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When Will Adobe CS7 - or CS6.5 - Be Released?

[UPDATE (May 6th, 2013) – Major news out: Adobe Unveils New “CC” Release (CS7)…]

What New Product Features Would You Like to See in Adobe CS6.5 or CS7?

Six months ago today, Adobe released Creative Suite 6… While that wasn’t long ago, this is usually around the time customers start asking when the next release might be coming out, and what new features and improve­ments will be included in it.  We’ve covered this topic before for CS6, ahead of its original launch date, so let’s take a look at the future…

What should we expect going forward?  Will the next version out be CS7, and when will that be? Or will we instead see a mid-cycle release like CS6.5 available first?  Fortunately Adobe has already answered all these questions, and in fact they answered them last year.

Back when CS5.5 began shipping in May 2011, the company for the very first time shared a great deal of information about their future Creative Suite product release schedule. Previously the cycle had been for a new version of the CS software coming every 18 months or so. But beginning with CS5.5, Adobe rolled out a new plan in response to accelerating creative needs:

This launch marks a major change to Adobe’s product release strategy for Creative Suite, the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow across print, video, mobile and online media. Adobe now plans to have milestone Creative Suite product introductions at 24-month intervals and – starting with Creative Suite 5.5 – significant mid-cycle releases designed to keep the worldwide creative community ahead of the latest advances in content authoring.

And further to that:

Adobe plays an important role here, and we have realized that our historical 18-month release cycles are not going to be sufficient to address these rapidly-evolving trends. So Adobe decided to ship major milestone releases of Adobe Creative Suite software approximately every two years, with mid-cycle releases that incorporate the most critical features customers need in the interim years. The first mid-cycle release is Creative Suite 5.5, and it addresses these challenges.

So add it up and what does it mean, how does the future look? It means we might expect Adobe CS7 to be released in the spring of 2014, with an interim CS6.5 release coming out in between, probably in May of 2013…  As with CS5.5, we may not see all Creative Suite applications upgraded for CS6.5 – for example, there wasn’t a CS5.5 version for Photoshop or Illustrator.

[UPDATE (May 6th) – The next release is announced! Learn more about new Adobe CC.]

Here is what the big picture looks like – and see further below for new product features that are expected:

CS Release Date
Creative Suite 3 Spring 2007
Creative Suite 4 Fall 2008
Creative Suite 5 Spring 2010
Creative Suite 5.5 May 2011
Creative Suite 6 May 2012
Creative Suite 6.5 Mid-2013 (est.)
Creative Suite 7 Mid-2014 (est.)
Creative Suite 7.5 Mid-2015 (est.)

Any beta versions of CS6.5 or CS7 applications should be anticipated 1-2 months ahead of their final releases.

[UPDATE – Wondering about LR5?  See: When Is Adobe Lightroom 5 Coming Out?]

What New Features Will Be In Adobe CS6.5 – or CS7?

We actually know some of the new product features that will be in the next formal release of Creative Suite… We know this because of the Creative Cloud, where some of these additions since CS6 have already been released early to Cloud members.

Here are some we expect would be included in the next version (click each for more details):

In addition, by 2013 all major Adobe tools should natively support the new MacBook Retina and HiDPI displays, for which Adobe says free updates will be coming for all current users before the next release. The list includes Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Lightroom. InDesign is more uncertain… Adobe says it’s its most complex software product, so InDesign support for Mac Retina may not be available until the next major release is shipping. The same goes for Flash Pro.  Meanwhile, other applications like After Effects are said to be already compatible with Retina displays.

If you would like early access (now) to some of the new features listed above, consider checking out the Creative Cloud via either a free membership or paid subscription… Adobe says Cloud members will always have the latest versions available to use, which in a nutshell means that all product upgrades are included in the program.

Wondering which path is best for you?  Don’t miss:

    Creative Suite vs. Creative Cloud – Which Should You Choose?

Wondering why Cloud subscribers get exclusive updates that CS6 doesn’t?  See:

    Why Creative Cloud Gets Free Upgrades but Adobe CS6 Doesn’t

Give your input before it ships – what would you like to see in CS6.5 or CS7?  Share your thoughts in the comments below or at Adobe’s official feature request “wishlist”

See Also

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73 thoughts on “When Will Adobe CS7 - or CS6.5 - Be Released?”

  1. The problem with cloud applications is you need a stable and fast Internet connection — ours is somewhat fast but not stable — would really hack me off to be in the middle of a project and have the Internet quit on me — it’s bad enough when I’m in the middle of posting something on Facebook to a friend.

    Reply
  2. In answer to the question, what would you like to see in CS6.5 or CS7? I have a mere 88 feature requests for Premiere Pro: Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.5 Wish List.

    The length of my list may indicate that I don’t like Premiere, but I like it a lot. I’m just picky and like any professional editor, I spend many, many hours editing.

    To name a specific feature request for Premiere: background rendering. Adobe seems to assume that everyone has a system that runs fast enough to play back all native footage and effects smoothly at full resolution. That is certainly not the case, especially with all the Macs out there with unsupported GPUs. But even if everyone did have the latest and greatest system, there would still be great benefits to background rendering, especially combined with smart rendering. I got into detail in my post: Why Adobe Premiere Pro Needs Background Rendering

    Reply
  3. When will Adobe announce CS7, as I really don’t think there will be a CS6.5?

    There is hardly anything online about the Announcement Date!

    Reply
  4. @ Anne Peterson

    Adobe Creative Cloud doesn’t really work like that. You can work just as well without an Internet connection, however it needs internet access once a month or so to check the validity of your subscription.

    Reply
  5. Will Adobe CS7 Creative Suite be available to purchase the suite like always? I always buy the Design Premium suite, I have CS6 Design & Web Premium and I was just wondering if we will still be able to purchase the next generation as a licensed copy or will we have to buy the Cloud membership? Thanks and hope to get some feedback.

    Reply
  6. @ Dax

    Even with a good computer it’s really slow… And you need to render every 10S so yes a smart background rendering would be nice !

    Reply
  7. I’m a little annoyed, because some people say that Fireworks is dead or is intended to die. It is true that there are many bugs in the CS6 version, but as I had trained as a web designer / ux designer with this fabulous program, it would hurt.

    In addition, it is less expensive than buying Photoshop.

    Reply
  8. Will we get upgrade prices on the 6th of May to tell us what to expect to pay, and when we will be able to purchase the new Adobe software? Thanks.

    Reply
  9. So… if I own a version of CS6 Production Premium and CS6.5 might come out, am I eligible for a free update? Or will it cost me?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  10. Hi, do you guys at protools think adobe will release a perpetual-licensed version for the next generation of creative tools CS7?

    Thanx and am looking forward to hearing from you!

    Reply
    • Well, we checked out Adobe’s Special Offers Page for Africa, and you’re right – the $19.99 offer is not available in your region; the pricing is $29.99 for upgrades to CC from CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS6.

      Not sure why it’s different, but Adobe’s offers do tend to vary from country to country… and not all specials are available in all geographies. Sorry about that!

  11. I think there must be beta versions swimming around somewhere.

    I recieve a lot of logos in my job. Twice in the last month I’ve gotten a “The file was generated by a newer version of Illustrator and cannot be opened” message on my Windows CS6 machine.

    Looking at the file with notepad I see an “Adobe Illustrator(R) 17.0″…

    Reply

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