Aperture 3 Bargain in the Mac App Store

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Sometimes a great deal is nothing more than that. A perfect example is Aperture 3.1.1 for only $79 in the new Mac App Store. This is a great price compared to the $199 it will cost you in the online Apple Store.

I read some speculation today that the $79 offering represented a "closeout sale" for Apple's professional photo management software. Really? Rumors of Apple abandoning Aperture have been around about as long as the application itself.

My take on all of this? This is a fantastic price in the Mac App Store. And if you don't have Aperture already, and want it, buy it now. I predict that Aperture will with be us for quite some time.

Aperture Tips and Techniques

To learn more about Aperture 3, check out my Aperture 3 Essential Training on Lynda.com. Also, take a look at our Aperture 3 Learning Center. Tons of free content about how to get the most out of Aperture.



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11 Comments

I worry why there is such a big price difference, I they don't adjust the retail box price I wonder I buyin from the App Store means you lose out on somethin like discounted future upgrade pricing, what do you think Derrick?

A few points, all Mac App Store apps are only for "personal, non-commercial use" as is stated in the terms and conditions. If you want to use Aperture for professional photography for which you receive payment, you cannot legally use the app store, you must use the boxed version. And don't not forget that you can't resell (or give away) an app purchased from the App Store, as you currently can with a boxed piece of software (depending on EULA).

$79 is also the price charged by education store.
which is also non-commercial.

Like I said: it's a good deal.

Maybe it's a sign that version 4 isn't far off - Apple could be hoping all the new purchasers will then upgrade.

I think one of the things that Apple wants to do with Aperture, is to provide a clear and easy upgrade path from iPhoto. As people come to the Mac and get comfortable with photo management, they will outgrow iPhoto. By making Aperture as accessible as possible, Apple can keep users in the fold while giving them room to grow.

I bought Aperture 2 by buying the serial number online at the Apple online store. Then I bought the Aperture 3 serial number online as well. When I did a clean install on my Mac today, it was a nightmare trying to reinstall Aperture again. The downloaded installer froze and trying to download a new installer stalled halfway. Then I had to locate the Aperture 3 license and the prior Aperture 2 license because of the upgrade. Crazy.

I almost wanted to re-buy Aperture on the App store just for the convenience.

What if Apple has a Photoshop competitor in the works? Drop the price of Aperture to $79.99 and offer the Photoshop competitor for $299 (wild guess) That would create a $380 combo compared to the $1000 combo of Photoshop and Lightroom and it would match the $380 combo of Element and Lightoom. Just a thought.

@Kevin Z: That's not true, the Mac App Store terms and conditions don't say the apps are for Personal, Non-Commercial use only. What they do say about use by a commercial enterprise, so you can't purchase Aperture or iWork once and install it on every machine in your company, is:

"(ii) If you are a commercial enterprise or educational institution, you may download a Mac App Store Product for use either (a) by a single individual on each of the Mac Product(s) that you own or control, or (b) by multiple individuals on a single shared Mac Product that you own or control. For example, a single employee may use a Mac App Store Product on both the employee's desktop Mac Product and laptop Mac Product, or multiple students may serially use the Product on a single Mac Product located at a resource center or library."

@martin Perry: If that's the case, then if I have already purchased Aperture through the app store on my desktop computer, will i get charged again to download it to my laptop?

Actually the price in the Education store for Aperture 3 is $179 - as of 04.08.2011