Affinity Studio now free

Awesome, expected Canva were going to jack up the prices or turn it into a subscription after acquisition. A freemium version is very welcome for the rare times I need to use it. No plans to ever be a paying customer myself (sorry Canva), but nice to know it's still being actively developed.

Just noticed the AI feature integrations are locked behind a premium sub, makes sense to go for a wide funnel with a premium free product then up-sell to people who want the AI integration, should turn out to be commercially successful.

Really hoping a Linux version is in the works. Hopefully the exodus from Windows picks up so we can accelerate the timeline for Linux support. (Currently using the amazing https://photopea.com for most image edits on Linux)

I doubt this is good, I'd expect minimal investment in the free version and ever increasing subscriptions. I WANT to pay for my software.

Is enshittification truly inevitable? Perhaps, but as an occasional affinity user this is good news and I don't see a reason to spell doom just yet

The better they support the free side, the better the conversion rates will be. So I think the incentives align with both free and paying customers