I think that's exactly what people are missing.
Affinity is a one-time purchase. Like a car. That doesn't mean that you get feature upgrades for your whole life. It means you can use what you've bought without paying anything extra. You can always use the features of v1 which you own without any limits. You don't have to pay for it. You do not have to upgrade. It is your application.
And I think Serifs pricing policy is very fair. Others (e.g. CaptureOne, Luminar) request a full upgrade every time they've changed a button. Serif did improve their apps over time without any upgrade for the user.
Now there is a new development...Serif positioned it as a new version and provides everyone a substantial discount. I think that is totally fine and worth it.
If you are happy with v1, stay with it! If you think v2 is not worth the upgrade, than leave it. Purchase it if you think it is worth the money. And so long...stay with v1.
I've instantly purchased v2 universal license witch I think is amazing...(besides owning 4 Affinity v1 products)