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Comparison · Design

Linearity vs OpenEXR

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Linearity and OpenEXR — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Linearity vs OpenEXR: at a glance

FeatureLinearityOpenEXR
SectorDesignDesign
Velocity score3.85.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themesvector-design, generative-ai, ios, macosimage-format, memory-safety, fuzzing, vfx
Last editorial update12d ago9h ago
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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.

Read the full Linearity trajectory →

What is OpenEXR?

A second IDManifest flaw lands two weeks after OpenEXR's forty-CVE sweep

OpenEXR's recent history is dominated by security response. On 2026-08-05 three branches were tagged within two minutes — v3.4.14, v3.3.13 and v3.2.11, fixing 15, 15 and 10 CVEs from one fuzzing and audit campaign, all memory corruption reachable by opening a crafted .exr file. Two weeks later v3.4.15 and v3.3.14 fix two further memory-allocation issues, this time confined to the code that decodes the idmanifest attribute, with CVEs requested but not yet assigned. The 3.4 tag also carries a missing Windows export and reduced compiler warnings in example code.

Read the full OpenEXR trajectory →

Linearity vs OpenEXR: editorial side-by-side

L
Linearity
DESIGN
3.8

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.

O
OpenEXR
DESIGN
5.0

A second IDManifest flaw lands two weeks after OpenEXR's forty-CVE sweep

◆ Current state

OpenEXR's recent history is dominated by security response. On 2026-08-05 three branches were tagged within two minutes — v3.4.14, v3.3.13 and v3.2.11, fixing 15, 15 and 10 CVEs from one fuzzing and audit campaign, all memory corruption reachable by opening a crafted .exr file. Two weeks later v3.4.15 and v3.3.14 fix two further memory-allocation issues, this time confined to the code that decodes the idmanifest attribute, with CVEs requested but not yet assigned. The 3.4 tag also carries a missing Windows export and reduced compiler warnings in example code.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern is now established: findings arrive from a continuing fuzzing effort and are patched simultaneously across every supported stream, with the release notes written to tell integrators precisely which code paths are reachable. The narrowing scope is the useful signal — August's first batch spanned the C++ libraries, the command-line tools and the Python bindings, while this one touches only idmanifest decoding and explicitly states other code is unaffected even on files carrying the attribute. Both new tags are release candidates dated ahead of their tagging, and the 3.3 backport reuses the 3.4 note verbatim, down to naming v3.4.15 in its own body.

◆ Prediction

Expect the requested CVEs to be assigned identifiers and the two RCs to be promoted to final tags, with a matching 3.2 backport if the idmanifest code is present in that stream. Further attribute-parser findings are likely while the fuzzing campaign continues.

Alternatives to Linearity and OpenEXR

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 Linearity or OpenEXR.

See all Linearity alternatives → · See all OpenEXR alternatives →

Recent activity from Linearity and OpenEXR

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 10h agoOpenEXR3.3.14 backports the IDManifest memory fixes to the 3.3 stream
  2. 11h agoOpenEXR3.4.15 fixes two IDManifest memory-allocation flaws
  3. 13d agoLinearityCurve 6.12 adds Quiver AI generation with editable layers
  4. 14d agoOpenEXR3.4.14 fixes 15 CVEs found by fuzzing the .exr parser
  5. 14d agoOpenEXR3.3.13 backports the same 15 CVE fixes to the 3.3 stream
  6. 14d agoOpenEXR3.2.11 carries 10 of the CVE fixes to the oldest supported stream
  7. 2mo agoOpenEXR3.3.12-rc updates CI install scripts
  8. 2mo agoLinearityCurve 6.11: noise effect, SVG and performance gains
  9. 3mo agoLinearityCurve & Move 6.10: corner smoothing, path bending and a community hub
  10. 4mo agoLinearityCurve & Move 6.9: Super Resolution, snapping and image handling
  11. 4mo agoLinearityLinearity Curve & Move 6.9 brings smarter tools and cleaner workflows
  12. 5mo agoLinearityCurve 6.8 adds a Glass Effect with refraction and dispersion

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Linearity and OpenEXR?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. OpenEXR is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 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 Linearity better than OpenEXR?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenEXR is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 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 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.

What are the best alternatives to OpenEXR?

Top OpenEXR alternatives in Design are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenEXR alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openexr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.