KC Honie

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Thats is what I said, intra-revision updates are required to be free inter-revisions you can charge for but it also has to be a new release. In actuality Apple is trying to stem the flow of developers from leaving the MAS… So you need to read the thread before commenting, it has already been discussed that the Affinity apps should currently be at v3.x having been through two major paid upgrade cycles… They have not…

The challenge with MAS is that Apple takes up to 30% off the top and all updates within a revision, i.e., 1.x, 2.x etc must be free... So to rev to 2.x Serif must in essence release a new AP product. (I suspect Serif is paying closer to 15%). Two of my Affinity apps came from MAS and one direct. If I were to update in the future, I would do them all direct... I stopped buying from the MAS some time ago, I prefer for the developer to get the revenue that Apple skims...

100% agree on the raw engine issue, there is a learning curve to move between raw developers. I posted a couple of years ago that if Serif would create, a credible highly integrated [with AP] C1/LR competitor with a built in DAM, I would switch immediately from C1. All because of the raw engine integration with AP. That did not and apparently will not happen. Adobe's photo plan is $US20/month which includes LR and PS (cheaper than C1's subscription). I have already repurchased the subscription and over the next year will transition completely back to adobe... Therefore I will not be do a perpetual license upgrade nor a subscription to Affinity apps, of course I am just one user and they could care less. But at least I am a data point... Edit: I hate to transition away from C1P, its raw developer is so much better than anyone else's, but I am doing it because of workflow... (Plus C1P is stupid expensive)

C1 offers either a perpetual license or a subscription, your choice. I use the perpetual license but usually upgrade every other yearly cycle... I suspect each Affinity app will be ~$3.99 US per month and all three will be $9.99 ish per month...

I can think of 4 right off the top of my head that would be good acquirers and a few that would be good targets. (But acquisitions are exceedingly hard to make work, with 80% outright failing). Regardless this is probably the path to survival. Serif does not have the bandwidth to complete the needed features to their existing products much less the capacity to add the needed products to their suite. I do understand their need to generate a consistent revenue stream, I suspect that they will quickly transition to a subscription model as well. As you so aptly pointed out the customer base is cheap and will not tolerate much of a subscription cost. Surely Serif knows that the Affinity apps should be at rev 3.x right now, having generated two major upgrade events. They also need to abandon MAS, but that is another discussion altogether. Not all of the customer base is $$$ oriented, when I left Adobe, LR was a hot mess and its future direction was in question (Adobe royally screwed up the strategy for LR and had to do a hard about face, once again that is for another discussion). I transitioned to C1P and loved the app, they then lost their way, but with the new leadership they are back stronger than ever. Neither Serif nor C1 have tight integration with the needed companion apps. Adobe does. I am happy to pay Adobe's subscription rate to have access to a credible solution. So a frugal customer base not willing to pay for ongoing feature and new app development does not bode well for a long-term stand alone company...

It always does 😀

All very astute statements, C1P'a raw develop engine is lightyears ahead of any others that I have tried, including Adobe's Camera Raw and the Raw Develop engine in AP. In previous posts I have lamented the need to for Serif to up their game dramatically in their raw engine. I would have stayed with Affinity tools (I like personas) if there was a way for me to seamlessly do production photo editing, there is not. I realize that I am part of a shrinking demographic (photographer) so probably not going to get much love from Serif. Your last comment "Lost opportunities in a studio without the proper tools. And the clock of Life is ticking." is exactly where I am. I have changed tools to make my life easier and more productive!!! The $$$ expendature is trivial in the bigger scheme of things. More time shooting, less time editing... I like your strategy quote, one of the things that we (previous business life) were very cognizant about was: If you listen to your customers they will put you out of business!!! Read Christensen and his concept of originally Disruptive Technologies, now Disruptive Innovation (Disruptive Innovation describes a process by which a product or service initially takes root in simple applications at the bottom of a market—typically by being less expensive and more accessible—and then relentlessly moves upmarket, eventually displacing established competitors.). It may be that Serif thinks that the Affinity tools are indeed a Disruptive Innovation, they are not...

I can continue to use C1P and AP for legacy edits, but I have already started the transition back to LR and PS. I am primarily a photographer so C1P or LR are the tools that I use the majority of the time. I occasionally use AP or PS, only when I have to do edits that one of the raw developers will not handle. As a photographer you simply cannot use AP or PS as a production tool. There is no way to cull and develop a photoshoot of 500, 1000, or 2000 images without using other tools. With C1P or LR that is a trivial task. The benefit of using Adobe (there are plenty of downsides) is that LR and PS both use Camera Raw and develop raw images the same. As I said to another poster, C1P publishes a product roadmap, it would be very helpful if Serif did the same... Based on the information available, I made a decision to use the tools that best suits my workflow... Edit: As an aside, it would be very nice to work on an image in the non existent "Affinity Develop" and seamlessly switch persona to AP or AD to keep working on the image, but alas that is never going to happen.

Or take Capture One's tact and publish a product roadmap, then people can make informed decisions.

I am in the process of switching back to Adobe (I hate that!!!). I am primarily a photographer, using Capture One Pro and Affinity Photo, but I also use Designer and Publisher. But there is simply no continuity between C1P and AP like there is between lightroom and photoshop. Then I can stop whining about the need for Serif to create an app like LR or C1P, the tools are already there in AP, they just need to pull out the appropriate raw editing modules (Serif's version of Camera Raw) and embed them in a DAM and call it Affinity Develop. But that is not going to happen, and I am no longer going to deal with the PITA of round tripping between C1P and AP. Plus C1P has gotten WAY too expensive. SO I am out... Edit: I spent way too many years in the business world. I have to stress that I have NO inside information about anything having to do with Serif. But based on their behavior, i) delayed app updates, ii) missing apps that need to be in the portfolio, iii) the discussion of transitioning to a subscription model, I suspect that they are in discussions to be acquired. There are a number of potential strategic buyers that make sense, I won't bother speculating who, but it would not surprise me if we see an announcement at some point.

Probably not going to happen...

It was a real productivity killer, I cannot imagine trying to use it on graphics applications like the Affinity apps (shudder). Like you, I have never met anyone who had anything but contempt for the ribbon...

I have neofinder, it is very nice...

I chose to go with C1 because IMHO the raw engine is much better than Adobe's and I prefer AP to PS. But to your point I pay a premium for using C1 instead of LR. As primarily a photographer, I am keenly aware of the library features of both LR and C1. An application such as PS or AP is not useful for a high volume photographer, you have to have the basic DAM functionality of LR or C1 (et al). I think most photographers are also very much aware of this. I am not sure why Serif has not created "Affinity Develop" to compete with the other RAW developers out there (the RAW developer functionality is already present in AP, write a DAM already!!!). But that in my opinion is the huge factor in photographers not switching to Affinity apps. If C1 keeps raising prices like that are then I might head back to Adobe... Then PS would also replace AP on my machine. Edit: As an aside, I don't think Serif has any intention of releasing a LR/C1 competitor. It is a glaring hole in their lineup and should have been released concurrent with Affinity Photo. There is some strategic reason for not competing heads up with Adobe that we are not seeing. Very unfortunate...

Sorry to resurrect a nearly dormant thread, I think he wants what most of us want (wanted) a credible replacement for LR and C1. So yes, a photo organizer and raw developer. Everything is there on the developer side, Affinity Photo has all the tools except an organizer...

The ribbon is the worst thing that MS did to office, it is TERRIBLE!!!

Aperture was light years ahead of the competition when Apple decided to kill it / embed some of its functionality in photos. In many ways some of its more desirable features have still not been duplicated. RIP Aperture

The terms I have used are routinely used in graduated level marketing classes, they are used to describe the various forms of predatory marketing and in the long term how bad they actually are for a company. But if you would prefer that we didn't discuss real world topics, we can all just sing Kumbaya...

I was not suggesting that affiliate marketing was similar to MLM, i was just saying on the sleazy scale it was one step below MLM. I marketed for years and I understand intimately how it works. I am sorry that you don't 🤣 There is a huge difference in sleazy marketing and ethical marketing... I hope that Serif stays the ethical course...

Yes... Have you actually done marketing? Real marketing? I have called no one a name, I simply articulated here a label often times used for this type of marketing. It is one level below MLM. Affiliate marketers will switch brands in an instant, it happens all the time. Why would anybody care what one of them had to say? Just like you pay no attention to a car salesman. Of course I think time is extraordinarily valuable and yes I have sold high end systems in the past, plus a long history of business development and marketing. While this type of marketing is effective on some people, it also has a nasty habit of alienating customers and potential customers. It is viewed as dishonest by a larger than expected percentage of customers. Virtue signaling 😆 🤣

First of all you meant hypothesis not theory. But regardless it is not a "theory", it is marketing 101... I honestly don't care if you go out of your way to to write, shoot, act, and edit a youtube video, and no you shouldn't get paid for your time when someone buys the product. It is called being a shill and it is distasteful and in many cases dishonest.

There are quite a number of us out here who view affiliate programs as nothing more than a scam. I personally will not purchase a product or service through an affiliate. An affiliate program eventually does nothing more than cost the consumer more money. Affinity products are very widely known and do not need a bunch of carnival barkers hawking the products…

I said that!!! An affiliate program is nothing more than a huckster program. Of course all my opinions, YMMV...

As an aside, I WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT PURCHASE A PRODUCT THROUGH AN AFFILIATE, I see it as nothing more than someone hawking a product for the money, they could care less about the capabilities of the product. I will completely discount a review by an affiliate. I applaud Serif for refusing to lower themselves to an affiliate program.