Soon with AI Functions Too?: Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher - iPad Versions Currently Free

[13:21 Mon,6.October 2025 by Rudi Schmidts]

Even those who primarily do video editing usually still need an image editing tool. Adobe&s Photoshop remains the industry standard in this respect, but it is relatively expensive as a subscription, unless you&re already working with other Adobe Cloud products. Moreover, it&s overkill, as most video editors don&t even need 95 percent of Photoshop&s extensive features.

Many users have therefore turned to either open-source alternatives like Gimp or commercial competitors like Affinity Photo, which are considerably cheaper to purchase. Affinity, in particular, has gained many fans due to its high format compatibility; however, Affinity Photo is not a Photoshop clone but requires users to relearn alternative workflow concepts.

Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher - iPad versions currently free.

What&s particularly well-executed in Affinity is the integration of vector and design tools with pixel editing, which, with Affinity Designer/Publisher, even enables demanding print projects. However, to this day, modern AI tools such as automatic background removal or magic erasers, which can significantly accelerate many workflows, are still missing.

In March 2024, Affinity gained a new owner through an acquisition by Canva (affinity.serif.com/de/press/newsroom/canva-press-release/), who was expected to bring a lot of AI expertise — which is why the community can hope for corresponding AI features. And after roughly 1.5 years, things are finally stirring, but not as expected: For a few days now, the Affinity apps can no longer be purchased at all. They have been completely removed from the Windows and Mac stores. However, the iPad versions are still available for installation. And these can (currently even be activated for free as an in-app purchase, as per this deal: www.mydealz.de/deals/affinity-photo-2-for-ipad-und-affinity-publisher-2-for-ipad-kostenlos-als-in-app-kauf-264421!)

However, it&s quite unlikely that Canva will drop the Affinity products, as the company is simultaneously announcing big news for October 30th. The start of "creative freedom" is announced for that day. Now, probably not as free as open source, but perhaps at least as free as free beer. We strongly suspect, at least, that the existing applications will then also be available for Mac and PC in a revised form for free. A little patience is therefore still warranted, but for those who use an iPad, the free V2 versions are highly recommended. For free, there&s really a lot on offer here right now.

more infos at bei affinity.serif.com

deutsche Version dieser Seite: Affinity Photo, Designer und Publisher - iPad Versionen aktuell kostenlos