Adobe is planning to launch the full version of Photoshop, it's photo editing app, for the iPad. The app will be cross-platform, allowing customers to get a similar experience on mobile devices, laptops, and desktops.
According to Bloomberg, the new version of Photoshop will let you start edits on one device and continue them on another. The app will reportedly make its debut in October at Adobe's annual MAX conference, with a launch planned for 2019:
The software developer is planning to unveil the new app at its annual MAX creative conference in October, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The app is slated to hit the market in 2019, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private product plans. Engineering delays could still alter that timeline.
Additionally, a new version of Adobe's Illustrator app is said to be in the works, though a much longer way off than the update to Photoshop and details are still scarce. However, if Adobe is bringing the full Photoshop experience to the iPad, it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't do the same to the rest of the Creative Cloud suite, including Illustrator.
Adobe previously launched brand new versions of Lightroom CC for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Windows, which offer feature parity across mobile and desktop platforms. Those apps sync their libraries across devices, and, with recent updates, also sync editing presets, giving you a consistent editing experience no matter what platform you use.
Adobe's quasi-announcement of Photoshop for iPad comes one the heels of the release of Serif's Affinity Designer for iPad, which brings all of the tools that designers are familiar with in the Affinity Designer desktop app to the iPad. Serif previously released Affinity Photo for iPad as well, a full-featured photo editing application that matches up well against any mobile app, as well as some desktop apps. We can't say for certain if these apps have played into Adobe's decision to more aggressively target the mobile market with full-featured apps, but it's great to finally see some competition in pro-oriented apps on the iPad.
