Ask HN: What are your thoughts on annual subscriptions for desktop software?

More and more desktop applications are adopting the annual subscription model (1password, Adobe products, Git Tower come to mind). Do you think that this is a money grab from companies, or a more sustainable software model for desktop developers?

I'm inclined to think that professional-level applications need ongoing maintenance and are never "done", so in certain circumstances it makes sense to pay an annual fee to get access to updates.