Pixelmator vs Pixelmator Pro

Chat about the original Pixelmator.
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2017-11-30 22:28:58

Hello,


Does anyone have a list of differences between the old Pixelmator and the new Pixelmator Pro? I bought Pixelmator 2 years ago and I'm trying to see if it's worth the upgrade.
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2017-12-06 20:01:47

Bump

Someone's gotta know the differences, right? I know it's built on Metal and CoreML now (better performance?) but is that all?
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2017-12-07 05:32:27

As it stands now with the current version of Pixelmator Pro you'll have much and then I mean MUCH better performance with Pixelmator Pro compared to Pixelmator Classic. The other main difference is that all edits are non-destructive. In addition to that, the UI is completely new with (almost) no floating panels. More and more specific Pro features will be added with each 1.x release. Oh and there are minor things that are better too. For example you can now do white balancing the right way. It's worth the try and I would recommend buying ot now for the reduced price, because if you wait for 1.1 the price will be $99,-
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2017-12-07 05:44:29

Thanks for the reply! It sounds like a good investment. One more question: I've read someone say it's like they've integrated illustrator into the application. Does this mean that the app can now edit vectors and/or open .ai files?
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2017-12-07 19:57:06

No. Vectormator will be a seperate app. Pixelmator Pro has support for vector shapes but that's like in Pixelmator Classic for easy design / drawing purposes and will always convert to a raster layer when exported to any other format than the Pixelmator native file format.
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2017-12-07 20:32:30

Sounds good. Any idea now much vectormator will be?
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2017-12-08 14:59:12

P.S. I'd just like to add that the price won't jump straight up to $99.99 as soon as 1.1 is out. We haven't actually made a final decision about it, but the general idea is to raise it gradually once we ship major updates that add awesome new features.
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2017-12-10 21:17:16

Is there any special price for Pixelmator users to upgrade to the pro version?
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2018-06-01 07:41:54

by JOE HUANG 2017-12-10 21:17:16 Is there any special price for Pixelmator users to upgrade to the pro version?
The App store doesn't allow for upgrade pricing. Thank you to Apple for everybody having to pay full price. Again. Although Pixelmator Pro could have been a free upgrade as Pixelmator, or an IAP, instead of a new Application...
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2018-11-01 20:15:40

by Sebastiaan 2017-12-07 08:32:27 As it stands now with the current version of Pixelmator Pro you'll have much and then I mean MUCH better performance with Pixelmator Pro compared to Pixelmator Classic. The other main difference is that all edits are non-destructive. In addition to that, the UI is completely new with (almost) no floating panels. More and more specific Pro features will be added with each 1.x release. Oh and there are minor things that are better too. For example you can now do white balancing the right way. It's worth the try and I would recommend buying ot now for the reduced price, because if you wait for 1.1 the price will be $99,-
Disappointing. We have been tricked again, despite our loyal long relationship with pixelmator and all its limitations. But we stick with it for the spirit and the hope that things will get better. Instead, you punish us with a so called "Pro" version which is just a way to say "Hey boy, now we get it right, but you know, this is a business after all". Deceptive.
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2018-12-12 06:59:49

Frankly, I regret having bought the Pro version because the standard version has useful features that the Pro does not seem to have: for example, in French "Transformer > Inclinaison/Déformation/Perspective". In addition, the management of formats (2:3, 4:3, ...) is not as convenient as in the standard version. The Pro version has other functions that the standard does not have but they are not very useful...
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2018-12-12 08:34:26

For now, you can transform the perspective of a layer by choosing Format > Effects > Other > Perspective Transform, but we're working on adding the original Pixelmator version of this particular feature to Pixelmator Pro right now, so it shouldn't be too long before it's available.

As for managing of formats, do you mean the document size presets or the aspect ratios in the Crop tool?
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2018-12-12 14:44:41

I think it's a shame that we are forced to update to OS10.12 just to run the pro version. Always Apple forcing their will on everyone. Why not make it available to older OS's as well. Or update the Pixelmator Classic. I don't want the newer OS 12.
My two cents. I realize the Pixelmator creators are Apple puppets. Money talks. Polish those brown noses boys...
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2018-12-12 16:00:04

We're a pretty small bunch of people and releasing a brand new app like Pixelmator Pro is actually a mammoth task for us — the reason we set the cutoff point at macOS 10.13 is we wanted to focus on the latest technologies (like Metal and Core ML) to maximize the performance of the app. If we tried to recreate the same stuff in older versions of macOS, it would have taken us another few years to ship Pixelmator Pro and we would've had to compromise on features and functionality as well.

As for money, we've been shipping free updates to Pixelmator for almost 8 years now since its release on the Mac App Store in early 2011 (and we're continuing to update the app, adding new features too). Occasionally paying for upgrades is not the most fun experience, I get it, but it's either that or a subscription. Or no Pixelmator at all.
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2018-12-12 16:23:28

Hello,

I'd figure I'd follow up since people have been posting in this thread. I ended up buying Pro and have been extremely happy with it so far. I'd say to anyone wondering if it's worth the money that it absolutely is, especially with the massive free updates that the team has put out since it's release.

To people complaining about the price: no one else offers even near this quality for this price. It's my opinion that this app rivals Adobe's offerings in many areas, but only for a fraction for the price. Another thing to consider is that developers need money (shocking, I know), and as such it's unreasonable to expect for a team to release a $30 app and maintain it for free forever. On that note, it's actually shocking to me that the team released pixelmator in 2007 and offered free support and updates for more than a decade now.

To people complaining about needing to update your computer to use this application, I hear you. However, two of the biggest marketing points of pro (and where pro excels!) is it's core ML and Metal 2 integration, and many of the SDKs for core MLhttps://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreml and Metal 2https://developer.apple.com/metal/ require macOS >= 10.13. Apple obsoleting their older software by not backporting SDKs is nothing new, and if you don't like it you should be complaining to Apple instead of the namecalling the pixelmator team ("Apple puppets", really?).

Anyways, this issue is well past its expiration date (this thread was started over a year ago!), and this thread was never meant to be about complaining, so I'm requesting an admin locks this thread. If you're unhappy with pixelmators history of support and pricing I recommend you look elsewhere. Paint.net and GIMP come to mind.
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2018-12-12 17:10:09

Fine Chase. I give up.
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2018-12-12 17:13:18

Cheers for the input, chase9! I could lock the thread but I think it's a conversation that people care about and I don't mind answering — if we start going round in circles, though, it might be worth locking this.
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2018-12-12 17:15:24

by uncle808us 2018-12-12 14:11:04 Fine Chase. I give up.
No need to give up, we're going to keep updating the original Pixelmator and if/when you upgrade your macOS, Pixelmator Pro will (hopefully) still be there for you, better than ever.
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2018-12-13 08:32:57

by Andrius For now, you can transform the perspective of a layer by choosing Format > Effects > Other > Perspective Transform, but we're working on adding the original Pixelmator version of this particular feature to Pixelmator Pro right now, so it shouldn't be too long before it's available.

As for managing of formats, do you mean the document size presets or the aspect ratios in the Crop tool?
Ok for Perspective Transform. :blush:

The aspect ratios in the Crop tool ; I prefer original Pixelmator version, but inversion of proportions is lacking (2:3 > 3:2 for example).
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2018-12-13 08:36:17

Got it — we have a pretty significant redesign lined up for the Crop tool in one of the updates next year, we're not entirely happy with the current UI and we also want to add a few extra features. :wink:
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2018-12-13 08:59:06

by Andrius 2018-12-13 08:37:03 Got it — we have a pretty significant redesign lined up for the Crop tool in one of the updates next year, we're not entirely happy with the current UI and we also want to add a few extra features. :wink:
Ok, thanks for your quick answer.


Another important thing is lacking in Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro: "lens correction". Is it planned to add it?
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2018-12-13 09:01:41

Yes, that's also in our plans — just out of personal curiosity, lens distortions should be corrected automatically (with RAW photos), so are you looking for some additional corrections like de-vignetting, extra lens distortion correction, and chromatic aberration removal as separate features?
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2018-12-13 09:09:38

by Andrius 2018-12-13 00:00:00 Yes, that's also in our plans — just out of personal curiosity, lens distortions should be corrected automatically (with RAW photos), so are you looking for some additional corrections like de-vignetting, extra lens distortion correction, and chromatic aberration removal as separate features?
Eventually any sort of correction would be helpful, but the correction of sphericity is more important to me.
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2018-12-13 09:28:13

by Andrius 2018-12-13 08:05:05 Lens distortions should be corrected automatically (with RAW photos).
Which kinds of lens distortions are corrected automatically, and for which lenses?
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2018-12-13 09:39:18

by chase9 To people complaining about the price...

To people complaining about needing to update your computer to use this application...
I'm fully with you on the computer updates, some new OS features and APIs require modern hardware, and it's a good thing that Apps like Pixelmator Pro exist that fully embrace these new possibilities and capabilities and are built around them; I can also understand people complaining about it and wanting backwards-compatibility, presumably these people are not software developers and have no idea that this is simply not feasible.

Pricing is a bit more complex, though in general I agree with you. Not everybody bought Pixelmator back when it was released, and having to buy Pro shortly after the original might suck a bit, but, again, I blame Apple for not allowing upgrade pricing. Also the price of Pro has been on a bit of a rollercoaster, so some people paid more than twice of what others paid. All that said, the price is so low, and the price to performance ratio so very good that it doesn't matter much.

I'm buying Pro now, even if it doesn't yet have all the features of the original App, because the track record of the devs gives me the confidence that Pro will soon be better at everything, and because EUR 44,- is a laughable price for what's offered. We need more software of this quality, and I'm willing to pay for it.