Mar 28 2026 APP 2.0.0-beta40 will be released in 7 days.
It did take a long time to have the work finished on this and it will have a major performance boost of 30-50% over 2.0.0-beta39 from calibration to integration. We extensively optimized many critical parts of APP. All has been tested to guarantee correct optimizations. Drizzle and image resampling is much faster for instance, those modules have been completely rewritten. Much less memory usage. LNC 2.0 will be released which works much better and faster than LNC in it's current state. And more, all will be added to the release notes in the coming weeks...
Update on the 2.0.0 release & the full manual
We are getting close to the 2.0.0 stable release and the full manual. The manual will soon become available on the website and also in PDF format. Both versions will be identical and once released, will start to follow the APP release cycle and thus will stay up-to-date to the latest APP version.
Once 2.0.0 is released, the price for APP will increase. Owner's license holders will not need to pay an upgrade fee to use 2.0.0, neither do Renter's license holders.
I am glad to see you are open to changing the pricing model based on the feedback given. I agree with the comments given that the current model is off-putting (as it was to me) since within a couple years the snowballing price just to even open the software goes well beyond other programs like PI or SGP (although that is for capture, but still related). I have a slew of programs for the calibration and integration ranging in prices, and while I am always looking to make my images better and find a better process for that, the inability to even open the program after the expiration date does not seem like a good plan.
A one-time purchase at a similar or slightly higher amount as currently offered that allows full access to the program indefinitely but after the 1-yr period is not eligible for upgrades without an upgrade fee seems like a better way to go. However, if you do want to do a subscription (although Adobe made this a thing, I think it is still not necessarily a well-regarded option by the consumers) then the initial cost should be the same as the renewal cost. This gives a much longer period for new users to spend time with the program before the price alone makes them go to another program and, by then, they will hopefully see it as an invaluable, well-tested, tool so that they are willing to continue subscribing.
Just my 2 cents, but as you said you wanted to hear from more astrophotographers before going to a new model I wanted to share it.
Thanks!
-Annie
www.eprisephoto.com
Hi Annie,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and concerns, it's highly appreciated 😉
I'll make the changes public within several days now... (more or less like you and others have proposed...).
Kind regards,
Mabula
Hi Mabula
Annual fee is not a good idea for astronomy processing software. I own several ones (not free, like PixInsight, Startools... ) and I will try your software. If 150€ fee is acceptable, I would say it should be valid for major version (from 1.0 to 1.x )
Than, if you release v2.0, so it is normal you can propose a upgrade price, like 50€ for example.
But 150€ then need to pay 50€ every year to use the software is not very nice. More if the software is blocked if licence is not renewed.
In this case, I'm not sure I will purchase your software, even if it has very nice features.
Please think about a fair solution.
Best regards
Philippe
Hi Phillipe,
Thank you for sharing your opinion about this.
I will definitely chance the license model and I will make this public soon..
Kind regards,
Mabula
