sorry for replicating requests for clarification, @drewmccormack .
for any who landed on this thread with the same question, the following updated answer can be found here:
Yes, currently we have an automatically renewing subscription. This works better with family sharing etc.
Our sales model is the same though: whatever you unlock, you keep forever. That is different to most subscriptions.
If you don’t like subscriptions, you can either use the lifetime purchase, though that is more expensive, or you can get the subscription and cancel it immediately after the free trial. That way, it will stop at the end of the year, and you still get all the premium features permanently unlocked just as before.