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Free Updates For Life or Until Another Major Release?


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So, I just got the email about the Publisher Beta coming to an end soon and the generous 30% discount I can take advantage of, but I need some clarity. - Are Affinity products giving free updates for life (as in "Life of the product" and all future versions) or free updates until the next major release (as in free updates for version 1.X.X.XXX but not for version 2.X.X.XXX)?

I raise this question because your email about Affinity Publisher seems to be the latter.

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Edited by CreativApartheid
clarity

Convenience is both the thing that pushes humanity forward and the thing leading us to doom.

Not me though. Y'all be easy.
 

Primary System: Arch Linux (dual-booted with Windoze for some paid apps that can't run on Linux yet)
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Apps: Krita | CSP | Blender | Inkscape | Affinity Suite | Quoll Writer | NovelWriter

 

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Why is it only Pixologic that gives free upgrades for life? Meaning from the big players in the Digital Art & Design Software Industry. :/

My main reason for purchasing Photo and Designer was not having to pay a company (with millions of customers) over and over. If only GIMP and Inkscape were just a little more user-friendly (by a little I mean A LOT)... Sigh

Convenience is both the thing that pushes humanity forward and the thing leading us to doom.

Not me though. Y'all be easy.
 

Primary System: Arch Linux (dual-booted with Windoze for some paid apps that can't run on Linux yet)
Secondary System: Android Tablet

Apps: Krita | CSP | Blender | Inkscape | Affinity Suite | Quoll Writer | NovelWriter

 

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They may not be “for life”, but the free updates tend to be for years.

Designer was released in 2014, and almost five years later, it’s still receiving free ones.

Best regards!

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11 minutes ago, CreativApartheid said:

Why is it only Pixologic that gives free upgrades for life? Meaning from the big players in the Digital Art & Design Software Industry. :/

My main reason for purchasing Photo and Designer was not having to pay a company (with millions of customers) over and over. If only GIMP and Inkscape were just a little more user-friendly (by a little I mean A LOT)... Sigh

I have a few software titles that I have a lifetime license for. Nice when available. At least if they are in business long enough for that payment to at least equal what I would have paid over time before they end their business. 

Because do realize that a lifetime license is for your lifetime only if it is shorter than theirs. 

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Good point. And just to clarify, It's not that I can't afford it, I just don't want spend anymore money on something that I've already purchased. It's not like it's a car or house.

Convenience is both the thing that pushes humanity forward and the thing leading us to doom.

Not me though. Y'all be easy.
 

Primary System: Arch Linux (dual-booted with Windoze for some paid apps that can't run on Linux yet)
Secondary System: Android Tablet

Apps: Krita | CSP | Blender | Inkscape | Affinity Suite | Quoll Writer | NovelWriter

 

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3 minutes ago, MikeW said:

Because do realize that a lifetime license is for your lifetime only if it is shorter than theirs. 

LOL... Yes and no though. - If I die, someone else (that got my permission) will get access to all my email accounts, and if they use the things that I use, well they can continue to use things like Affinity software. :)

Edited by CreativApartheid
adding something

Convenience is both the thing that pushes humanity forward and the thing leading us to doom.

Not me though. Y'all be easy.
 

Primary System: Arch Linux (dual-booted with Windoze for some paid apps that can't run on Linux yet)
Secondary System: Android Tablet

Apps: Krita | CSP | Blender | Inkscape | Affinity Suite | Quoll Writer | NovelWriter

 

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2 minutes ago, CreativApartheid said:

Good point. And just to clarify, It's not that I can't afford it, I just don't want spend anymore money on something that I've already purchased. It's not like it's a car or house.

Then the option to not purchase a license is yours.

I don't like spending money, period. It's just a fact of life if I want or feel I need a particular software I need to pay for major revisions if a company doesn't offer lifetime licensing.

But for me, at least with perpetual licensing, any particular company needs to earn that payment by adding things I see of value. Else I won't upgrade unless an OS upgrade (which I can also refuse) breaks something. It's always our choice to purchase an upgrade or not.

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56 minutes ago, CreativApartheid said:

It's not like it's a car or house.

And yet, once you have one of them (or both), you have to invest money in it, on a regular basis.

Best regards!

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I think there must be some sort of subsidy at pixologic at the end of the day they don't make zBrush because it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling inside - although it probably does a bit. I read a post a while ago stating that at some point they will be charging for upgrades, although they didn't say when that might happen, probably in years not months. 

People spend a lot of time working on these apps and a lot of the programming isn't lego programming it's hands-on scratch your head and figure it out programming, then the bug fixes which to a point is why we have beta versions but even then you are going to get an army of jack the lad's who do something odd and find obscure bugs in the release version. Then of course the ever demanding public and their need to have what they want in an app, who could care less how that is implemented as long as it's in. But, in order for that to happen bums have to be on seats and at the moment nobody is going to do a job for nothing... would you? 

Affinity are a company and as much as they want to create great software the bottom line is to make money (profit) why else would you be in business? it would be nice if Bruce Wayne or if you want to be modern - Elon Musk was behind it all subsidising our insatiable wants but the reality is different.  

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4 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

I think there must be some sort of subsidy at pixologic at the end of the day they don't make zBrush because it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling inside - although it probably does a bit.

The last time I checked, zBrush was hugely expensive (i.e. high three figures). Has that changed recently? :/

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15 hours ago, CreativApartheid said:

I just don't want spend anymore money on something that I've already purchased

You buy version 1.x, get upgrades and bugfixes up to 1.99 and the software is yours to use for as long as you want -- no subscription, no hidden fees.

When version 2 comes out it will be a separate product and it's up to you if you want to stay at version 1.99 because it does everything you need it to, or if the new features are so tempting to you that you want to spend money on them.

Serif is VERY generous with their releases: Designer came out in late 2014, so 50 bucks bought you a great software and 5 YEARS of continued support so far. Most other software companies release (and charge) for a new version every year and introduce less new features for their paid upgrades than what Designer, Photo (and surely Publisher too) implemented during the 1.x clycle.

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probably but I dare bet some sort of subsidy is there for schools, build a future revenue stream and all that.

iMac 27" 2019 Somona 14.3.1, iMac 27" Affinity Designer, Photo & Publisher V1 & V2, Adobe, Inkscape, Vectorstyler, Blender, C4D, Sketchup + more... XP-Pen Artist-22E, - iPad Pro 12.9  
B| (Please refrain from licking the screen while using this forum)

Affinity Help - Affinity Desktop Tutorials - Feedback - FAQ - most asked questions

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19 hours ago, CreativApartheid said:

Why is it only Pixologic that gives free upgrades for life?

If you mean ZBrush, the 'perpetual' license for the single seat version of the current 2019 version costs $895 USD, plus another $10 if you want a backup disk. It is licensed for use by a single artist & may be activated on no more than two computers (Mac or Windows) at a time, but only one copy can be run at a time. Upgrades from previous versions are indeed free, but they were also pricey upfront  purchases. For example, the 2018 version was around $800 USD.

Compare those prices to what Affinity purchases cost & maybe you will get a better idea why Serif is not offering free upgrades, only version updates.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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If Affinity team had lots of free time they sure could devise all kind of business models suitable for everybody. Monthly pay of $4.99, perpetual licence $49.99 (upgrade pricing for major new version), lifetime licence $499.

Which one you would take?

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On 6/3/2019 at 5:18 PM, MikeW said:

I have a few software titles that I have a lifetime license for. Nice when available. At least if they are in business long enough for that payment to at least equal what I would have paid over time before they end their business. 

Because do realize that a lifetime license is for your lifetime only if it is shorter than theirs. 

Reminds me of a James Bond movie, License to Kill, i believe. "Remember that you're only president for life!"

Affinity Photo - Affinity Designer - Affinity Publisher | macOS Sonoma (14.2) on 16GB MBP14 2021 with 2.4 versions

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9 minutes ago, RNKLN said:

Reminds me of a James Bond movie, License to Kill, i believe. "Remember that you're only president for life!"

And my favourite court sentence "Life, less one day."

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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On 6/3/2019 at 5:02 PM, CreativApartheid said:

Why is it only Pixologic that gives free upgrades for life? Meaning from the big players in the Digital Art & Design Software Industry. :/

My main reason for purchasing Photo and Designer was not having to pay a company (with millions of customers) over and over. If only GIMP and Inkscape were just a little more user-friendly (by a little I mean A LOT)... Sigh

Pixologic no longer gives lifetime free upgrades in their latest version of ZBrush from last I heard. They even made a subscription service for it recently, but at least they keep selling perpetual licenses alongside it, so it is a bit more reasonable than Adobe's business model.

Besides, is it really that big of a deal that a company wants people to pay for X.0 software when we get a decent amount of free updates inbetween? I bought Affinity Photo back in 2017, and the price was honestly very affordable. For the amount I spent on AP, I've got my money's worth. If the price will be roughly the same for 2.0 as the 1.x version, it will be nearly a guaranteed buy for me, with the assumption that it has new features I need (if not, I will just wait until it does with the free updates or future versions). Remember that you don't have to buy 2.0 package, and you can wait for 3.0, or some later version if you want to save money. I don't really think it's completely reasonable to expect a perpetual software to get free lifetime updates without having to pay at some point. A business has to make money somehow.

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On 6/3/2019 at 4:02 PM, CreativApartheid said:

Why is it only Pixologic that gives free upgrades for life? Meaning from the big players in the Digital Art & Design Software Industry. :/

My main reason for purchasing Photo and Designer was not having to pay a company (with millions of customers) over and over. If only GIMP and Inkscape were just a little more user-friendly (by a little I mean A LOT)... Sigh

You purchased an app and that app will run for years, possibly for decades, until your operating system stops supporting it. It won't cost you a penny more than you already paid. But why, (and I don't mean this to sound nasty), would you feel entitled to the newer version of the app for free too?

To use a car buying analogy (since you mentioned cars)... you paid for Version 1. To expect Version 2 for nothing is the equivalent of taking your car back to the garage after a couple of years and expecting them to upgrade your CD player and fit new alloys for nothing. Not likely, is it? :) You paid for version 1, and that's what you got. Version 2 will have new and enhanced features. If you want those features, you're going to have to pay for the upgrade (though I would bet Affinity will offer a decent discount to existing licence holders).

Not trying to give you a hard time, but I don't think it's realistic to expect unlimited upgrades for the amount you paid.

 

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On 6/3/2019 at 10:21 AM, CreativApartheid said:

LOL... Yes and no though. - If I die, someone else (that got my permission) will get access to all my email accounts, and if they use the things that I use, well they can continue to use things like Affinity software. :)

I'll bet the license is not transferable, so in your scenario, that someone else, will possibly be committing fraud. It maters not if you granted permission. They would need to use your name, identity, and you can not grant permission to transfer the license, only the author/owner of the software (Serif) can.

Affinity Photo 2.4..; Affinity Designer 2.4..; Affinity Publisher 2.4..; Affinity2 Beta versions. Affinity Photo,Designer 1.10.6.1605 Win10 Home Version:21H2, Build: 19044.1766: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s);32GB Ram, Nvidia GTX 3070, 3-Internal HDD (1 Crucial MX5000 1TB, 1-Crucial MX5000 500GB, 1-WD 1 TB), 4 External HDD

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/4/2019 at 3:00 PM, z3z said:

You purchased an app and that app will run for years, possibly for decades, until your operating system stops supporting it. It won't cost you a penny more than you already paid. But why, (and I don't mean this to sound nasty), would you feel entitled to the newer version of the app for free too?

To use a car buying analogy (since you mentioned cars)... you paid for Version 1. To expect Version 2 for nothing is the equivalent of taking your car back to the garage after a couple of years and expecting them to upgrade your CD player and fit new alloys for nothing. Not likely, is it? :) You paid for version 1, and that's what you got. Version 2 will have new and enhanced features. If you want those features, you're going to have to pay for the upgrade (though I would bet Affinity will offer a decent discount to existing licence holders).

Not trying to give you a hard time, but I don't think it's realistic to expect unlimited upgrades for the amount you paid.

 

4

 

FREE tires for EVERYONE! LOL

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10 hours ago, Guyon said:

 

FREE tires for EVERYONE! LOL

Whilst I fully agree with everything that everybody has said (unusual for me:)) regarding having to pay for upgrades -  the "Free tyres (UK)" was the deal I got with my new car ...... the next set of tyres I need will be free :D; but like updates I suppose that I've already paid for them in my initial purchase price.

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Do you get to keep the old 'tyres'?

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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  • 10 months later...

Do you know if there will be any discount for existing users? I just bought the suite of Affinity and maybe soon they will upgrade to 2.0 ('cause for some reason, software don't like versions X.9 haha) and I know it's cheap but its my salary of one month

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