equally good idea to mention Xojo on the Serif forum?

PS : I just started a thread on the Serif DrawPlus forum about Xojo. I do not know if that breaks any of their forum rules, but lets see what reactions are there. You can find the “Community Plus” forum at Serif website :

Serif Community Plus

Enjoy

Yeah, Affinity Photo is pretty awesome. I now mostly use Pixelmator but Affinity Photo could well be a winner. More certain because it has support for Photoshop plugins.
The beta is already great andI will buy this for sure.

About time Adobe gets some real competition. Affinity Photo is certainly a big contender.

Markus, I think your perception is a little too far. They are not going after Adobe, they just do their own thing.

In the past they received many requests for a Mac version of their software and they listened to their customers. If I understand correctly, they had some problems with their software under Windows emulation on the Mac side. By delivering a true Mac version they solve that problem too and found a new market. In times of crisis, creativity and innovation can be very succesfully.

I really do hope this works out very well for Serif. Believe me, their software is very high quality and very powerfull feature rich. In contrast, Adobe is very much bloatware despite the fact most people use it.

But it looks better on the surface when someone can tell they used PhotoShop instead of a similar application from a smaller vendor. I had many discussions with Adobe users about this subject but in most cases lost the argument.

Serif with Affinity software has to go their own way, listen to their users and act upon their userbase requests. That will make them strong and powerfull. Try to compete with Adobe will do a lot of harm in the end to Serif because Adobe has much more resources, has still a very big userbase and still set the industry standard in graphic softwares.

But Markus, maybe we can make a suggestion to Serif to use Xojo for their Affinity line? Maybe when we push hard together with people like Bob Keeney, Tim Hare and Kern Tekinay we can convince them:)? Nice thought…

One little detail that Adobe forgot with its online scheme is that people like to have software on their machines.

Exactly Michel because when the internet is down, online Adobe users have problems. When in Botswana, it is impossible to use such online or cloud software because of the bad internet connection.

It is very good possible that over time, this will be Adobe’s downfall.

Does anyone know how long the beta runs for? Couldn’t find any info on the site. Looks like a pretty sweet app after 10 minutes playing - great pricing too.

I grew up using Photoshop and Illustrator, but Affinity Designer looks like it could replace my workflow. However, I also use Adobe Premiere and Audition. And with Adobe products, if you rent one, you might as well rent them all.

When a new beta becomes available, your current beta version will warn you during startup. I am sure it will be the same when the final version is released.

I know Serif very well and there is a very high chance as a beta user, you will receive a nice discount when the new version is released. When you have any problems when the final version is released, just contact Serif and they will solve your problem.

Indeed, the pricing of Serif applications is great.

I hope this answer your question.

Well, with Affinity Publisher in the pipeline … :wink:

They spotted that Adobe caters for the high-end market but left small businesses in a bad position and completely left the home market (with its move to subscription). Pixelmator was a good try but had some missing functionality for professional use. Pity they didn’t push on - they missed an opportunity.

Affinity might not do EVERYTHING that Adobe does, but it will be good enough for a large part of Adobe’s former market.

On the Windows side Affinity has a reputation for low-cost software. Interestingly on the Mac they develop a reputation for high-quality software. It’s almost Apple-like …

I think it’s odd you say Adobe left the home market entirely. The subscription plan makes their products accessible to a very large market. $50 per month is nothing compared to what it use to cost, lowering the barrier to entry dramatically. It’s probably the most effective thing they’ve done to curb the rampant piracy.

Last I did the math, it would take 10 years for the old model to be a better deal than the subscription, assuming upgrades every 18 months and you buy their whole suite, which is what the subscription provides.

That model makes their whole suite accessible to people like me that use the tools, but it isn’t my core job.

$50 per month is $600 per year, or $1800 over three years (roughly the time when a new computer makes a software update necessary).

Not something most home users would do. I don’t know anyone who would subscribe, but I know three people who are very interested in Affinity Photo.

Beside the cost Affinity seems to be doing everything they need.

[quote=180240:@Thom McGrath]I think it’s odd you say Adobe left the home market entirely. The plan makes their products accessible to a very large market. $50 per month is nothing compared to what it use to cost, lowering the barrier to entry dramatically. It’s probably the most effective thing they’ve done to curb the rampant piracy.

Last I did the math, it would take 10 years for the old model to be a better deal than the subscription, assuming upgrades every 18 months and you buy their whole suite, which is what the subscription provides.

That model makes their whole suite accessible to people like me that use the tools, but it isn’t my core job.[/quote]

I think the subscription and cloud based market model they use sucks for home user. It’s basically pay forever or you lose access to your work. Affinity’s products ,each, cost lest than one month of Adobes rental fee.

[quote=180244:@Markus Winter]$50 per month is $600 per year, or $1800 over three years (roughly the time when a new computer makes a software update necessary).

Not something most home users would do. I don’t know anyone who would subscribe, but I know three people who are very interested in Affinity Photo.

Beside the cost Affinity seems to be doing everything they need.[/quote]
It’s not always about the total cost. $50 per month is much easier to swallow than $2500 all at once. This is why loans and credit cards exist. You also stay up to date with the subscription, so a fair cost comparison must assume the purchaser wants to buy every version released.

Every design firm I’ve worked with - quite a few actually - love the subscription model. Adobe’s user data seems to suggest it was preferred enough to warrant dropping the “classic” model.

That all said, the Affinity tools look excellent. I could easily see myself dropping some Adobe tools for them. But I use more Adobe products than Affinity can replace. So it doesn’t make sense for me to switch, since I’d still need the subscription anyway.

One final advantage of the subscription is that I can get anything I want at a moment’s notice. For example, I had to do some client work regarding InDesign scripting. All I needed to do was click the install button next to InDesign and 10 minutes later, it is ready to go. When done, I just uninstalled it. When I needed to do voice recording, I discovered they have a tool for that, so I installed it. No more searching necessary.

With the classic model, I would have to decide which bundle I’d need and be stuck with it. Already I’ve seen examples where the bundle I’d have chosen would not have satisfied my evolved requirements.

The subscription model allows creatives this kind of freedom for a fraction of what it use to cost. Would I be happier with cheaper? Absolutely. But that’s a pretty universal truth.

I, still doing mostly book design for my living, don’t like Adobe’s subscription model. The design market has taken a big hit in terms of the money you can earn with it; a subscription model can be a danger to many small businesses and from what I see in several design forums the majority does not like this model. In former times I leased the Creative Suite and in sum paid less this way and after 18 month owned a license for good.

I bought licenses for several smaller products too, like VivaDesigner. But I found I don’t use them. Although they may have a few nice features, after a short time I miss many of the features that the Adobe Suite offers (or at least can be extended with). With the Affinity products, this seems to be different. I already use Affinity Designer more often than Illustrator which I never got accustomed to, and although it is still missing some key features using it “feels” good – it’s fast, modern and native and really well-designed.

So I am very excited about their layout app that they say will go into beta later this year. It’s good to know there’s someone here who has a connection to them, Chris, in case the beta is a closed one :wink:

[quote=180240:@Thom McGrath]I think it’s odd you say Adobe left the home market entirely. The subscription plan makes their products accessible to a very large market. $50 per month is nothing compared to what it use to cost, lowering the barrier to entry dramatically. It’s probably the most effective thing they’ve done to curb the rampant piracy.

Last I did the math, it would take 10 years for the old model to be a better deal than the subscription, assuming upgrades every 18 months and you buy their whole suite, which is what the subscription provides.

That model makes their whole suite accessible to people like me that use the tools, but it isn’t my core job.[/quote]

$50 is not far from the price of Photoshop Elements I have been using for years. At $49.95, Affinity is probably targeting that audience as well.

The online thing is indeed probably a good deal for big corporations, but it is not that good for individual end users. Besides, I have had in the past to work in places where the Internet does not reach, and local software remains necessary.

On the other hand, the online subscription model is interesting for developers. Contrary to the one shot sale, it brings a regular business. That is a thing to consider for some of us.