Adobe makes Lightroom iOS apps completely free, drops license & Creative Cloud requirements

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2015
The Lightroom photo workflow apps for iPhone and iPad are now completely free to use, ditching a former requirement to sign up for a Creative Cloud subscription or own the desktop software.




"We're seeing alot of people come in first on Lightroom mobile, so now we're allowing people to use it locally on their local assets, their local photos and videos on their phone and tablet for as long as they like," Adobe's director of product management for digital imaging, Tom Hogarty, explained to The Next Web.

The iPhone and iPad apps have always been free to download, but previously could only be used for a short time without a license or subscription. On launch, the titles would automatically start a 30-day trial of the Creative Cloud Photography Plan.

Adobe has also updated the apps with several other improvements, such as a built-in camera, a Dehaze tool, and a Targeted Adjustment tool for manipulating colors in specific areas of a photo. The apps additionally have hooks with Photoshop Fix and Premiere Clip, the latter of which still requires an Adobe ID.

Both versions of Lightroom require iOS 8.1 or later.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Bait and switch?
  • Reply 2 of 28
    cartacarta Posts: 7member
    So if Adobe changes their mind down the road, what happens to all the Lightroom-edited images on my iOS device? Uneditable unless I subscribe?
  • Reply 3 of 28
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    carta wrote: »
    So if Adobe changes their mind down the road, what happens to all the Lightroom-edited images on my iOS device? Uneditable unless I subscribe?

    Exactly. No bloody way would I allow Adobe exclusive access to my photos.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    wdowellwdowell Posts: 226member
    Still say s "28 days remaining" of a trial on my clean instal, but hey.. i guess the counter is now defunct..
  • Reply 5 of 28
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    The signups for the app must have been low.

     

    And yeah, wouldn't rule out bait and switch.

  • Reply 6 of 28
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Sounds like apps they are considering discontinuing. Making some parts free is great bait to the drug addiction trap of creative cloud subscriptions. Adobe's possibly also hoping this will undo the PR mess created by their waffling over Metal.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dysamoria View Post



    Sounds like apps they are considering discontinuing. Making some parts free is great bait to the drug addiction trap of creative cloud subscriptions. Adobe's possibly also hoping this will undo the PR mess created by their waffling over Metal.



    Ok, 1) Lightroom is HUGE. 

    2) This isn't adobe flash that iOS fans are clambering on Adobe. 

     

    Give them credit for their work on photo editing. The new apps are pretty amazing. Apple's new Photo's app is like a baby version if you compare them side-by-side (feature wise, UI, performance, etc) to Lightroom. 

  • Reply 8 of 28

    My first thought was they wanted to woo people away from the free or inexpensive apps that encroach on their customer base. I guess that many people have had a year or two head start on using alternatives to Adobe and are now comfortable with purchasing apps from smaller developers. Working with Pixelmator and Polarr and Snapped has become second-nature to me. The thought of working with another app just isn't appealing unless (a) it has unique, awesome functionality and (b) I trust that my work will be safe (which, to me, means that I can own and edit it forever).

  • Reply 9 of 28
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

     

    The signups for the app must have been low.

     

    And yeah, wouldn't rule out bait and switch.




    As the article states, Lightroom has shown to be a significant gateway into the Adobe ecosystem so they are making it even easier for first time Adobe users. Sales of CC have turned out to be much higher than I think anyone expected. The stock has more than doubled since they released CC a little over three years ago.

  • Reply 10 of 28

    I've got Lightroom for mac and it's super ... new rev just got better.  But wouldn't lightroom on the older slower iPad just turn out to be a pain in the A?  That's why I haven't installed it.  I'll definitely get it though, when I have a faster iPad like the Adobe developers probably all use. 

  • Reply 11 of 28
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Carta View Post

     

    The thought of working with another app just isn't appealing unless (a) it has unique, awesome functionality and (b) I trust that my work will be safe (which, to me, means that I can own and edit it forever).


    What makes you think those small companies are going to be around forever? Adobe could swoop in and buy them up and kill their app. They have done it plenty of times before.

  • Reply 12 of 28
    boeyc15boeyc15 Posts: 986member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by satchmo View Post



    Bait and switch?



     Well its all in the features. Used a photo app the other day(I thought it was an old photoshop lite app?)... all useful features where in app purchase upgrades.... yuck.

     

    Delight us Adobe!

  • Reply 13 of 28
    cartacarta Posts: 7member



    I didn't mean to imply that. Of course, their app could languish and become unusable with updates to the OS. But some of the larger developers should have staying power. And there are a healthy amount of them. And I suppose that as one disappears (whether Adobe buys them or they die of attrition or their developer gets a job somewhere and no longer updates the app), others will sprout up.

  • Reply 14 of 28
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Carta View Post

     



    I suppose that as one disappears (whether Adobe buys them or they die of attrition or their developer gets a job somewhere and no longer updates the app), others will sprout up.


    How many times are you going lose your previous editing having to switch from one small developer to the next as they go away one by one? That is why I stick with Adobe. They have proven longevity. Just ask the people who bought into Aperture thinking Apple would always be there to support it. Now they are on Lightroom.

  • Reply 15 of 28
    hmaxhmax Posts: 2member
    As of approximately 1:45pm/Pacific on Oct. 8, '15, I'm also getting the "30 Day Creative Cloud" and 30 day Lightroom trial, not a regular no-time-limit app install.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    splifsplif Posts: 603member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     

    How many times are you going lose your previous editing having to switch from one small developer to the next as they go away one by one? That is why I stick with Adobe. They have proven longevity. Just ask the people who bought into Aperture thinking Apple would always be there to support it. Now they are on Lightroom.




    Is LR compatible with El Capitan yet? There seems to be compatibility issues with the latest OS on most of their apps and no word on when they will be.

  • Reply 17 of 28
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DogCowabunga View Post

     

    I've got Lightroom for mac and it's super ... new rev just got better. 


     

    Huh?  What the **** are you talking about?  Adobe totally gutted functionality from the import process in the latest versions (2015.2/6.2) of Lightroom.  Completely dumbed down.

     

    Not to mention, at least on El Capitan, crashy as hell...

  • Reply 18 of 28

    All the functionality I lost was the need to click around a bunch more.  Lightroom automatically used my existing camera/lens profiles and made life easier.  But my use is probably different from yours ... I use it everyday, and just add everything to one tens-of-thousands of photos archive.  For me Lightroom has never crashed in El Capitan.  In fact, it didn't crash in Yosemite either.  Your mileage may vary, dude, ha ha!  I was very happy with the speed with which Adobe supported El Capitan, everything is a lot quicker.

  • Reply 19 of 28
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by El3v3nty View Post

     

    Ok, 1) Lightroom is HUGE. 

    2) This isn't adobe flash that iOS fans are clambering on Adobe. 

     

    Give them credit for their work on photo editing. The new apps are pretty amazing. Apple's new Photo's app is like a baby version if you compare them side-by-side (feature wise, UI, performance, etc) to Lightroom. 


     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DogCowabunga View Post

     

    I've got Lightroom for mac and it's super ... new rev just got better.  But wouldn't lightroom on the older slower iPad just turn out to be a pain in the A?  That's why I haven't installed it.  I'll definitely get it though, when I have a faster iPad like the Adobe developers probably all use. 


     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     

    How many times are you going lose your previous editing having to switch from one small developer to the next as they go away one by one? That is why I stick with Adobe. They have proven longevity. Just ask the people who bought into Aperture thinking Apple would always be there to support it. Now they are on Lightroom.


     

    I swear, at least some of you guys much be real Adobe fanboys, or you just astroturf about software you don't even use.  Because there is no way you could be using the new version of Lightroom and not experience how badly neutered Adobe it in order to be more user friendly to photo noobs. 

     

    And, talking about losing previous edits, under El Cap, Lightroom has been a total crashfest.

     

    At least the perpetual use licenses can revert back to 6.1 on Yosemite.  Those of you on the "rental" plan (2015.2) are just plain screwed.

  • Reply 20 of 28
    moreckmoreck Posts: 187member
    The amount of Adobe hate in these forums never ceases to surprise me. I bet 99% of you f***s bashing them aren't even professional digital artists.
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