Affinity Photo v 1.5 will arrive to the Mac App Store somewhere in September, October the latest. The actual version is available at a 20% discount price of £29.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 until Thursday, July 21, as part of a promotion to mark Affinity’s Photo first anniversary.

Affinity Photo, the award-winning professional image editing app, is to get a host of powerful new features in its next update, and developer Serif has published a ‘sneak peek’ video detailing what’s new in Affinity Photo v1.5. The new features will also be included in the hotly-anticipated Windows version of the software, tipped to be in free public beta around the same time.

Those added features announced today include:

• Advanced HDR merge producing full 32-bit linear colour space images
• An entirely new workspace for tone mapping
• Focus stacking to bring depth to multiple combined images
• Batch processing for smoother, faster workflow
• Macros to record and replay a set of commands
• An all-new way to edit 360 degree images

Revealing the added functions, Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson notes: “This will be the fifth major update we’ve pushed out since the launch of Affinity Photo – all free of charge to people who’ve bought the app. We’re committed to continuing to develop features that cement the position of Affinity Photo as the most indispensable image editing tool for pros, whether they’re using Mac or PC.”

Chosen as Apple’s ‘App of the Year’ 2015, and ‘Best Imaging Software’ 2016 by the Technical Image Press Association, Affinity Photo’s live retouch tools work in real time and its speed means there’s no waiting to see your results. Non-destructive editing, raw processing and end-to-end colour management are standard, so Affinity Photo has all the accuracy and quality necessary to make beautiful images spring to life.

Hewson adds: “The success of Affinity Photo and the outstanding reviews we’ve had are proof that it delivers what creative professionals need – thrilling speed, sophisticated tools, pinpoint accuracy and painless compatibility, coupled with an attractive, modern look.”

Affinity Photo is available, as mentioned above, at a 20% discount price of £29.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 until Thursday, July 21, as part of a promotion to mark its first anniversary, before reverting to £39.99 / $49.99 / €49.99.

Serif continues to say that’s the only price customers pay – there’s no subscription – and the v1.5 update will be free to existing customers. Windows users eager to try the program – I know I am, I almost wish I had a Mac just to be able to use the available version of the program –  can register now to take part in the free public beta at affinity.serif.com/windows.