Adobe aims to launch full version of Photoshop for iPad in 2019

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: Being able to run an unrestricted version of Photoshop and other Adobe apps on the iPad would serve as a major endorsement for the device and make it more attractive to creative professionals that might otherwise turn to Microsoft's Surface for productivity on the go.

Adobe Systems is planning to unveil a full version of its Photoshop app for Apple’s iPad at its annual Max creativity conference in October according to sources familiar with the matter as reported by Bloomberg.

Adobe aims to launch the app sometime in 2019 although engineering delays could alter the timeline, sources said.

Photoshop has been available on the iPad for years but it only offers core functionality.

Scott Belsky, chief product officer of Adobe’s Creative Cloud division, confirmed to Bloomberg that they are working on a new cross-platform iteration of Photoshop and other applications but didn’t share launch plans.

In an interview with the publication, Belsky said his aspiration is to get the apps on the market as soon as possible but conceded that there’s a lot required to take a product as sophisticated and powerful as Photoshop and make it work on a modern device like the iPad.

The need for a full-fledged mobile version of Photoshop is certainly there, and not just for hobbyists. Belsky said customers in media and entertainment are increasingly working on tablets rather than computers and have asked the company for the ability to “make edits on the fly” while working on such devices.

A new version of Adobe Illustrator is also said to be in the works but is a longer way off from being released.

Adobe’s Max creativity conference kicks off on October 15 and runs through October 17 in Los Angeles. A “preconference” will be held October 13-14. Full conferences passes start at $1,295 and registration is now open.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/75497-adobe-aims-launch-full-version-photoshop-ipad-2019.html

 

[DelJo63]

Even with a stylus this would have awkward usability IMO

 

[mbrowne5061]

Have fun calibrating that screen... oh. wait.

This is definitely not "aimed at professionals" if there is no way to calibrate the screen (how could you even hook up the tool?). This is aimed squarely at hobbyists. The professionals are still going to use a Surface if they want to make edits, and full-blown Photoshop is already ready for that device.

 

[tipstir]

Looks like something is missing from all this.. Well they got another 30 years (should do it in 10 years) to get things straight.. At least they're on the right path.

 

[koblongata]

Have fun calibrating that screen... oh. wait.

This is definitely not "aimed at professionals" if there is no way to calibrate the screen (how could you even hook up the tool?). This is aimed squarely at hobbyists. The professionals are still going to use a Surface if they want to make edits, and full-blown Photoshop is already ready for that device.

I thought all Apple devices's screens are factory color calibrated by default hence their popularity among professionals?

 

[Evernessince]

Have fun calibrating that screen... oh. wait.

This is definitely not "aimed at professionals" if there is no way to calibrate the screen (how could you even hook up the tool?). This is aimed squarely at hobbyists. The professionals are still going to use a Surface if they want to make edits, and full-blown Photoshop is already ready for that device.

I thought all Apple devices's screens are factory color calibrated by default hence their popularity among professionals?

Nope, MAC owners have to buy a calibration device if they want perfect colors. I've sold a number of open box Mac Desktop systems and none of them came calibrated. Even the retina 5K screen doesn't come calibrated. On the otherhand, Dell does sell a 5K monitor that does come calibrated.

 

[mbrowne5061]

I thought all Apple devices's screens are factory color calibrated by default hence their popularity among professionals?

All screen calibrations drift with time. Even hobbyists using good monitors will re-calibrate every 1-3 months; not even factory calibrations last all that long, they just give a baseline to refer back to.

Nope, MAC owners have to buy a calibration device if they want perfect colors. I've sold a number of open box Mac Desktop systems and none of them came calibrated. Even the retina 5K screen doesn't come calibrated. On the other hand, Dell does sell a 5K monitor that does come calibrated.

Ok, and how do you hook that up to an iPad? Its a USB slave device, not a host. Even with an adapter, what software do you use? What is the maximum accuracy of its screen? Can its battery even support the full calibration time, since it would need run at maximum brightness through a graphically intense process, and its charging port to run the calibration tool.

This version is aimed squarely at hobbyists, and people with more money than sense. No pros are ever going to use it.

 

[Evernessince]

All screen calibrations drift with time. Even hobbyists using good monitors will re-calibrate every 1-3 months; not even factory calibrations last all that long, they just give a baseline to refer back to.


Ok, and how do you hook that up to an iPad? Its a USB slave device, not a host. Even with an adapter, what software do you use? What is the maximum accuracy of its screen? Can its battery even support the full calibration time, since it would need run at maximum brightness through a graphically intense process, and its charging port to run the calibration tool.

This version is aimed squarely at hobbyists, and people with more money than sense. No pros are ever going to use it.

/faceplam

Macs are not iPads. I specifically mentioned Macs. Maybe next time I need to put that in bold but then again there are always comments like this.

FYI adobe isn't going to spend a ton of money converting the full version of photoshop for a few hobbyists, that makes zero business sense. This is aimed squarely at pros. People don't just decide to plop money down for Photoshop for the laughs, it takes years to develop skill in using it fully. This isn't some fun camera filter where you can make an impulse purchase and have fun right away.

 

[JaredTheDragon]

What "version" of Photoshop were they using this whole time? PS Express?

I find it amazing and almost hilarious that they didn't even have Photoshop yet at all. I assumed Apple would have made that happen with Adobe already.

 

[Evernessince]

What "version" of Photoshop were they using this whole time? PS Express?

I find it amazing and almost hilarious that they didn't even have Photoshop yet at all. I assumed Apple would have made that happen with Adobe already.

Yes, they've only has PS express. I'm sure Apple has been pushing adobe but porting something like PS costs a lot of money, time, and staff.

 

[mbrowne5061]

/faceplam

Macs are not iPads. I specifically mentioned Macs. Maybe next time I need to put that in bold but then again there are always comments like this.

FYI adobe isn't going to spend a ton of money converting the full version of photoshop for a few hobbyists, that makes zero business sense. This is aimed squarely at pros. People don't just decide to plop money down for Photoshop for the laughs, it takes years to develop skill in using it fully. This isn't some fun camera filter where you can make an impulse purchase and have fun right away.

Then actually read the article, and read about how they are actually spending a ton of money on doing just that; converting full photoshop for iPad. Then, go read my comment and see how I was talking about the iPad, and not Macs - you were the one who brought up Macs. Even my reply still didn't mention Macs - I pointed how what works on a Mac won't in this case work on an iPad.

 

[Evernessince]

Then actually read the article, and read about how they are actually spending a ton of money on doing just that; converting full photoshop for iPad. Then, go read my comment and see how I was talking about the iPad, and not Macs - you were the one who brought up Macs. Even my reply still didn't mention Macs - I pointed how what works on a Mac won't in this case work on an iPad.

/facepalm

You do realize I quoted and replied to a person asking if MAC screens were color calibrated right? Next time make sure to read what a comment is quoting before going off the rails like this again.

 

[GregonMaui]

Even with a stylus this would have awkward usability IMO

naysayers say "nay". you could be completely 100% correct, but let's just suppose for a moment, there is at least one individual who is at least as smart as you and is working on this product. Let's see what they come up with before condemning it. Then you can have more fun, if you are still in fact correct.

 

[GregonMaui]

What "version" of Photoshop were they using this whole time? PS Express?

I find it amazing and almost hilarious that they didn't even have Photoshop yet at all. I assumed Apple would have made that happen with Adobe already.

Really? I find it amazing that there are a lot of other photo/video editing solutions that work great on the $300-$700 iPads and yet a few people still yearn for Photoshop, which failed to deliver.

 

[GregonMaui]

Have fun calibrating that screen... oh. wait.

oh wait, wait! Aren't the screens like super calibrated on delivery? Every professional evaluation of the screens on iPads that I have read always state that the color accuracy is amazing, and the screens are superb. sounds like more of a problem on other devices perhaps? And if Adobe believes they need it, I am pretty sure smart people are employed by Adobe and can figure it out

 

[GregonMaui]

Have fun calibrating that screen... oh. wait.

This is definitely not "aimed at professionals" if there is no way to calibrate the screen (how could you even hook up the tool?). This is aimed squarely at hobbyists. The professionals are still going to use a Surface if they want to make edits, and full-blown Photoshop is already

ready for that device.

I thought all Apple devices's screens are factory color calibrated by default hence their popularity among professionals?

Nope, MAC owners have to buy a calibration device if they want perfect colors. I've sold a number of open box Mac Desktop systems and none of them came calibrated. Even the retina 5K screen doesn't come calibrated. On the otherhand, Dell does sell a 5K monitor that does come calibrated.

can you reference a professional review or article supporting this? I guess the reviews I've read must not be "professional". I'm the first to admit, I'm not in this space and probably wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it.

 

[Evernessince]

can you reference a professional review or article supporting this? I guess the reviews I've read must not be "professional". I'm the first to admit, I'm not in this space and probably wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it.

This is exactly what you are looking for

https://photographylife.com/how-to-calibrate-imac-and-imac-pro-displays

 

[captaincranky]

naysayers say "nay". you could be completely 100% correct, but let's just suppose for a moment, there is at least one individual who is at least as smart as you and is working on this product. Let's see what they come up with before condemning it. Then you can have more fun, if you are still in fact correct.

Well, small very high resolution screens are an enormous PitA to work with, particularly in an imaging program like Photoshop. PS editing is sometimes done down to the pixel level, which obviously requires a lot of zooming, and this is the reason the real pros are using 30" screens.

So, the smaller the screen and the higher the resolution, the more time consuming it becomes to get at the detail you're trying to change. And then you have to zoom back out, to see how the changes have affected the image

Taking all that into account, I have a "Saturday night special" of a Windows 10 tablet. With its 8" screen, and its 1920 by 1280 (!) resolution, you can't even open a file folder without a stylus, So, how do you get close enough with something like an iPad? Apple is obsessed with selling ultra high resolution displays. Witness their "Retina Display" on the iPhone.

Taking into account that true professional results can hinge on calibrating their monitor correctly, and also working in a fixed environment, with respect to the color temperature and ambient lighting levels.

Everybody in the industry panders to one another. I'm sure Apple will claim that this is the biggest breakthrough since well, their last biggest breakthrough, but at the end of the day, it's all about another Adobe subscription recruitment.

Besides, you can still cash and carry a DVD of "Photoshop Elements", which is actually way overkill for the average user. PSE has 90% (or thereabouts), of Photoshop's editing capability built in.

So, why not just stuff that up your iPad?

 

[DelJo63]

naysayers say "nay". you could be completely 100% correct, but let's just suppose for a moment, there is at least one individual who is at least as smart as you and is working on this product. Let's see what they come up with before condemning it. Then you can have more fun, if you are still in fact correct.

Have YOU done any Photoshop work? If so then you would understand the basis of my comment and not jump to your conclusion on naysaying. There's lots of smart people here, but experience in image processing trumps bias comments and psst, I love my iPad

 

[captaincranky]

naysayers say "nay". you could be completely 100% correct, but let's just suppose for a moment, there is at least one individual who is at least as smart as you and is working on this product. Let's see what they come up with before condemning it. Then you can have more fun, if you are still in fact correct.

...[ ]...Besides, you can still cash and carry a DVD of "Photoshop Elements", which is actually way overkill for the average user. PSE has 90% (or thereabouts), of Photoshop's editing capability built in.

So, why not just stuff that up your iPad?

CORRECTION: Even Photoshop Elements isn't ported to Apple's telephone OS.

I confess to getting a kick out of the tablet craze. It seems as soon as a "device" won't fit in your pocket, all of it's a sudden people think it's a big boy computer.

Hell, the 14 year old eMachines T just threw away would run early versions of PSE.

 

[captaincranky]

I thought all Apple devices's screens are factory color calibrated by default hence their popularity among professionals?

I think this is somewhat of a Legend.

Once upon a time, pros would only use Apple because of the superior color management. The color management in Windows is every bit as good these days.

Granted, I'm not a pro, and don't have the urgent need for a Color Sptder that pros do, but I can still transfer photos from machine to machine and have then look very similar, with respect to image parameters. I can also pick out whose monitor is out of calibration with downloaded junk.

Monitor manufacturers supply a "color profile" with their monitors, which tells Windows how to set the color balance, etc.

Besides, just because a monitor is calibrated at the factory, doesn't mean it's going to stay calibrated throughout its service life.

Anyway, I can eyeball color fairly accurately, to spec and to personal taste. Problems only manifest themselves when you feed an image to your printed, There, without correct porfiling, the screen and printed image can look dramatically different. But you need to make a different profile for every different printer,and paper, you expect to be using.

CRTs were famous for having one color gun burnout before another, causing tons of color shift. (Usually it's that pesky blue gun. People complain how the blue light hurts their eyes, but after the blue gun craps out, the monitor or TV sort of looks like you're working in candlelight).

CFL back lights do exactly the same thing.