Pixelmator Pro

I think it's named "Pixelmator Pro" entirely because Mac App Store does not support paid upgrades.

Feature-wise Pro is not that major. It has an entirely different UI than Pixelmator 3.6. Long term, maintaining two different apps with very different UIs is not going to work. I wouldn't be surprised if 3.6 remained as last version of non-Pro Pixelmator.

So why Pixelmator Pro and not just Pixelmator 4.0?

Pixelmator never charged for upgrades on Mac App Store, and as influx of new users inevitably decreases, they need to get more money from existing users. Options: Subscription, In-App Purchases, Leave Mac App Store, or separate new app on the App Store. Maybe Pixelmator 4. Pixelmator Pro sounds better and more worthy of a "new" app purchase.

Their messaging around 3.6 is very lacking and confusing, lack of paid upgrades on Mac App Store does explain everything.

It's not clear from the FAQ[1] how this is different from a major revision to Pixelmator. Does anyone have any insight into what is the difference, if any?

[1] http://www.pixelmator.com/pro/faq/

Looks great, but I really hope they keep offering standalone pricing. I picked up Pixelmator (and have enjoyed using it) solely to get away from Adobe's subscriptions, and I will continue my search if they move to a subscription model.