Adobe's Photoshop Mix for iPad gets extensibility, panoramic file support, more in update

Posted:
in iPad edited September 2014
Adobe on Thursday issued the first update to its Creative Cloud-connected Photoshop Mix app for iPad, bringing hooks into Photoshop Express and Dropbox, as well as a few UI tweaks to the on-the-go image editing tool.




Photoshop Mix version 1.1 builds on Adobe's June release with a few key features that tie the app more closely with mature Creative Suite offerings like Photoshop Express.

Introduced as part of the update is Image Swap, which lets users quickly rearrange layers in a project by dragging-and-dropping thumbnails of a selected image. Round-trip editing is now available with Photoshop Express, meaning users can create quick compositions using edited photos all within the Creative Cloud ecosystem.

Users can also save full resolution JPEG and PNG files -- with masking data attached -- locally on an iPad's Camera Roll, while Dropbox compatibility allows import of images saved in the cloud.

Finally, UI tweaks like three-level "undo" and "redo" options have been added to the latest app version.

Photoshop Mix is available as a free 97.6MB download from the iOS App Store. The app requires Adobe's latest Lightroom 5.5 for Mac and one of the following Creative Cloud Subscriptions:

Creative Cloud Photography Plan for $9.99 per month
Creative Cloud Complete plan for $49.99 per month
Creative Cloud Student and Teacher Edition for $19.99 per month
Creative Cloud for teams complete plan for
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    I continue to refuse to fall for that rentware Creative Cloud offering. Adobe gets no more money from me until they make their software standalone.

  • Reply 2 of 26
    Subscription? Never. I have boycotted anything Adobe after it became clear that they were treating Mac users as second rate citizens. Although I was just a casual user, I found that Pixelmator and Gimp were sufficient for my needs. Adobe will never get my support again after they betrayed us Mac users.
  • Reply 3 of 26
    since creative cloud was created there have been two major refreshes of their software it is actually cheaper to have the subscription than buying.
  • Reply 4 of 26
    mrsneezy wrote: »
    since creative cloud was created there have been two major refreshes of their software it is actually cheaper to have the subscription than buying.

    Only if you upgrade after each refresh. Not everyone does.

    The problem I have, is that you never own the software. What if adobe later decides that their product is worth more than 9.99 a month? Maybe it's better for you to pay 19.99 a month? Then you'll have to pay 19.99 a month or say goodbye to all your work.
  • Reply 5 of 26

    they don't own your work.

     

    assuming you decide not to use creative cloud any more and stop paying  there are plenty of apps that convert from one file format to another. also it takes a while for it to stop working it is not immediate.

  • Reply 6 of 26
    mrsneezy wrote: »
    since creative cloud was created there have been two major refreshes of their software it is actually cheaper to have the subscription than buying.

    If I want the software, I want the software. I don't care if it's marginally or hugely cheaper. Creative Cloud only benefits Adobe and has no connection to my needs as a customer.
  • Reply 7 of 26

    i balked at it to begin with too. but I use the software often and it is not too expensive to pay by the month instead of up front how it benefits me is that for 9.99 a month I get $5000 worth of programs that i get free upgrades for every-time they release a new major version. now that apple is nolonger supporting Aperture it is going to be worth my while changing to light room.

  • Reply 8 of 26

    It would me more prudent a conversation if you actually used the service and left a constructive comment rather than saying you don't want to know about it because of the method of payment. 

  • Reply 9 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by daveinpublic View Post



    Only if you upgrade after each refresh. Not everyone does.

     

    I used to update every second release, so for me the cost is comparable. Paying monthly and getting updates as they are available is actually BETTER for me than paying a large sum all at once and waiting until I can afford a new release to get new features.

     

    That said, the number of new features I actually USE seems to be on the decline. I'm not saying that Adobe isn't improving their products, but the improvements they're making aren't things that would motivate me to buy a new version. I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that I could get by just fine with CS5 or CS6.

     

    Or maybe I'm just too entrenched (or lazy) to adapt my habits to incorporate the new features into my workflow.

     

    All that aside, Photoshop on an iPad? That sounds like a helluvalot more hassle than lugging around a laptop would be.

  • Reply 10 of 26
    mrsneezy wrote: »
    It would me more prudent a conversation if you actually used the service and left a constructive comment rather than saying you don't want to know about it because of the method of payment. 

    :rolleyes: Method of payment is not the same thing as cost. It's now more expensive and a lot less flexible.

    You seem to have forgot that Adobe has been alienating their Mac users long before this latest Creative Cloud debacle. All this latest scheme does is further demonstrate that Adobe has replaced the creativity that went into their products offerings, with creativity in squeezing a few more pennies out of their customers. They bet the company on Flash, and after wasting billions on now totally obsolete technology, they hope to save it by gouging their remaining customers. A large swath of which, have been very frustrated by years of poor support and lackluster upgrades. Creative Suite was Adobe's first attempt to obfuscate lackluster development thru bundling, now Creative Cloud is just the latest step on the same path.

    There is significant rot at their corporate leadership level, and won't change until at least Shantanu Narayen gets the ax (already long overdue). Their diminished relevancy and shrinking customer base is entirely his fault. Let's not forget before his current role, he was COO and years of slow, poor upgrades were entirely under his direction. Adobe's years long, dependency on buggy, inefficient Java was also a Narayen directive. Those years of poor Flash performance = Narayen's boneheaded development direction and inability to ship stable product.

    Adobe has little compelling left to offer. Case in point, the rudderless development of these iOS apps and weak attempts to cash in on the Photoshop brand name. It's now just a zombie company whose future died about a decade ago. Very sad.
  • Reply 11 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by redefiler View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MRsneezy View Post



    It would me more prudent a conversation if you actually used the service and left a constructive comment rather than saying you don't want to know about it because of the method of payment. 




    image Method of payment is not the same thing as cost. It's now more expensive and a lot less flexible.



    You seem to have forgot that Adobe has been alienating their Mac users long before this latest Creative Cloud debacle. All this latest scheme does is further demonstrate that Adobe has replaced the creativity that went into their products offerings, with creativity in squeezing a few more pennies out of their customers. They bet the company on Flash, and after wasting billions on now totally obsolete technology, they hope to save it by gouging their remaining customers. A large swath of which, have been very frustrated by years of poor support and lackluster upgrades. Creative Suite was Adobe's first attempt to obfuscate lackluster development thru bundling, now Creative Cloud is just the latest step on the same path.



    There is significant rot at their corporate leadership level, and won't change until at least Shantanu Narayen gets the ax (already long overdue). Their diminished relevancy and shrinking customer base is entirely his fault. Let's not forget before his current role, he was COO and years of slow, poor upgrades were entirely under his direction. Adobe's years long, dependency on buggy, inefficient Java was also a Narayen directive. Those years of poor Flash performance = Narayen's boneheaded development direction and inability to ship stable product.



    Adobe has little compelling left to offer. Case in point, the rudderless development of these iOS apps and weak attempts to cash in on the Photoshop brand name. It's now just a zombie company whose future died about a decade ago. Very sad.

     

    While the cost/price equation may be a subject of debate, it's hard to disagree with your assessment of the product itself.

     

    Problem is, if not Adobe, then what? Pixelmator still isn't Photoshop, and there isn't yet even a challenger for Illustrator's crown. Then there's After Effects, which despite its horrendous interface is also pretty much the only game in town. Alternatives are either jeezly expensive AutoDesk products or Motion which offers only a fractional subset of AE's capability.

     

    I don't see a good path leading away from Adobe's crappy-but-dominant door.

  • Reply 12 of 26
    dmfettdmfett Posts: 141member
    Am I missing something here? Why would I as a casual photographer want to spend $10 a month on the application such as this or any other one when you occasionally use it. That's a waste of money and many of us cannot even afford it. Why not allow us to buy the app one time and pay for upgrades like in the past. I know they're trying to make a monthly fee out of all of us but not everybody can afford such a program.
  • Reply 13 of 26

    If all you want is Photoshop, and $10/month $120/year is too much for you, how did you afford the $600 that Photoshop CS6 cost? If you really only use it very sparingly then you'd probably be happier with Photoshop Elements which is still a stand alone product and was between $75 and $99 the last time I saw. If you need more than that, and you got a Photoshop CC subscription, you'd get to use it FIVE years before you paid as much as a single purchase price for the not extended version of Photoshop CS. 

  • Reply 14 of 26
    While the cost/price equation may be a subject of debate, it's hard to disagree with your assessment of the product itself.

    It may have been an attractive option for some users, but it's a bitter pill when it's the only method.

    However the equation totally changes when you ask Adobe users if they believe their investment in the previous version was getting anywhere close to total value. Adobe needed to appease that building discontent, but they went the other way, getting more draconian and disconnected from their user base..
    Problem is, if not Adobe, then what? Pixelmator still isn't Photoshop, and there isn't yet even a challenger for Illustrator's crown. Then there's After Effects, which despite its horrendous interface is also pretty much the only game in town. Alternatives are either jeezly expensive AutoDesk products or Motion which offers only a fractional subset of AE's capability.

    I don't see a good path leading away from Adobe's crappy-but-dominant door.

    I think that's the state of Adobe's user base now, they might still be stuck with it, but very few actually like the products. A precarious position for creative software, that caters to creative types, who are somewhat inclined to finding creative methods to create. The casual users are already gone, the middle is getting on the life boats, leaving only the professional minority stuck on deck while the ship sinks.

    The only thing it sounds like I'd be missing from Pixelmator would be a few lingering CMYK cases, and thinking I might be more up for the adventure of making it work, than being forced to work for Adobe. If what I'm seeing from pro audio is any indication, going forward most will put their money into other cheaper tools on nicer Macs and displays. They'll lament a few features lost, but still get the bulk done with a lot less hassle and more pleasant experience overall. There's nothing quite like a nice ProTools HD system loaded up with DSP cards, it's like driving a big cushy convertible to Vegas, but it's getting harder to justify, much less sustain for Avid. Adobe doesn't even offer a comfy experience for its high end users, so there's even less loyalty.

    Can't speak to Illustrator, because I'm a casual user at best. I have experience with Indesign, but that whole workflow is close to extinction, it's no big loss at this point. CS6 is still cooking along just fine, and I might as well get full value out of that overpriced, bloated package purchase.

    I'm not sure there's a way around crappy software for video folks in the short term, cause that's the defining trait of video software. It's all clunky and stupid, from the tools to the clusterf*ck of redundant codecs to the camera UIs themselves, it's the weird, creepy, toothless uncle of the software industry. Even the end user TV/movie content is at best a fragmented, irrationally disjointed experience. Frankly, the best we can do is keep video people locked in the basement, and periodically distract them with a bucket of fish heads, just so the rest of the world can keep moving forward.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    I just don't understand why they would do such a thing?! If u can't pay a month u have 30days 2switch over to a different system/software or lose YOUR OWN PERSONAL WORK??!! How can that be?? Do u think they'll change it if enough of us boycott it?
  • Reply 16 of 26
    Only if you upgrade after each refresh. Not everyone does.

    I used to update every second release, so for me the cost is comparable. Paying monthly and getting updates as they are available is actually BETTER for me than paying a large sum all at once and waiting until I can afford a new release to get new features.

    That said, the number of new features I actually USE seems to be on the decline. I'm not saying that Adobe isn't improving their products, but the improvements they're making aren't things that would motivate me to buy a new version. I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that I could get by just fine with CS5 or CS6.

    Or maybe I'm just too entrenched (or lazy) to adapt my habits to incorporate the new features into my workflow.

    All that aside, Photoshop on an iPad? That sounds like a helluvalot more hassle than lugging around a laptop would be.

    This is the problem you have just touched upon with subscription software.

    At first, it seems like a great deal. But as the years go on, you realise that less and less value is added with each update; more people decide to drop out and switch to something cheaper, Adobe are forced to put the subscription up, and the vicious cycle continues.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    mrsneezy wrote: »
    now that apple is nolonger supporting Aperture it is going to be worth my while changing to light room.

    You're misinformed. Aperture is still supported. As a matter of fact, they'll release an update so it continues to work on OSX10.10. Even after they release the Photos.app next year it will continue to work.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    shutterbug wrote: »
    If u can't pay a month u have 30days 2switch over to a different system/software or lose YOUR OWN PERSONAL WORK??!! How can that be??

    You could simply pay for another month and unlose YOUR OWN PERSONAL WORK, which kind of suggests it's not lost. Raw photos, illustrator files, PDFs, PSDs, audio, video are all accessible anyway. It's mainly just project files that are tied to the software.

    The fundamental problem that has always existed with Adobe software is they wanted to charge over $2000 for it before you could start using the full suite and around $700 just for one app. Loads of people couldn't even begin to do that so they used pirated versions of the software:

    http://www.wired.com/2012/12/online-pirates-beware/

    "Richard Atkinson, head of Adobe’s piracy unit, said the company charts 6,000 activations a day of 7-year-old pirated versions of Photoshop, and that there were 55 million “illegal activations” in the past year alone of all pirated versions of the photo-editing software."

    That was in 2012, there were 55 million activations of just Photoshop. If you assume their average selling price was around $700, their revenue for software was $3.1b in 2012 so that comes out to 4.4m legitimate users. That means the piracy rate was over 10x their paid userbase.

    As a publicly traded company, they have to maintain their revenue streams so they couldn't simply drop prices and risk losing revenue. This is the kind of route Avid is going down and when I say going down:

    1000

    vs Adobe:

    1000

    CC was announced late 2011. Publicly traded companies look for secure recurring revenue streams and growth. They can see there's more potential users out there but there's no way that they could get them with the upfront payment model. They couldn't combat piracy that way.

    The upfront model also requires them to hold features back until users pay for them, which is another problem Avid has had because giving new features to people who paid in the past has to be accounted for so they've been having to correct millions of transaction records.

    Adobe went into their cloud move with caution and began by offering both models. They got so much positive feedback from customers and their own engineers and user uptake beyond their expectations that they just decided to leave the CS Suite behind. They now have 2.3m subscribers and the subscription revenues they make are over half of their overall revenue. They expect to pass 3 million by the end of the year.

    When it comes to pricing, the photography plan should help. Previously, PS alone was $700, Lightroom was $300 and now PS + LightRoom + mobile apps is $10/m so to match the cost would take 8 years worth of subscriptions. Not every model will work out cheaper but it's the model Adobe has chosen. If it doesn't work out, it's an overnight switch to a perpetual license but that will simply bring back all the headaches with the old model.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post



    This is the kind of route Avid is going down and when I say going down:





     

     

    This probably explains why Avid is moving to a subscription model for Media Composer. Perhaps not a fundamentally flawed concept in itself, but increasing the price of the perpetual license while killing support, and charging WAAAAY too much for the subscription dissuaded me from adding two new seats. Avid asking the same amount per month for MC as Adobe charges for its entire suite is insane.

     

    Of course, Avid's problems run deeper than just pricing and payment models. There are engineering issues, too. We first balked at putting Media Composer on our primary Pro Tools machine when we read about how carefully one must manage which versions of each are installed to avoid one of the apps causing the other to quit working. Unbelievable. Can you imagine how people would respond if updating Premiere caused Audition to stop working?

  • Reply 20 of 26
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    This probably explains why Avid is moving to a subscription model for Media Composer. Perhaps not a fundamentally flawed concept in itself, but increasing the price of the perpetual license while killing support, and charging WAAAAY too much for the subscription dissuaded me from adding two new seats. Avid asking the same amount per month for MC as Adobe charges for its entire suite is insane.

    Yeah, these Avid subscription prices are too much:

    http://www.avid.com/static/resources/common/documents/datasheets/Media_Composer/Media_Composer_License_Comparison_Guide_cs_A4.pdf

    The best idea is to make subscribing significantly less in the near-term. They still need to play a long game but companies don't always think like that when they are in desperate circumstances. They might be struggling for cashflow and don't have the luxury of waiting on subscriptions paying off.
    Of course, Avid's problems run deeper than just pricing and payment models. There are engineering issues, too. We first balked at putting Media Composer on our primary Pro Tools machine when we read about how carefully one must manage which versions of each are installed to avoid one of the apps causing the other to quit working. Unbelievable. Can you imagine how people would respond if updating Premiere caused Audition to stop working?

    It's not a good idea to lose customer confidence when in such a precarious position. Avid's market cap is listed at around $300m, I think that's based on their previous financials though, which they still haven't updated. If they don't get themselves sorted out, they could end up in a position where they'd concede to Adobe buying them out. Avid is pretty big in movies and film, if Adobe can buyout Avid with ~$300m of their $4b+ yearly revenue, they can take over that high-end userbase. The engineering team could help bring Audition up to feature parity with Pro Tools. Media Composer could just be scrapped or Premiere can add features.

    I expect Adobe to absorb companies and bundle their products under their subscription model and it adds value to it. Nemetschek group / Maxon and Chaosgroup / V-Ray would be good purchases for them too. Their yearly revenues are 175m euros and $17.5m (estimated) respectively so they should be reasonably priced purchases if they were willing. They wouldn't have to relocate or anything, they could just bundle the software under the same model and the running costs for those companies would be small for Adobe.
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