Adobe Releases “Photoshop Touch” for the iPad 2

OK, I know you’re probably hoping this is a custom version of Photoshop designed for the iPad, and if you are, well guess what? That’s exactly what it is! (and I have to say, it’s pretty darn slick)!

Although they certainly didn’t build this just for me, it actually has most of the things I was asking for when I wrote a post about what we want in an iPad version of Photoshop (which basically I wanted a stripped down version of the full Photoshop, but it needed to include some some key tools and features [but it had to have stuff like layers, and some key filters], and while I hoped it would have Photoshop’s same interface, I have to say that the interface is actually very Photoshop-like (without looking just like Photoshop). It even has Free Transform!

Oh, but there’s more…
Check this out: It has Levels. It has Curves (it has CURVES!). It has Shadow/Highlight, there’s a Gaussian Blur Filter, you can add text, the Layers have blend modes (Screen, Multiply, Overlay, etc.), and you can show/hide them — change their opacity — create blank layers, duplicate layers, all that stuff. There are effects filters, there’s noise reduction, you can make selections (and you will love how they implemented them). You can share images direct to Facebook, and a whole bunch of other stuff I didn’t think would be there….but is.

Of course, it doesn’t have everything the desktop Photoshop has (or there is no way it be able to run on a tablet), but I think you’ll be surprised at the cool stuff it does have.

Terry White (who works full time for Adobe as one of their Adobe Worldwide Evangelists), put together a great video that shows you the power of this puppy (which is even more amazing when you realize that’s it only $10 [well, $9.99]). Here’s the link to Terry’s video (and lots more details about the App), and here’s the link to download the App (it’s available right now).

Way better than I was expecting
I saw an early version of this App on a trip out to Adobe last year, and I have to say I am really tickled at how the app has grown since that first look — in fact, it grew into something I wasn’t sure we’d ever see on an iPad (well, not anytime soon anyway, and certainly not this soon).

I give Adobe a lot of heat about certain things, but when they do something really cool (and they often do), I have to tip my hat to them, and for this I wish I had more than one hat to do so. Way to go, Adobe. We’ve got Photoshop touch on the iPad. It was worth the wait. :-)

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  1. …I checked for it yesterday in the US app store.  Guess I need to look again.  Curious how it’ll stack up to some of my favorites like “Snapseed” and “Photogene (Pro)”?  Sounds like it’s got the ability to do some serious heavy lifting for an iPad app.

  2. Read what others that have been using this on Android are saying. This app apparently has some MAJOR shortcomings. To be totally useful, you have to subscribe to Adobe’s “Creative Cloud” service (monthly fee) AND have the most recent version of Photoshop (I for one cannot afford $600 a year to upgrade my various Adobe products just so i can continue to pay them to use this app that I have to buy). You can only save in max resolution of 1600×1600 pixels. Terry White is, as it is clearly stated, employed by Adobe to evangelize their software. While I do greatly respect his opinion, when it comes to his opinion on this product he is obviously biased.

    Caveat emptor!

    1. 1. The app works in a stand alone mode as is without subscribing to anything.
      2. If you want to use the storage space or move files back and forth on Creative Cloud (http://creative.adobe.com), you can do so also for FREE.
      3. Yes, if you want to open the “layered” files from PS Touch, you will need Photoshop CS5, but I would think that would be expected for a new application such as this since Photoshop CS5 has been out now for almost 2 years.

      1. Please explain why I am a hater. All I stated was that since Terry works for Adobe he’s not gonna say anything bad about their products. Sorry if I offended you because I didn’t write a glowing review of what appears to be another mediocre offering in the realm of photo editing apps for an “iDevice.” I don’t see why they had to make having CS5 a requirement to get maximum usefulness from this app.

        If you have nothing constructive to add to the conversation, maybe you should stay away from the keyboard. At least Terry had something constructive to say, and I do appreciate his clearing up my misconception that you needed to have a subscription to “creative cloud” to use this software.

      2. 1600 pixels is a shortcoming. This app is supposed to be a time saver, not just another toy to play with like instagram.

  3. Interesting that Adobe is able to sell the iPad version of Photoshop for $9.99 but the desktop version of Photoshop is &699.00. Hmmm. . . .

    Is there really $689.01 difference?

    1. How much do you charge for your photography? And if you don’t, do you think that, say, a wedding should be at most $200… after all, it’s all digital. Either way, there is someone, somewhere (most likely in asia) that would do whatever you do for a fraction of the cost. Does that mean you should be paid based on that?
      The app business is obviously dictating the price but you can’t expect photoshop to be sold at $10… Adobe has employees to feed too.

  4. 1600 x 1600 pixels is lame. Looks like I’ll be sticking with PhotoForge 2 until this is rectified. I need to be able to work and save images at full resolution.

    1. Yes, it is true and yes I reference it here:
      http://www.bestappsite.com/2012/02/27/adobe-photoshop-touch-now-on-ipad-2/

      My guess is that most users of this App are not going to be compositing multi-layered files for high resolution print on their iPad. However, on the other hand 99% of the images I post to the web are 1024×1024 or less. Time will tell and I’m sure if user demand is there a higher resolution can be implemented just like it was for PS Express.

  5. It looks very well done, certainly the most complete photo-app for ipad; but I’m still pondering how much I would use something like that.
    I sometimes tether to my ipad, and that is only to check the image for possible faults, all the retouching is done on my desktop. I hardly use the other photo-apps I’ve already installed! Yes, $10 is not a big deal, if you take advantage of it! At the moment the only possible use I could find for it is uploading pics online directly from my ipad, anything which doesn’t require major work.

  6. Hey Scott,
    Thanks, Just downloaded it.  $9.99 is a great price for this too!  Question, I can’t make it to DC. The wife wants to Visit her aunt in Tampa over Spring Break.  I’m arriving in Tampa on Saturday the 17th.  Will you still be there on Monday the 19th?  I would love to come to the Kelby Offices to tour your stuff and just say hi.  Would that be possible?  Shoot me an email, that would be awesome.  This will be my first visit to Tampa since I’ve joined NAPP in December of 2006.
    See ya,Mike

  7. But I am SO tired of every company deciding you’re only meaningful to them if you have an iPad 2.
    How about the millions with an iPad 1?
    I don’t buy that the iPad 1 is to gutless to run these things, just lazy developers.
    Next, nothing will work on less than the iPad 3…..
    Screwed over again.
    No surprise.

  8. Confused about the point of this product — the Ipad is not a color managed platform.   Why would you want to use it to make serious image editing decisions?  (Unless Adobe thinks that the next iteration of Ipad will support color management)

  9. It’s another addition to the multitude of apps for the Ipad.  If you like it, get it, it you don’t then walk away.
    Sure it has limitations, but did you really expect a full blown photoshop, on the ipad?

    I’m miffed that it’s not available on the original Ipad, but won’t complain, as I don’t want to sound like an android user :)

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