“Photoshop is a workhorse of which the first versions were released as early as the mid-eighties of the past century. Affinity Photo is brand new. So, would it be fair to compare them? If there would be any logic in software development, I’d answer that question with a ‘No,'” IT.Enquirer writes. “But there isn’t — logic, I mean. Affinity Photo may well blow Photoshop out of the water. It’s faster, has no historically grown rubbish the developer needs to keep in there and is just plain powerful. And best of all: its licence model is customer-friendly.”
“The proof of the pudding is always in the eating,” IT.Enquirer. “You really must experience this new image editor to understand that you can’t compare it with previous Photoshop killer attempts such as Pixelmator. Affinity Photo is much, much more powerful and I wouldn’t hesitate it’s the first image editor ever that has a strong potential to unseat Photoshop. And not only because of its licence or price.”
Much more in the full review – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Note:
Affinity Photo is available via the Mac App Store for US$39.99. More info here.
Excellent App!
One thing I would like to see changed. How about an option so I don’t have to save my image every time I switch between Develop and Photo modes.
I would assume at some point a desperate Adobe might try to make patent infringement claims against Affinity even if they have no case just to take them down with lawyering up fees and legal costs. BUT the day of exorbitantly priced software is starting to fade. I wish I could get back the money I spent on software that proved unworthy.
Now Affinity needs to tackle other Adobe products like After Effects which I remember buying when it was owned by CoSA for like $2500!!
Extremely superficial review. Affinity Photo definitely has some rough edges but has loads of potential—and the price is right.
The current price is a 20% discount and is good until the 23rd of July.
disclaimer: i have downloaded it but haven’t used it yet. HOWEVER, i have been searching for years for viable replacements for Photoshop and Illustrator. I tried pixelmator and although it’s an interesting tool, it does not replace Photoshop. Thankfully I have open site licenses for CS6 at work and have been able to use the full CS suite at home for my personal and side projects, but I just HATE the bloatware Adobe has become – just like MS Windows and MS Office. And just like MS anything, I am looking to get off the Adobe ship yesterday. I hope Affinity proves to be that opportunity.
I liked the beta versions of both Photo and Designer, but they lacked a few essential tools that I use daily. The release versions corrected those gaps and I’m very happy with the result. I still use CS6 and will continue to do so professionally, but the Affinity apps will definitely be my go-to apps for personal stuff.
I used to be a fan of Photoshop but after they cut Mac support and went over to the dark side and raised their prices, I stopped using it. I dislike their business model and their bloatware and their pushing Flash on us and . . .
I will use anything but Adobe products now and encourage all my friends and relatives to buy anything but Adobe.
Dear Affinity:
Please knock off Photoshop. I’ll leave an envelope of cash in the usual place.
Tutorials for Affinity Photo are in the lower third of this page:
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/
They’re a good way to see how the application works before & after you buy it. 😀
NOTE: Affinity Designer is also on sale at $39.99 until July 23rd, in celebration of it winning an Apple Design Award!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/affinity-designer/id824171161?mt=12
I’m a long-time Photoshop user, love the program, but Adobe really pissed me off with their Cloud version, where you don’t actually own the program, but have to rent it on a month-to-month basis, which effectively amounts to extortion.
When I heard about the beta version of Affinity Photo a while back I decided to download and test it. I’ve been very impressed. It’s a bit rough around the edges, and will probably never have all the features of Photoshop, but it should be just fine for most users. The low price, combined with the fact that I own the program will greatly influence my decision not to “upgrade” to the Cloud version. I have Photoshop 6, and will continue to use it, but I look forward to using Affinity Photo as time goes on, and the program becomes more robust as its programmers further develop it.
Holy… I think I am in love. I pay Adobe a monthy fee for Illustrator and Photoshop, and I’m fairly okay with what they charge. Their software has gotten better recently, but it’s still a bloat monster that can easily become sluggish. Pixelmator never quite worked for me because it lacked things like embedding. When you reuse things all the time, you want to be able to embed a file inside another. THIS does that. Can’t wait to try it out. Wish I could try before I buy.
Oh. Turns out you can use a 10 day trial. YAY