Astra
Two release trains, zero new features — Astra has been in pure maintenance mode since spring.
Comparison · Design
Air vs Linearity
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Air and Linearity — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Air vs Linearity: at a glance
| Feature | Air | Linearity |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Design | Design |
| Velocity score | 8.8 | 3.8 |
| Sparks · 30d | 1 | 1 |
| Top themes | dam, creative-agents, canvas, localization | vector-design, generative-ai, ios, macos |
| Last editorial update | 4d ago | 4d ago |
| Website | — | — |
What is Air?
Air's asset library grew an agent, and the agent is learning to keep what it does.
Canvas has become the centre of the product. In the last three weeks it gained an agent that edits existing video rather than only generating new clips, two additional video models, the ability to save any completed workflow as a reusable skill, @ mentions that pull in board assets alongside Brand Kit colours, fonts and logos, and now in-image text translation across 33 languages. The library side kept moving too, with manual person tagging where facial recognition falls short, current-version share links, frame-level timeline zoom, and a batch of video features covering burned-in captions, transcript editing and sub-clipping.
What is Linearity?
Linearity bets on generation that hands back editable layers, not a flat image.
Curve ships roughly every six to eight weeks on iOS and macOS, and until now the releases were craft work: a glass effect with refraction and dispersion, corner smoothing and path bending, Super Resolution and snapping, a noise effect with SVG and performance gains. Version 6.12 changes the subject by adding Quiver AI generation, framed around keeping every layer owned and editable after the model has run. The companion app Move contributes on its own track, with Lottie export for web and mobile motion graphics.
Air vs Linearity: editorial side-by-side
Air
8.8DESIGN
Air's asset library grew an agent, and the agent is learning to keep what it does.
◆ Current state
Canvas has become the centre of the product. In the last three weeks it gained an agent that edits existing video rather than only generating new clips, two additional video models, the ability to save any completed workflow as a reusable skill, @ mentions that pull in board assets alongside Brand Kit colours, fonts and logos, and now in-image text translation across 33 languages. The library side kept moving too, with manual person tagging where facial recognition falls short, current-version share links, frame-level timeline zoom, and a batch of video features covering burned-in captions, transcript editing and sub-clipping.
◆ Where it's heading
Air is converting a digital asset manager into a place where assets are produced and adapted, not just stored and approved. The skills feature is the pivot point: it turns one-off agent instructions into named, repeatable operations, which is how a creative team's conventions become part of the tool. Brand Kit entering the @ mention namespace points the same way — the agent is being given the brand's own vocabulary as addressable material, so generated work starts from house colours and logos rather than a generic prompt.
◆ Prediction
Expect skills to gain sharing or workspace-level scope, since a saved workflow is far more valuable to a team than to the person who recorded it. The translation and captioning work together suggests localisation is being assembled as a workflow rather than left as isolated features.
Linearity
3.8DESIGN
Linearity bets on generation that hands back editable layers, not a flat image.
◆ Current state
Curve ships roughly every six to eight weeks on iOS and macOS, and until now the releases were craft work: a glass effect with refraction and dispersion, corner smoothing and path bending, Super Resolution and snapping, a noise effect with SVG and performance gains. Version 6.12 changes the subject by adding Quiver AI generation, framed around keeping every layer owned and editable after the model has run. The companion app Move contributes on its own track, with Lottie export for web and mobile motion graphics.
◆ Where it's heading
The pitch — generation starts it, the designer owns the layers — is a deliberate contrast with image models that return a finished raster. For a vector tool on Apple platforms, that is the only version of AI that fits the product: output has to arrive as paths a designer can keep working. The release cadence and the Move track suggest the wider ambition is a design-to-motion pipeline on iPad and Mac, with Lottie as the handoff format.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next releases to extend generation deeper into the vector editing surface rather than adding separate AI panels, since editable output is the entire argument. How Quiver AI is priced or metered is not visible in these entries.
Alternatives to Air and Linearity
Other Design products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Air or Linearity.
shadcn/ui
A component library turning into scaffolding for AI apps
Picsart
The editor now prints to a CVS counter, and that is the second business bolted on this summer.
Aseprite
Steady 1.3 maintenance, with the Lua API quietly becoming Aseprite's extension point.
Webflow
Webflow is building for the answer engines, not just the search results page.
Storybook
The 10.6 alphas are an Angular tooling rebuild wearing a version number.
See all Air alternatives → · See all Linearity alternatives →
Recent activity from Air and Linearity
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5d agoAirNEW: Translation in Canvas ⚡
- 5d agoAirNew: One-click duplicate
- 6d agoLinearityCurve 6.12 adds Quiver AI generation with editable layers ⚡
- 7d agoAir@ mentions now live in Canvas
- 8d agoAirNew: Manual Tagging
- 12d agoAirNew: Video to Video in Canvas
- 13d agoAirTwo new AI video models available in Canvas
- 1mo agoLinearityCurve 6.11: noise effect, SVG and performance gains
- 3mo agoLinearityCurve & Move 6.10: corner smoothing, path bending and a community hub
- 4mo agoLinearityCurve & Move 6.9: Super Resolution, snapping and image handling
- 4mo agoLinearityLinearity Curve & Move 6.9 brings smarter tools and cleaner workflows
- 5mo agoLinearityCurve 6.8 adds a Glass Effect with refraction and dispersion
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Air and Linearity?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Air is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 8.8 vs 3.8), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 1. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Air better than Linearity?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Air is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 8.8 vs 3.8), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 1. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Design products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Air?
Top Air alternatives in Design are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Air alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/air for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Linearity?
Top Linearity alternatives in Design are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Linearity alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/linearity for the full list with editorial commentary on each.