Adobe Releases Creative Suite 6, Now Shipping with Trials Available
May 7th, 2012 Leave a comment
Two weeks after its official introduction, Adobe this morning has released Creative Suite 6, with major upgrades across the line. All CS6 suites and individual products are now shipping and downloadable as trials or for permanent use. The new subscription-rental Creative Cloud offering is also out.
The CS6 configurations are broadly similar to CS5.5, with four product removals and two additions. The product pricing has largely stayed the same, with modest adjustments for some upgrade paths and geographies. The new software is available immediately for Windows and Mac OS via full purchase or discounted upgrade (from as far back as CS3 and CS4, through the end of this year), with delivery via boxed shipment or instant download.
And important news – starting now with this release, all CS6 upgrades can only be purchased direct from Adobe… CS6 upgrades will not be offered from third parties, resellers or retailers.
All of the CS6 free trials are also now available for download. These trials are fully functional for 30 days and work side-by-side with any previous version(s) of the Creative Suite, including CS5 and CS5.5. If you decide not to buy CS6 when the trial period is up, you can just uninstall it and your older tools will continue to run – while all CS6 buyers can easily convert their trial to permanent use without reinstalling the software, even when upgrading. (For more information, refer to the complete Trial FAQ.) CS6 will also open all of your CS5 project and data files.
If you have any difficulty with the trial downloading process or using the Adobe Download Assistant, you can instead click through the complete list of CS6 direct download links to easily get all of the trials you want without any download manager or assistant.
The CS6 Student & Teacher Editions are also now shipping. These offer up to 80% off the regular prices for education customers including students, teachers, and academic staff. Just be sure you know the key differences between Adobe’s academic versions vs. regular.
If you need more than one copy of any product, check out Adobe volume licensing for price discounts and ease of management, plus other benefits – including the ability to purchase and run CS6 multi-platform (on both Windows and Mac).
CS6 ships in English, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese, and Japanese today, with up to 24 languages coming in total – including Chinese, Korean, and Russian. The CS6 System Requirements are close to those for Creative Suite 5 – you can read more about this in the links below.
See our:
- Creative Suite 6 Launch Guide
- Version comparison: Differences between CS5 vs. CS6
- What’s new features for each product in the suites
- Free Adobe CS6 Tutorials – 30 hours of video training
- How to save 75% with the CS6 education editions
- Download free CS6 e-books (over 1,000 pages)
Do you have any questions about CS6? Just ask them below and we’ll get you answers fast!
Keep up with the latest on Adobe software — subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter or Facebook… You can also just enter your email and have new articles sent directly to your inbox.
Share This
Don’t worry I got mine from adobe and still haven’t received an email yet…cutting it close… I guess I will need to contact them on the 31st.
When I say got mine I mean creative suite design premium 5.5….no upgrade email yet
Yes, technically the 31st is the last day Adobe set to send out the free CS6 upgrades to recent CS5.5 buyers – so let us know how it goes Des!
Nothing yet, guess I will call tomorrow
Hi Des, based on the terms stated in the offer the upgrade email should be sent out automatically. But because you still haven’t received it, we dug through the different pages on Adobe’s site about the program…
If you click through to this page for “I purchased directly from Adobe” – then you’ll see about halfway down buried in the requirements, it says:
“You must have registered your current serial number. For details, see Product Registration Options.”
So this is news to us, but have you registered your software yet? If not, then that may be one possibility as to why you haven’t received your complimentary upgrade yet… There are other good reasons to register too, but we thought this could be important to mention.
Waited all day and no email with my free update. I checked to see if my CS5 was registered and it is. Got any ideas on how to contact a real person at Adobe to get some assistance?
Hmm, sorry to hear that Joan – the best two ways to get a hold of a real person at Adobe quickly and directly is via live online chat with Customer Service, or by messaging them on their Twitter page. Hope this helps and please let us know how it goes!
thanks for the info, yes I registered and purchased from adobe. I will just have to contact them by chat I guess, I was to busy working today to chat with them. Hopefully they’re just slightly delayed.
Just checked my email spam folder… There it was, gmail I hate you.
I guess that’s what happens when all the big tech companies hate each other lol.
Glad there was a simple solution for me.
Wow – check your spam folders then! Thanks for the update Des, and glad it was actually all okay in the end.
@ ProDesignTools
After not receiving my free CS6 upgrade code I contacted Adobe via live chat and was given a code. No hassle but no explanation why it was never emailed. Needless to say I am happy and can get on with my latest job. Thanks for all your help.
Joan
Hey Joan, that’s great to hear. Sorry it wasn’t automatic for you, but it sounds like their numbers were so large that a few slipped through the cracks… Glad it was easily fixed though, and thanks for letting us know.
Hope you enjoy Creative Suite 6!
I’m currently a student and will graduate next year. I’m looking into purchasing the Student Edition of CS6 Design Premium for my PC. I have dealt with problems on my laptop in the past to where I’ve had to completely reset my laptop to its original state due to a virus and had to re-install all my programs like MS Office.
My question is, if I purchase a Student edition now and later on after I graduate and have to uninstall the program, will there be a licensing issue with the program if I had to re-install it back onto my laptop? And also will I still be able to use the Student edition after I graduate or do I have to purchase another license since I will no longer be a student?
Welcome Liz, thanks for your questions. You should have no problem – see these related articles for all the answers:
How to Move Adobe Software Between Computers or System Upgrades
What Are the Restrictions of the Adobe CS6 Student & Teacher Editions?
Hope those help you out, and feel free to post back if you have any additional questions!
Thank you for your answer to my other question. I checked to see if I am eligible for the upgrade from my CS5.5 to the new CS6. The cost is $75.00 – not bad at all. I only do audio productions – no video. Does CS6 really benefit what I am now doing? Are there any new audio processing features in CS6 that are in addition to what is already in CS5.5? From a voiceover standpoint this is needed information before upgrading, Thanks much for any input to these questions.
I must be candid – Adobe Audition 3.0 and CS5.5 are absolutes favorites of mine and user friendly. I tried other DAW software like Pro Tools and was lost in trying to even get it into record mode and having to have an M-Box for it to work was a headache. I see where they dropped the M-box requirement with the Pro-Tools 10 version. Kudos, Kudos to Adobe for keeping it simple and having all the tools necessary to do the job. The only complaint I have about Adobe is when a new DAW comes out some of the features in one DAW that are good are not in the upgrades. Leave what you already have and “add” to it.
Thank you!
Ed
Hello again Ed, great to see you back and thanks for your comment. Adobe Audition CS6 actually added a lot of new features and enhancements over CS5.5, it’s a big improvement from previous versions.
You can also just download the free CS6 trial here and see for yourself; it will run side-by-side with earlier versions without difficulty or interference… Then if you decide you don’t want to keep it at the end of 30 days, you can just uninstall it and keep your older release(s).
Hope this helps!
Just a heads up to those who have waited to the last minute (Aug 5th) to claim the free upgrade. Adobe may have deactivated your code in the email they sent you, so the upgrade is no longer automatic.
I checked in June, and my code showed discounted pricing when I added Creative Suite to my cart, but when I tried again in August the code was inactivated even though I had not used it.
I called Adobe and they were able to partially resolve my issue, they said they would send the free upgrade by mail…then they sent it me via email, when I needed the DVD upgrade. So yeah now I have to phone them yet again and waste another 1 hour of my time. It would help if they didn’t deactivate the codes that they sent out before they expire.
The 5th of August is a Sunday, so knowing that Adobe Customer Service has really bad coverage on the weekend…you all have effectively till the 3rd to claim the free upgrade, because Adobe may have deactivated your free upgrade code and you may not simply be able to log into the Adobe site to make a claim.
Good Luck.
Thanks so much for the heads-up, Des – really appreciate that and it will definitely help some readers here…
And hopefully spending time on the phone won’t be necessary, as most Adobe customer service tasks can now be accomplished more quickly/easily via live online chat.
One additional important note: Per the terms of the grace period offer, all free CS6 upgrades that are sent out will be the download version – so you did receive what should be expected.
Oh I know the official terms of the offer state download, but when my code worked I had the option to ship the product and my transcript with Adobe chat clearly states they will ship the product to me.
This is really a matter of delivering on what you promised. I will have to phone, they gave me some poor excuse on chat.
Called Adobe, they admitted their mistake and will send the DVD media in the post. Not sure if that will be a boxed copy, but at least I will have official discs which is what I was promised.
For those of you whose free upgrade codes still work you should be able to chose a boxed upgrade, but you will be charged $5.95 shipping.
Glad to hear everything worked out for you Des, thanks for following up here with the rest of the story!
@ProDesignTools
Thanks a bunch for this input. I have never heard anyone as good as Jason Levine in explaining the Adobe operations. One quick question: In stretching an audio clip to fit a particular time in the new CS6 does it alter the sound in any way? I guess I’m confused with the term stretching in real time. I’m getting closer to maybe buying the upgrade for my CS5.5.
Thank you!
Ed
Yes, Jason Levine is great – he is one of our favorite Adobe Evangelists! And he is a really nice guy in person too.
Your best bet for seeing if the new CS6 version does exactly what you want is just to download and run the 30-day free trial alongside your older release and compare… There’s no obligation to buy anything but you can put the product through its paces and see how you go.
The online CS6 documentation can be helpful as well.
Can not launch CS6 trial. Error message says the procedure entry point GetlogicalProcessorInformation could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll.
Help
Hi Marilyn, sorry you’re having difficulties. You are probably running Microsoft Windows XP, right? Well, first see the official CS6 System Requirements…
…and then read this Adobe forum.
Hopefully that will take care of it.
Purchased CS6. Installed successfully. But firewall will not let me access the sign in site. How can I activate?
Greetings Howard, that’s no problem – if you can’t access the online server to activate your software, then use:
Adobe CS6 Offline Activation Instructions
Hope that does the trick for you!
Guess I waited too long – I bought CS 5.5 Master Suite as great pains to my wallet, partially because of the free upgrade to CS6. I called Adobe today to ask about the upgrade and was told there was a cut-off of September 1st. What the hell is that all about? What difference does it make if I upgrade today or 6 months ago? I’m definitely not paying the almost $600 to upgrade to CS6.
Welcome Dan, sorry to hear you missed that… The free CS6 upgrade grace period began almost one year ago, and last spring Adobe sent out multiple emails to those who qualified for the free upgrades by purchasing Creative Suite 5… Is there a reason you didn’t complete the offer at that time?
Hopefully you received one of those emails, if not then you might mention that to Adobe Customer Service. As with all offers everywhere in the world, an expiration date was set so that they wouldn’t be obligated to provide the resources to fulfill those requests indefinitely.
I currently have Adobe’s CS5 Design Premium Suite, and interested in upgrading to CS6… either Design/Web Suite or Full Master Collection. Can you provide pricing costs for this upgrade please… cannot seem to find it on your website, or finding conflicting messages. Please advise. Thank you.
Best.
Tom
Sure Tom, you’ll find the pricing listed right here, specific to your region and current/desired product upgrade path…
As you are an existing owner of CS, you would also qualify to get 40% off the Creative Cloud, if you choose that option. Creative Cloud actually contains versions of some tools that are more recent than CS6, because subscribers receive exclusive feature upgrades as soon as they are ready.
Here’s a guide that could help in that decision:
Compare Adobe CS6 vs. Creative Cloud – Which Should You Buy?
Hope that fully answers it – if not then just post back!
Thanks for the clarity. I need to do more research on the Creative Cloud, but can you tell me if it features full working versions of each software program? Is it a full version of Illustrator, or just bits and pieces enough to pass as Illustrator? My hesitation would be subscribing to Creative Cloud, but not having the functionality of a full version available.
Thanks for your help.
Best,
Tom
Yes Tom, you’re not alone in wondering that as it’s a new offering from Adobe – but see this article for definitive answers, and free free to post a comment there with any additional questions:
The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud
hello,
Last year I bought Design Premium CS6 for Windows. I installed it on my laptop. Now I have a new laptop because the old one is causing trouble. How can I install the CS6 suite on my new computer?
Thanks,
Karen
Sure Karen, you’ll find a guide to moving your software here.