[cynix]

> and is a one-time payment

Well technically it's like a "subscription with indeterminate renewal cycle". Every few years they release a new major version and sometimes you have to pay to upgrade.

Of course you can choose to not upgrade... but then you don't get the new features, and it's unclear if the old version will support all newer macOS releases.

[jen729w]

Technically that's what we call "buying software".

[randmeerkat]

> Technically that's what we call "buying software".

What a novel idea. You mean once upon a time you didn’t have to pay a monthly racket for a piece of software you wanted..?

[Aurornis]

You’re not wrong, with a lot of Mac apps (this one included) you need the latest version to use it with the latest macOS release.

When there’s a new mandatory paid upgrade every couple years then it’s not far from a subscription service.

The situation seems worse on Mac where software has much shorter lifespans without new releases. On Windows I’m still using some engineering software I bought over a decade ago and it’s like nothing ever changed.