The team behind the popular Pixelmator series of image editing apps today announced that the Pixelmator Photo app for the iPhone and iPad is switching to subscription-based pricing with an update rolling out now on the App Store.
For new users, Pixelmator Photo now costs $4.99 per month or $23.99 per year, while existing users of the app will continue to have "unlimited access" without having to pay again. A lifetime purchase option will remain available for $59.99, which is significantly more expensive than Pixelmator Photo's previous one-time price of $7.99.
In a blog post, the Pixelmator team admitted that the subscription-based pricing model is more expensive, but argued that there are "some pretty big problems" with an upfront pricing model, including slower development and a focus on new users over existing users. Among other reasons, Pixelmator also noted that the App Store does not allow paid apps to offer free trials or upgrade discounts for major new versions.
"The hope is that there are enough users who use the app regularly and feel that the annual or monthly fee is worth it," said Pixelmator. "It looks like this is the best way to ensure Pixelmator Photo can continue to be developed long into the future."
Pixelmator also provided a sneak peek at its Pixelmator Photo app for Mac, which will be a "completely native app" that is "designed from the ground up just for Mac." Pixelmator plans to release the app late this year or early next year and says those who subscribe to Pixelmator Photo for the iPhone/iPad now will get Pixelmator Photo for Mac for free when it launches. Existing users will be eligible for a discounted subscription.
Pixelmator informed MacRumors that it doesn't have any immediate plans to switch the standard version of Pixelmator for iOS or Pixelmator Pro for macOS to subscription-based pricing and is working on a major update to Pixelmator Pro that will be free as usual.
Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec).
The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year.
The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year.
Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
I get why they switch to a subscription, but why does every app has to raise prices that much? From a $7,99 one-time purchase to $23,99/yr? Why not $9,99/yr? And what was the business model before the switch to subscription? It was a one-time purchase for $7,99 and now it’s $59,99. No wonder people hate subscriptions.
While it might be understandable from the businesses point of view, for the customer it's just hostile. There's one ultimate greedy person, and it's Apple's current CEO (or the people he has to answer to). Unrestrained capitalism always pushes towards the most profitable route, whatever the consequences. It's like electricity or water, always choosing the path of least resistance to get where it can. It's the responsibility of the architects of the bigger structures to design a platform that doesn't allow such customer exploitation and keep the business healthy on the long run. Here, it's the contrary and it's actively pushing app makers towards the greedy route, leaving no choices to the customer but to either accept, or leave the platform. How is this any good on the long term except for those reaping the benefits ?
I understand the concerns of app makers, and yes, they have to make a living. But this is NOT the solution. Allowing users to try the apps (not speaking about freemium here), allowing special sales or promoting them (like Steam), allowing true upgrade paths (reduced prices for owners of a previous version), ... this should have been part of the platform from the start. Building a healthy relationship with your customers is what makes them get back to you when you have a new version or a new product, or simply when they can afford it.
Some plans make sense, because the service usage itself is a running cost by nature (insurances, access to a media library like streaming platforms or e-books). Something like a processing software doesn't belong there. If you push it to the limits, maybe having access to an online storage like adobe cloud, or some cloud processing which could not be done on device would be acceptable, as an option. For the life of me I can't think why I would have to subscribe to an app I have to use, but only seldomly like a Photoshop or a Lightroom alternative. Adobe understood that and kept the lifetime licenses for Photoshop Elements. If you have a pro workflow it would probably need cloud storage anyways so a plan makes sense, and that cost is part of your business expenses.
So to get back to your reaction, there's no need to be sarcastic. Yes people have to make a living, but their options are in the hand of the people who control the platform itself, and these are the people who make them miserable, not the customers. App store developers should unionize and reclaim what their work should get them, and not play the devil's game and offset their issues onto their own customers, it will only end poorly for everyone but the person at the top of the pyramid.