Photoshop for iPad is now available, subscription and all

Photoshop on iPad (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Adobe Photoshop for iPad is now available from the App Store.
You'll need a $9.99/m subscripton to use it.
But there's a free one-month trial, too.

It was announced at WWDC in June and now it's available for everyone to try. Photoshop for iPad is here, and while it isn't quite the "real" Photoshop that we were promised, it does show signs that it might morph into it eventually.

In some respects this is the Photoshop that artists and graphics tinkerers have been hoping for. It handles full-fat PSD files, including those that are high resolution and make use of multiple layers. And of course, there's Apple Pencil support as well.

And acccording to Bjango founder Marc Edwards – who knows a thing or two about this sort of thing – the app stands up to the test well.

Just threw a 290.6MB, 2350×1127 document at it, with lots of layers and almost every conceivable Photoshop feature used. It opens and I can move around the document at a decent click. pic.twitter.com/PHi1t3rJ4aJust threw a 290.6MB, 2350×1127 document at it, with lots of layers and almost every conceivable Photoshop feature used. It opens and I can move around the document at a decent click. pic.twitter.com/PHi1t3rJ4a— Marc Edwards (@marcedwards) November 4, 2019 November 4, 2019

But that doesn't mean that everything is rosy. We'd heard reports that Photoshop for iPad would be missing some features at launch and sure enough even the developers of the app are well aware that it isn't quite finished yet. The message in this screenshot shared by Edwards speaks volumes.

RGB and 8bit per channel only for now. I think that’ll be fine for most people. They are working on it, apparently. 😀 pic.twitter.com/tD2tKauzSsRGB and 8bit per channel only for now. I think that’ll be fine for most people. They are working on it, apparently. 😀 pic.twitter.com/tD2tKauzSs— Marc Edwards (@marcedwards) November 4, 2019 November 4, 2019

But the fact that Photoshop is now on iPad in anything close to its PC and Mac forms is impressive. And given the start the app is off to it seems clear to me that Adobe intends to get it up to speed eventually. Hopefully that won't be too far into the future. Given Adobe's MAX event starts today it seems like the app needed to be ready for November 4th. Whether it was actually finished, or not.

Photoshop for iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but you'll neeed to pay $9.99 each month to use it unless you already have a qualifying Adobe membership. Interestingly it doesn't appear that Photoshop for iPad counts as a computer, so doesn't affect Creative Cloud's two-computer limit.There's a free 30-day trial available for those who just want to take the app for a spin, too.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.