Before it was known as Adobe Photoshop, what was the original name of the software in 1987?
Photoshop started as a student's side project.
Image editing articles
DaVinci Resolve 21 beta adds photo editing and deeper AI integration
DaVinci Resolve 21 beta pushes further into all-in-one territory, adding a dedicated Photo section that allows edition of still images using the same color pipeline that made Resolve a favorite for video. The update leans heavily on AI to speed up everyday work. Early impressions highlight how seamlessly the new tools fit into existing workflows.
Canva Affinity adds Light UI, Convert to Curves, and Live Tone Blend
Affinity's latest update to introduces Light UI for a brighter and cleaner workplace, Convert to Curves to eliminate manual tracing by transforming objects into a fully editable vector curves, and Live Tone Blend Groups which blends layers dynamically and non-destructively.
GIMP 3.2 arrives with performance improvements and workflow refinements
Popular Photoshop alternative GIMP has been updated to feature non-destructive Link and Vector Layers, an upgraded MyPaint Brush tool, and expanded file format support including SVG export. The update also brings UI and stability improvements.
A new Wine update could finally bring Adobe Photoshop to Linux
One developer is taking on Linux's most stubborn compatibility problem
Forward-looking: Linux powers the vast majority of the world's computing infrastructure, yet it has long struggled to gain traction with everyday users – and with creative professionals, where macOS often holds an edge over Windows. That could change in the near future if one developer's work is accepted into Wine's codebase.
Pinta lets you edit images without the complexity of advanced editors
Pinta is a simple open-source image editor aimed at basic editing tasks like cropping, resizing, drawing, and quick color adjustments. It includes support for layers, effects, and a full undo history, while keeping system requirements low.
Darktable 5.4 adds capture sharpening and film-style tone mapping
Darktable is an open-source alternative to Adobe Lightroom. The latest release brings capture sharpening to the demosaic module to recover detail lost to in-camera blur, alongside a new AgX-based tone mapper inspired by Blender with film-like highlight roll-off and deeper control over contrast and exposure.
Google's Nano Banana Pro model makes AI images sharper, cleaner, and far more real
New model showcases impressive results, can refine your photos without wrecking them
Google Photos adds Nano Banana AI for conversational photo editing on your phone
New AI model enables natural language prompts, image transformations, and deep integration with user photo data
digiKam is a powerful open-source photo manager and RAW editor
digiKam is an open-source photo manager built for handling very large collections. It offers RAW editing, face recognition, geotagging, and deep metadata control, making it suitable for professional workflows as well as serious hobbyists on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Asus debuts first 8K HDR monitor with Dolby Vision for professional workflows
A Mini-LED ProArt display built for color-critical editing and grading
The big picture: Displays that support 8K remain uncommon due to the limited availability of true 8K content. However, the additional pixel density is valuable for certain professional workflows, which is the main selling point behind the Asus ProArt line and its newest entry into the 8K market
PhotoDemon offers full-featured image editing in a 20 MB download
PhotoDemon is a free and capable photo editor packed into a lightweight, portable package. It's designed to run without installation, making it ideal to use from USB sticks, SD cards, or portable drives. Features include layers, adjustments, filters, effects, and canvas tools.
Upscale your images for free with Upscayl
If you're looking to upscale low-res images, Upscayl is a powerful and free tool for enlarging and enhancing images. It's cross-platform and in our tests, performs as well as other paid apps like Topaz.
Adobe Photoshop new "Harmonize" tool uses AI to blend images with pro-level realism
Next-level blend, upscale, and edit photos with fewer skills (at a cost)
PNG image format receives HDR and animation support in first spec update in decades
The specification also adds support for Exif data
Adobe brings pro-level computational photography to iPhone users with Indigo
What just happened? Adobe has introduced Indigo, a new computational photography app for iPhone that aims to bring pro-grade image processing to everyday users. Developed by a team led by Marc Levoy, a pioneer in computational photography, Indigo is designed to push the boundaries of what smartphone cameras can achieve by leveraging advanced algorithms and years of research.
RawTherapee is a powerful free Lightroom alternative loved by photographers
RawTherapee is a powerful and free RAW photo editor, offering a compelling alternative to Adobe Lightroom. It features an advanced suite of tools designed to help users produce stunning images. While its interface may seem complex at first, RawTherapee is a favorite among photography enthusiasts and pros.
Photoshop Express is a free and fast editor for Windows and mobile
Adobe Photoshop Express is a simplified photo editing app built for quick fixes and social media-ready images. Available for free on Windows, iOS and Android, it offers one-touch tools for cropping, filters, retouching, and more.
IrfanView 4.72 improves batch conversion, adds new edit options
Popular image viewer IrfanView has been updated with multithreading support for batch conversion, a new "Fit to Window" zoom option, a stained glass effect, additional slideshow hotkeys, and various other enhancements.
Gimp 3.0 is now available for download, after 7 years of development
Gimp, one of the best free alternatives to Photoshop, has officially reached version 3.0. This long-awaited update features an upgraded GTK3 user interface, improved PSD file export, support for BC7 DDS files, and various usability enhancements. Additionally, it offers significantly better tablet input support.
Google's Gemini AI is great at removing watermarks, maybe too great
AI watermark removal is not new, but Gemini 2.0 Flash takes it to another level
Adobe's new bulk AI image tool can edit thousands of images in seconds
The big picture: Traditional AI-based image tools often focus on generating images from scratch using text prompts, which has invited controversy due to copyright concerns. Firefly, however, leverages prompts to make complex edits to existing images within Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Users can seamlessly add objects while maintaining consistent lighting, introduce new patterns, remove backgrounds, or extend image boundaries – though sometimes with unintentionally humorous results.
Topaz Photo AI 3.4 improves text recognition, super focus
Topaz Photo upscaling app improves its Preserve Text enhancement feature to automatically run on areas of an image where text has been detected. Super Focus and Crop tools have also been upgraded.
GIMP 3.0 hits RC stage, features a reworked UI, backend, and an updated toolset
Popular and free Photoshop alternative GIMP is nearing the release of its stable 3.0 version (after two decades of 2.x). This version introduces a refreshed logo, enhanced stroke selection options, and multiple quality-of-life improvements.
Microsoft Photos app gets AI super resolution upscaling in Windows Insider build
Free upscaling software for Windows users, but only if you run a Snapdragon Copilot+ PC