Affinity Studio now free • Hacker News Board

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#201

Post by exasperaited » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC

nicce wrote: post #161

forgotoldacc wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Your art is now their training data. Their AI subscription today comes at the cost of your job tomorrow.

Does this read in ToS somewhere? I know many professional artists and if they would find out that their work is used for training, the app is uninstalled faster than it takes time for you to read this text.

It says, on the actual website, the absolute opposite:

"Your content in Affinity isn’t used to train AI features — we can’t access local files. For content you choose to upload to Canva, you’re in control. You can review and update your preferences any time in Canva settings."

The only nuance I can think of here is that if you are using the cloud AI tools, you are uploading content. But it's largely hypocritical to complain about AI tools being trained on your content. They were trained on everyone else's.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#202

Post by rcarmo » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC

Well, I downloaded the Mac app, and here's what I don't like:

- Goodness gracious, that icon. And 3.5GB?????

- Requires a login (so I suppose no disconnected operation)

- Seems to jumble together the vector, bitmap and publishing apps (which I very much prefer to have as separate things)

Mostly everything I've been able to try in 30 minutes seems to work, but a 3.5GB app is a sad sign of the times.

Will most likely keep using the old versions until they die on me, especially on the iPad.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#203

Post by JKCalhoun » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC

codeptualize wrote: post #43

It's a smart approach imo. They had to get a subscription somehow to support AI features which they need to compete (just usage cost wise you can't do that on a one time fee license). But since they promised not to go subscription when they got acquired by Canva, making it free with AI as the subscription is a clever solution to not break their promise while still introducing a subscription model. I think their bet i…

> They had to get a subscription somehow to support AI features which they need to compete

I assumed the jury was still out in that one.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#204

Post by latexr » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:49 PM UTC

gspencley wrote: post #134

I switched to Affinity as part an ongoing effort to "de-Adobe-ize." I had no idea that they were owned by Canva. This could be good news, but as someone who paid for a perpetual license, I'm worried that some of the features I paid a one-time license for will eventually move to a Canva subscription model :( The reason that worries me is that when I look at the feature chart, you've got "Affinity" compared with "Affin…

> I'm worried that some of the features I paid a one-time license for will eventually move to a Canva subscription model

They explicitly promised they wouldn’t switch to a subscription model, during the acquisition.

https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/affinity-canva-pledge/

Whether that is true is another thing altogether.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#205

Post by WorldMaker » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

sbarre wrote: post #119

tensor wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are a lot of people like me who use it occasionally and won't bother with AI nor a subscription. To me this is a bad sign, as free is unsustainable. It's only a matter of time before they look at their metrics and realize "oh look, we have all these casual users who only use the free stuff, that's a new source of revenue!" at which point either the subscription now covers the app, or worse, they steal y…

> Free is unsustainable This is not necessarily true when the free product is a sales funnel. Canva's business model is not "desktop design application" but giving away these tools creates goodwill in the design community and gives them exposure and a lower-friction conversion funnel towards their actual paid products. Since they're desktop apps, there's very little cost to them for the free users who never convert (…

I think a lot of the frustration seen here is that while Canva's business model is not "desktop design application" that Serif's (the previous company) business model was. Serif was something of the last one standing selling "desktop design applications" with that aligned to the incentives of "selling desktop design applications". With Serif bought by Canva and moving to a subscription model like all the other remaining tools, there is no one left with "selling desktop design applications" as a business model. That seems long-term unsustainable if your interest is "desktop design applications" that do their jobs well with few upsells to long-term subscriptions. The unsustainability that leads to upsells and subscription paywalls only generally ever get worse over time, because users of the free part aren't the desired customer.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#206

Post by pelagicAustral » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

On first impression it feels wonky. I have v2 installed for Photo, Design and Publisher and they all feel much better to work with. I guess I can count my blessings and at least be grateful that it's not yet another Electron clusterfuck a la New Outlook

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#207

Post by jama211 » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:51 PM UTC

rcarmo wrote: post #202

Well, I downloaded the Mac app, and here's what I don't like: - Goodness gracious, that icon. And 3.5GB????? - Requires a login (so I suppose no disconnected operation) - Seems to jumble together the vector, bitmap and publishing apps (which I very much prefer to have as separate things) Mostly everything I've been able to try in 30 minutes seems to work, but a 3.5GB app is a sad sign of the times. Will most likely k…

It’s because it’s four apps in one, they merged the affinity suite apps then added their own ai app too

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#208

Post by p_ing » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:51 PM UTC

presbyterian wrote: post #150

insane_dreamer wrote: post #53

They seem to have removed Affinity from the Mac App Store. For those who want a lifetime license instead of freemium, Amandine* is similar to Affinity ($30 on Mac Store). (I have no connection to either app). * Edit: It's Amadine, not Amandine (my typo)

And if you want just a photo editor, not a vector software, I really recommend Pixelmator Pro. I've had it and Affinity Photo for years, but I find myself sticking with Pixelmator more often than not.

Apple bought Pixelmator. What is it's future?

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#209

Post by marcodiego » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:51 PM UTC

And since it will be a freemium model or ad-supported, here comes one more example why we should use and support free software.

Re: Affinity Studio now free

#210

Post by JKCalhoun » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 5:51 PM UTC

sarreph wrote: post #47

After the V2 suite was released a few years ago, I realised I would never get the "old" Affinity product experience back -- the same experience and price-point that made me a great and productive self-taught illustrator / designer. C'est la vie, all good things must come to an end. I'm glad the original team made it out with a financial reward (from Canva sale)... Time for someone else to pick up the mantle! [and for…

Version 2 has been fine. FWIW though, I don't use Affinity Photo (but bought it too because I like the company). I'm Pixelmator Pro when it comes to pixels (but love Affinity Designer and Publisher).