Affinity’s new design platform brings everything into one app

after Acquired Serif last yearNow, Canva is relaunching its Affinity creative suite, which takes on Adobe as a new all-in-one app for editing photos, vector illustrations, and page layouts. Unlike Affinity’s previous designer, photo, and publisher software, which was a one-time purchase of $70, Canva’s announcement emphasizes that the new Affinity app is “free forever” and won’t require a subscription.

It is currently available on Windows and Mac, and will be available on iPad at some point in the future. Affinity now uses “one universal file type,” according to Canva, and includes integrations that allow users to quickly export designs to their Canva account. Canva Premium subscribers will also be able to use Canva’s AI-powered editing tools, such as image creation, image cleaning, and instant copying, directly within the Affinity app.

Old versions of standalone Affinity apps will still work for anyone who previously purchased them, and those users will not be forcibly moved to the new platform. the V2 versions of Designer, Image and Publisher They were all pulled from the Affinity website several weeks ago, and Canva hasn’t said whether existing users will continue to receive support updates.

Affinity’s one-time purchase model was one of the most attractive things about its legacy software offerings, as it stood in stark contrast to Adobe’s controversial subscription-based creative suite. Although Canva’s design platform can be used for free, it also locks most of its capabilities behind a paywall, raising concerns that Affinity may… Adopt Canva Subscription-based approach After the acquisition. The company is trying to dispel these concerns once and for all by repeatedly pointing out how “free” the new Affinity app is, but its AI integrations will likely face some resistance from creators who are averse to the technology.