Is Adobe Photoshop For iPad Worth The Money & The Hype?.
Apple has been promoting its iPads (especially the iPad Pro) as replacements for traditional laptops and even desktops for some time now. With the release of iPadOS, Apple has made what is arguably the biggest leap forward in bringing the iPad to the same range of features as a laptop.
While iPadOS is pretty fantastic and fulfills most promises to make it your only computer, we still need software developers to step up and deliver apps that give us the same set of features as and their desktop computer. analogs.
For example, LumaFusion is an iOS app that provides the same functionality as desktop video editors. You can use it 100% as the only video editor. This is not a “mobile” or “lightweight” approach to creating tablet apps.
That’s why everyone in the photography community has been looking forward to the desktop version of Adobe Photoshop for iOS since it was first announced at an Adobe conference about a year earlier. Now it’s here, and you might be wondering if this iPad version of Photoshop is worth using. Let’s take a look at the most important points.
Pricing
When we ask, “Is it worth it?” it often means “is it worth the money?” This is tricky when it comes to Photoshop for iPad, as Adobe has long since ditched the one-time software sales model.
The The only way to get Photoshop is by subscribing to their Creative Cloud service. The cheapest version, which includes Photoshop and Lightroom, will set you back $ 10 a month. However, this is a annual contract. This means you get $ 120 per year if you choose to play monthly. Early cancellation is possible, but subject to penalties.
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So, Photoshop for iPad is hard to sell as a standalone iOS app. However, if you’re already signed up for a Creative Cloud plan that includes the desktop version of Photoshop, you already own the app. Just download and log in.
See why it’s hard? It’s an expensive app on its own, but it’s essentially a free add-on if you’re already using Photoshop. If you are not yet a Photoshop user, you are not really the target for this application. Therefore, we will look at it from the point of view that most users expect from it.
The promise to deliver a “complete” Photoshop software for iPad
What does it mean for Adobe to bring “full” desktop Photoshop to iPad? Well, that doesn’t mean that the features of the two versions are the same. Version 1.0 of Photoshop for iOS lacks many of the features that the desktop version has. They will appear over time – until a certain point – but right now, it doesn’t seem like Adobe is offering an alternative to desktop Photoshop.
So what makes it even comparable to the desktop version? The key fact here is that it uses the same code as the desktop version. At its core, Photoshop for iPad is the same app. This gives hope that Adobe can add additional functionality to the parent application relatively easily. What they have already begun to do.
Focus on ‘generic’ tasks
Adobe seems to be focused on the most common workflows and features in Photoshop. Especially the ones that users are most likely to need in a mobile context.
If you are currently using Photoshop on a PC, it is a good idea to check if the application has the tools you need for your current workflow.
Missing Features in Action
By the time you read this, Adobe may have fixed some of the most important missing features in their app, but at the time of writing, there is a significant list of things desktop users might be missing out on in the tablet version of Photoshop.
Relatively advanced features like animation are not available in the iPad version of Photoshop. Likewise, there seems to be no support for editing RAW images. It’s a real shame, as modern iPads with USB-C make it easy to transfer photos from your camera to your tablet on the go.
You also won’t find advanced selection tools, custom brushes, or other more specialized desktop Photoshop features here. At least for now. This is a rudimentary implementation of Photoshop, and only time will tell how close Adobe will push the iOS version of Photoshop to its parent desktop.
Childbearing and closeness picture: a better alternative?
The big problem with Photoshop for iPad is that other developers have been developing their iOS photo manipulation apps for years. They may have had a mobile-centric approach and lacked the impressive code and technology behind Photoshop, but they were aiming hard at the vacuum left by Adobe.
Procreate has become the gold standard for drawing on iOS. Adobe released Fresco as well, but we have to compare it to Photoshop’s drawing capabilities as that is so much of the appeal.
Affinity Photo is the answer to the gap in Photoshop on the iPad. It bills itself as a “desktop-grade” photo editing app for the iPad, and given general user feedback, it definitely gets the job done.
However, in both cases, these applications have a big advantage over Photoshop, simply because they are much more accessible. Although Photoshop will cost you at least $ 120 a year when paid monthly, both Procreate and Affinity are one-time purchases. They’re also not particularly expensive, which makes Photoshop difficult to sell.
Conclusion
So, at the time of writing, we can provide a few guidelines for Photoshop for iPad. If you are not currently an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber and want to edit photos on your iPad, you better buy a well-known app like Affinity Photo.
On the other hand, if you already have an Adobe CC subscription that includes Photoshop, you get the iPad version at no extra money. In this case, you may find that sharing files in the cloud between your desktop and tablet can be a blessing. You can do some basic photo prep work on the fly, and then sit back and tackle more complex tasks, which will save time overall.
If you’ve swapped out your laptop or desktop for an iPad, Photoshop for iPad isn’t ready to be your only photo editor. Once again, you’re better off using the already known iPad apps.
This recommendation may change with more features and possibly a one-time iOS app purchase. In the meantime, it’s better to wait and see.
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