Serif Affinity software is arguably one of the top creative suites available for designers or photographers, and its one-time purchase business model is something that many creators prefer to rolling subscriptions. Serif has announced a new Version 2 upgrade with new Affinity features.
Is Serif pushing towards paid rolling updates? What does the announcement mean for current and new Affinity users? Let’s find out.
What Has Serif Affinity Announced?
On November 9th 2022, Serif Affinity teased something new. Days later, Serif Affinity announced Affinity Version 2 (V2).
Calling it “the next generation of Affinity,” Version 2 offers new features, an updated user interface, and a better workflow for users. Affinity V2 is available for all three Affinity software—Photo, Publisher, and Designer—and it includes the iPad app versions.
What Does the Version 2 Upgrade Mean for Affinity Users?
One notable part of the upgrade is that you can now buy all three Affinity products under one universal license. Previously, with Version 1, you could only buy and license individual programs. This was great if you only needed one program but costly if you bought all three. You can save money with the universal license, which even includes iPad apps in the bundle.
Affinity V2 means users now must decide between staying with the V1 software they already had or buying a new full-price license to gain access to the new V2 features. While it isn’t as expensive as a rolling subscription, Affinity V2 is still a costly investment if you’ve previously bought V1.
Compare Affinity Designer against Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Photo against Adobe Photoshop to see which is better.
What Are the Details of Affinity V2?
With any new upgrade comes new features, availability, price changes, and more. Here are the details of the Affinity Version 2 upgrade.
New Features
Affinity Designer 2 now has vector warp features, contour control, non-destructive adjustments, X-ray view, a shape builder tool, a knife tool, and grids and guides. See more Designer features on Affinity’s website.
Affinity Photo 2 brings new features, such as a non-destructive Live Mesh Warp, layer states for experimental editing, improved raster brush tools, a new Layers panel, and many more. You can find the full list of new Affinity Photo 2 features on Affinity’s website.
You can also automate and batch-process images in Affinity Photo. As a result, you can add more features for a speedier process.
Affinity Publisher 2 is now available on your iPad. It also has added new features for desktop. You can expect new features such as footnote and endnote options, a style picker tool, Dropbox integration, and new management tools for other Publisher files. See the full list of Affinity Publisher 2 features on Affinity’s website.
Price
The introduction of a universal license means you can license all three Affinity software at once. While you can still license individually, the universal license is more cost-effective if buying all three products.
At the time of the announcement, the universal license is priced at a discount price of $99.99, which includes licensing for Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2, and Affinity Designer 2 for all platforms—including iPad. This will be $169.99 at full price.
Purchasing the individual software or apps will set you back $69.99 per software, which is currently at a discount of $40.99 after the announcement.
Individual iPad apps cost $19.99 each, but at the time of writing, they are discounted to $11.99 each. The iPad apps are Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2, and Affinity Designer 2.
As with the Affinity V1 suite, each app or software comes with a 30-day free trial you can use before purchasing.
Platforms
Affinity claims the universal license is for all platforms, but it is not supported on Linux or Android. The Affinity tablet software is only available for iPad. Affinity Photo for iPad is great competition with Adobe Photoshop for iPad.
You can access the universal license or individual licenses for Windows, macOS, and iPadOS. But for Linux and Android users, you’ll have to wait longer for platform support.
Can Affinity Users Still Access V1 Software?
If you previously purchased Affinity software, you can continue using it. Your license won’t change, but your software will not receive tech updates or support.
You cannot open V2-made files in any of the V1 apps. But V1-made files can be opened in V2 apps. Think carefully about how you use Affinity and with whom you work, as this could be problematic. You can download the 30-day trial of the V2 software while continuing to use V1 apps to test out the differences.
Learn some keyboard cheat sheets for Affinity Designer and put them to use with the original and version 2 of the app.
Are You Upgrading to Affinity V2?
The Affinity Version 2 upgrade is great for Affinity users and those who want to stay on track with the best design software.
While you can continue using the original software, the Version 2 upgrade has great potential. Its one-time cost is beneficial to anyone worried about rolling subscriptions or losing access to the software.