Bottom line - If you’re a person who refuses to use software that is sold via the “subscription” model then this deal is not for you. On the other hand, if you are like me, are OK with the “subscription” model then this could work. I just have PAI. I will pay the same, get the latest updates/models and unlimited cloud rendering for images (non-batch). For me this looks good. My subscription is good until April, so I have time to see how I like it.
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Don’t worry - please reach out to support@topazlabs.com, we’ll get you squared away here 
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Yeah it will be a good idea to have auto-renewal turned on to make sure you get Founder status and the free studio upgrade and the lowest price locked in if you like it. You can always cancel if you don’t like Studio and you keep your perpetual licenses.
The key word is major update. I paid for the license based on the promise of upgrades to TPAI not maintenance. TPAI was built around AI and the promise of continued innovation. That no longer holds true. It’s called bait and switch.
Frankly I knew this was coming when you changed the TOU, everyone complained, was told to relax and now the rational for those changes have come to fruition.
Sorry Dakota, been with you guys for a while, still have denoise and sharpen loaded on my system. I always respected the Topaz path was on until now.
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Totally understand that subscriptions aren’t for everyone. You’ll still be able to use the perpetual license products you love, and we’ll maintain them.
To be clear - you will still get access to the latest and greatest AI models here from Topaz at no additional cost, and a whole host of benefits and preferred pricing too.
Not to mention ALL the apps if you’re part of the Studio bundle, including some new ones too. It’s our best offer yet. But we won’t offer those apps or the new AI models under the perpetual license.
I don’t think your reply was for my post.
Dakota, You aren’t directly responding to my post. Will my current version of TPAI that will be valid until July of 2026 receive all the new model that will be added to the version of TPAI Studio moving forward, after Sept 16th?
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No, Topaz Photo will be a new product as a part of our Studio collection which will receive major new features and AI models.
Photo AI will continue to exist under a perpetual license but will only receive minor patch updates moving forward.
You should have access to both products, however, if you maintain an active license prior to the Studio launch date. The Topaz Photo (Studio) version won’t be a perpetual license though, and you’ll only be able to access it until July 2026 unless you renew.
You can have both products loaded on your machine at the same time if you so desire, as they install into separate directories.
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OK, so when I renewed in July Topaz failed to notify me of the upcoming change to the services provided to my TPAI license. The items that were being worked on in Beta were never going to be applied to the current version of TPAI as it stands today. When my license expires in July of 2026 I will essentially have received one month of updated models under my license, not the 12 months I purchased.
Unethical
When I let my license of GP expire your new business model was already in motion, I would guess that started right around the time Topaz updated the TOU.
Having been a loyal customer, purchasing several different versions and license renewals Topaz felt no obligation to it’s loyal base to explain what was in the pipeline. Now I am being told to renew GP so that I have two applications that will not receive major updates. That means that when those licenses expire I will own obsolete versions.
Unethical
It is difficult for me to understand how Topaz thought that this rollout and the corresponding failure to update active licenses until expiration would be accepted by loyal customers.
As I stated earlier, this is a bait and switch. By allowing customers to renew without communicating the new business plan, so that each person could make an educated decision on whether or not they would like to proceed, we were all deceived. You took our money and will no longer provide the services as promised.
And this has nothing to do with subscriptions, I subscribe to the entire Adobe Suite and pay annually. The announcement should have come sooner, customers should have been informed prior to renewal in 2025 and give options, refunds or discounts applied for the new suite software at their first billing cycle based for the months lost on their now obsolete software.
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Hey Msh,
I understand your perspective - but to be clear you will still get 10 months of access to new AI models inside the Topaz Studio products at no extra charge. This comes in addition to free unlimited cloud rendering for image and other perks during that time. However, these new AI models being developed are not available under a perpetual license.
And you don’t have to purchase another product, but we are alerting you that if you do, you will get access to the entire Topaz product suite at a really compelling price point.
Your upgrade license also gave you access to the latest Topaz AI models which had been developed over the year(s) prior to your previous license. If you do choose to refund your purchase, you will have access to the version which you previously owned prior to the upgrade, but not the latest versions of Photo AI.
As a Topaz legacy customer you are also getting exclusive access to features that are Pro-only, as well as massively preferred pricing. It’s an excellent offer if you chose to partake in it.
We understand not everyone will be happy with this setup, and of course we’ll continue to make sure that you can access your perpetual licensed versions on the latest operating systems if you don’t want the latest and greatest AI models from the Studio products.
I understand your perspective - but to be clear you will still get 10 months of access to new AI models inside the Topaz Studio products at no extra charge.
And if I decide not to renew I am still left with an obsolete application and Studio goes inactive. All the tools that are currently in BETA which I use extensively will not be applied with the 10 months I have remaining on my current TPAI license. That fits into the yearly testing that you noted since it has been in Beta for several months, July 10th rollout, so exactly two months. I will not see those based on the new policy.
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Hey Msh,
To get the latest and greatest AI models, you will need to maintain an active license to our products, yes. You will also need to maintain a license to be in the Beta forums for any of the products.
Many people are very happy with the current product offering, and want to own it forever. We’ll make sure that this still runs well on your latest operating system, but we won’t be adding new AI models to that set of products with a perpetual license setup moving forward.
Understood dakota. Topaz is failing to give us the upgraded models as promised for the term of our license, again as promised.
An attempt is being made to sugar coat it with allowing us to use Studio to justify a poor business model at rollout.
I will stop now as this conversation is circular but the bottom line from a user prospective, especially those that recently paid for a new license this is clearly a bait and switch which was planned well in advance with the updated TOU.
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The only way for Topaz to make this right is to offer a pro-rated refund to all customers. That would level the playing field and people could then choose to sign up for the new products or not. There’s nothing magical about September 16.
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BETA which I use extensively will not be applied with the 10 months I have remaining on my current TPAI license
If you do choose to refund your purchase
This is interesting. A light in the void, folks.
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It may might sense to give a pro-rated refund to people who aren’t interested in the new Studio software.
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Worth looking at the free and paid for AI products as well.
for example see things like these in DPReview:
and the example photos …
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At this point I only use TPAI and I am really not interested in the suite.
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I used ON1 a lot years ago - but gave up because of so many problems and the heavy-handed sales and marketing - so good luck! Lots of people like it !
I resubscribed to ON1 Raw last year and did the new Resize Trial recently but the resize did not impress me so I did not buy it. On my system it tended to produce fuzzy results - maybe I gave up too quickly. ON1 Raw does not give me better results than LrC Classic or DxO PhotoLab or Capture One so I won’t renew ON1 RAW this year.
The question that nobody seems to be answering, is if Starlight Mini will remain within Video AI if you do not continue to subscribe now that it’s a “Pro” feature only. Per the terms, owners of the software are entitled to that feature, regardless of subscription status. Adding AMD/Intel support etc., should be considered a minor update, especially since it was promised when SLM launched. People, including myself, purchased the software on that basis.
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