<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
raster	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
editor	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Serif	O
Ltd	O
.	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
alongside	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Designer	I-Operating_System
and	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Publisher	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
started	O
in	O
2009	O
as	O
a	O
raster	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
editor	I-Application
for	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
first	O
version	O
reached	O
general	O
availability	O
in	O
2015	O
with	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
version	O
launched	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
PhotoPlus	B-Language
which	O
Serif	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
an	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Photoshop	I-Operating_System
alternative	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
common	O
file	O
formats	O
such	O
as	O
Adobe	O
's	O
PSD	O
(	O
including	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
Smart	O
Objects	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Functionality	O
includes	O
RAW	B-Application
processing	O
,	O
color	B-Algorithm
space	I-Algorithm
options	O
,	O
live	O
preview	O
of	O
effects	O
,	O
image	B-Algorithm
stitching	I-Algorithm
,	O
alpha	B-Algorithm
compositing	I-Algorithm
,	O
black	B-Algorithm
point	I-Algorithm
compensation	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
optical	O
aberration	O
corrections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Working	O
in	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
is	O
always	O
live	O
,	O
with	O
pan	O
and	O
zoom	O
at	O
60fps	O
and	O
non-destructive	O
editing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
unlimited	O
layers	O
and	O
a	O
dedicated	O
workspace	O
for	O
developing	O
RAW	B-Application
photos	O
;	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
RGB	O
,	O
CMYK	O
,	O
LAB	O
,	O
Greyscale	O
color	B-Algorithm
spaces	I-Algorithm
with	O
ICC	O
color	O
management	O
and	O
16-bit	O
per	O
channel	O
editing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
is	O
not	O
an	O
image	B-Application
organizer	I-Application
like	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
Aperture	I-Operating_System
or	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Lightroom	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
began	O
as	O
a	O
raster	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
editor	I-Application
solely	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
Serif	O
's	O
second	O
macOS	B-Application
app	B-Application
after	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Designer	I-Operating_System
and	O
,	O
like	O
that	O
app	B-Application
,	O
was	O
built	O
from	O
the	O
ground	O
up	O
to	O
leverage	O
core	O
native	O
technologies	O
,	O
including	O
Grand	B-Operating_System
Central	I-Operating_System
Dispatch	I-Operating_System
,	O
Core	B-Operating_System
Graphics	I-Operating_System
,	O
OpenGL	B-Application
and	O
Metal	B-Library
2	I-Library
hardware	O
acceleration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serif	O
established	O
an	O
R&D	O
team	O
for	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
in	O
2009	O
,	O
headed	O
by	O
lead	O
designer	O
Andy	O
Somerfield	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
stable	O
release	O
of	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
,	O
version	O
1.3.1	O
,	O
launched	O
on	O
the	O
Mac	O
App	B-Application
Store	O
on	O
9	O
July	O
2015	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
10.7	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
1.4	O
,	O
in	O
December	O
2015	O
,	O
added	O
panorama	O
photo	B-Algorithm
stitching	I-Algorithm
,	O
support	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
10.11	O
El	O
Capitan	O
including	O
six	O
Affinity	O
extensions	O
for	O
Apple	B-Application
Photos	I-Application
,	O
and	O
augmented	O
the	O
languages	O
supported	O
in	O
previous	O
versions	O
(	O
English	O
(	O
US	O
and	O
UK	O
)	O
,	O
German	O
,	O
French	O
and	O
Spanish	O
)	O
with	O
Italian	O
,	O
Portuguese	O
(	O
Brazilian	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Japanese	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
1.4.1	O
and	O
1.4.2	O
in	O
January	O
and	O
June	O
2016	O
provided	O
stability	O
and	O
bug	O
fixes	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
app	B-Application
was	O
optimized	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
10.12	O
Sierra	O
with	O
version	O
1.4.3	O
in	O
September	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
Serif	O
launched	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
for	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
released	O
version	O
1.5.1	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
adding	O
a	O
32-bit	O
RGB	O
editing	O
mode	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
32-bit	O
file	O
formats	O
and	O
more	O
than	O
70	O
new	O
camera	B-Application
RAW	I-Application
file	O
formats	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
develop	O
RAW	B-Application
files	I-Application
directly	O
into	O
a	O
32-bit	O
document	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
MacBook	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
with	I-Device
Touchbar	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
for	O
iPad	O
was	O
launched	O
during	O
the	O
keynote	O
at	O
Apple	O
's	O
WWDC	O
in	O
San	O
Jose	O
on	O
5	O
June	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
iPad	O
version	O
was	O
updated	O
for	O
compatibility	O
with	O
Apple	O
's	O
new	O
iOS	B-Application
11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
updates	O
to	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Designer	I-Operating_System
,	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
1.6.6	O
was	O
optimized	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
10.13	O
High	O
Sierra	O
(	O
and	O
Metal	B-Library
2	I-Library
acceleration	O
)	O
,	O
better	O
integration	O
with	O
Apple	B-Application
Photos	I-Application
,	O
improved	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
Plugins	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
added	O
an	O
option	O
to	O
switch	O
between	O
a	O
dark	O
or	O
light	O
user	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serif	O
discontinued	O
PhotoPlus	B-Language
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2020	O
,	O
version	O
1.8	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
smart	O
objects	O
in	O
PSD	O
files	O
,	O
and	O
expanded	O
plug-in	O
compatibility	O
,	O
with	O
focus	O
on	O
DxO	B-Algorithm
's	O
Nik	B-Application
Collection	I-Application
of	O
plug-ins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
macOS	B-Application
version	O
of	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
was	O
received	O
favorably	O
by	O
professional	O
photographers	O
,	O
and	O
Apple	O
named	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
best	O
Mac	O
app	B-Application
of	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
prize	O
for	O
Best	O
Imaging	O
Software	O
by	O
the	O
Technical	O
Image	O
Press	O
Association	O
(	O
TIPA	O
)	O
at	O
Photokina	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
app	B-Application
was	O
named	O
by	O
Apple	O
as	O
its	O
best	O
iPad	O
app	B-Application
of	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
and	O
Tom	O
's	O
Guide	O
selected	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
for	O
their	O
first	O
list	O
of	O
Best	O
Tech	O
Values	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2019	O
,	O
Affinity	B-Operating_System
Photo	I-Operating_System
received	O
Amateur	O
Photographer	O
's	O
Software	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
award	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
Photography	O
News	O
 '	O
Best	O
Software	O
award	O
in	O
March	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
