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Adobe CS7? Next Release of Creative Suite to Be Revealed May 6th

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

Recent indications from Adobe hint that they will announce a new version of Creative Suite on the morning of Monday, May 6th.

May 6th is the first day – and main keynote address – of the big annual MAX conference in Los Angeles, California.

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These release tipoffs have come in the form of new sneak peek videos of what’s going to be in the next generation of CS tools – see the preview for Photoshop, and new InDesign, as well as for Dreamweaver & Flash Pro.

Adobe is ending all these “first look” videos with a teaser page: “Learn what’s coming next from Adobe to help you create your greatest work. May 6th at MAX.”

And in one of the official blog posts accompanying these videos, the product manager says, “Over the past 12 months we have been hard at work on the next version of Dreamweaver and today we’re excited to give you a first look… Make sure you check out Adobe MAX, where you can learn more about what’s coming next for Dreamweaver and for the rest of Adobe’s creative tools.”

What’s more, the MAX conference has many sessions with titles like, What’s New in Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign / …” – and tellingly, the lists of features to be covered are definitely not present in CS6…

Which means there should be news of a new release of these applications by that time.

Typically, the springtime is when we’ve been seeing new versions of Creative Suite anyway – so this jibes with historical patterns.

If you want to see what’s going to be available soon (and there is some chatter on the Adobe Forums saying it would be CS7), then just tune in yourself on Monday, May 6th at 9:30am Pacific Time for the free live webcast of the keynote address.

We also have an early read on what’s going to be in it – check out the list of expected new features here.

If you’ve been thinking about going with the Cloud, Adobe says:

The new version‘s release date has not been announced, but there is a great way to get yourself to the front of the line. If you join Creative Cloud now, you will immedi­ately receive the entire stable of currently shipping CS6 applications AND you will automatically receive the new versions of all your favorite Adobe applications as soon as they are available.”

Why Creative Cloud Is Your Only CS Purchase Option Now

Finally, our best advice to our readers. We’ve been covering Adobe software for over six years, and invariably there are customers who wind up upset when purchasing Creative Suite tools right before a new release…

Nobody wants to buy a major product and then have it already be displaced by a newer version within a short time.

In the past, Adobe has offered “grace periods” for free upgrades to recent purchasers, but there is definitely no guarantee that would continue with the advent of the Creative Cloud, which is growing very popular

The reason is because all full Creative Cloud members automatically receive all upgrades for free anyway, they are included with membership… So presently, there is no risk to signing up for the Cloud now because CS7 would become available immediately and at no additional cost in the Creative Cloud.

So bottom line, if you can’t wait until May and need or want to use CS tools now, then you might want to consider signing up for a month-to-month Cloud membership or individual product subscription – and those could get you to the big news and coming announcements, and then you can see and be more informed with the latest software out (or available soon thereafter).

Just our sense for what could help out in navigating with this “upcoming version” on the way… and here’s a brand new spot from Adobe describing how it works:

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

See Also

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34 thoughts on “Adobe CS7? Next Release of Creative Suite to Be Revealed May 6th”

  1. Yes, good point – in the past I remember Adobe doing new “product reveals” at NAB which is next week…

    If so, it should be interesting to see what’s in the CS7 release for the video tools!

    Reply
  2. Wow! I’m excited and it’s good to be on the Cloud. No more big spending on retail upgrades or staying behind with such great features coming in. I hope it doesn’t mean changing computers each time as I had with my upgrade to CS6.

    As I recall, Adobe wrote somewhere about a big surprise in May for CC Members :D

    Reply
  3. Are current Creative Cloud customers eligible to apply the NAB 40% Creative Cloud discount toward an existing account or is the offer only for new subscribers / NAB attendees?

    Reply
  4. Doesn’t Adobe have a policy that users can use the upgrade path for only up to 1 major version number i.e. from 5.x to 6.x where x = 0 or 5?

    If so, and if the new release is CS7, will CS5.5 users be able to upgrade to CS7?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Welcome Gyan, thanks for your question. You’re right that for the traditional Creative Suite software, Adobe’s Upgrade Policy states that owners of products up to one major version back are eligible for discounted upgrade pricing, and further back are not…

      So for CS6, that means CS5 and CS5.5 qualify, but anything older doesn’t.

      However, note that Adobe continues to offer upgrade discounts to Creative Cloud for users of tools as far back as CS3 and CS4. Further, the company has not confirmed what the next CS release will be called, nor what the future upgrade policy will be.

      What we usually recommend at times like these is to be aware of Adobe’s important Return/Refund/Exchange Policy. What it means is that you can go ahead making whatever purchase you think is the right one for you now, and then you’ll have 30 days to return it for your money back if something else comes out or changes over that time.

      Meaning, we’re just about a month away from May 6th so you can feel comfortable either upgrading now to CS6 or upgrading to the Creative Cloud in anticipation of CS7 – and either way you could easily get your money back and exchange it for a different product or option next month if you so desire.

      In this way you can create your own no-risk “grace period” for a free upgrade with CS7 – or whatever this upcoming Creative Suite version will be called.

      Hope that helps!

  5. Does anyone know if you will be able to upgrade from CS6 to the next version on the 6th of May?

    I own CS6 Design & Web Premium and don’t want to join the cloud, do you think I will still get a good price when or if I can upgrade to CS7?

    Reply
    • Hello Wesley, nice to see you again. These are all good questions and we do not have the answers yet – Adobe has not made any public announcements on pricing or availability of the upcoming release, so nobody will be able to tell you definitively until next month…

      So stay tuned.

  6. Sorry, but the next update would be CS6.5 not CS7 – you also say in a link to this page that CS7 confirmed May 6th which isn’t true, they haven’t officially announced it’s release date (yet).

    Reply
  7. Thanks for the clarification ProDesign – very interesting.

    Whether it is CS6.5 or CS7 could have a massive impact on those running CS5 or CS5.5 and whether or not they’d be eligible for an upgrade.

    Maybe another move to push more towards the cloud…?

    Reply
  8. Apparently the offer for a free upgrade to CS7 does not exist. Tried to sign up and was told the offer is not valid!

    Reply
    • Hi Walter, sorry for any misunderstanding. There is no official “free CS7 upgrade” offer from Adobe, and we don’t expect there to be one.

      However, our “grace period” guide outlines how you can effectively use Adobe’s longstanding Return/Refund Policy to give yourself an insurance policy – so that if something better or different comes along within 30 days, then you can simply exchange what you bought for the new option instead.

      Hope that helps clarify.

  9. Seems to be a few rumours suggesting they are going to 12-month major release cycles and not have any more .5 mid-cycle releases. Under the new upgrade rules you’d need to upgrade each year.

    I have also heard that they are going to raise the upgrade cost.

    They really want us to use the cloud.

    Reply
  10. So do we yet know whether this is this going to be CS7 or CS6.5?

    Given the furor and the confusion last year around the change to upgrade eligibility, are we going to be able to upgrade from CS5.5 to this new version or are Adobe going to shaft us retail customers yet again?

    I’m at a loss again.

    Reply
  11. @ Michael Spencer

    I am in the same boat, and from everything I have read, I expect Adobe will be jumping straight to CS7 and starting obligatory yearly upgrades. This will make the cloud seem more attractive to those of us who upgrade every 2 years.

    Eventually they will do away with the retail ‘boxed’ product / perpetual license.

    I wonder if a way around this is to upgrade to CS6 as soon as CS7 is announced, that way you may possibly get a free upgrade to CS7 once it comes out.

    If you wait until it’s actually out, you possibly won’t be able to upgrade.

    Reply
  12. That is actually a slightly different idea, because assuming CS7 is next, if you buy it now you cannot return the product and buy CS7 as you’d mostly likely need your CS6 to qualify for an upgrade.

    However if you wait and buy after CS7 is officially announced, you could possibly get a free upgrade to CS7 if Adobe’s previous free upgrade periods are honored.

    Reply
    • Correct, but the point of that article is to ensure folks have all their bases covered no matter what happens…

      At this writing, no formal upgrade grace period has been announced by Adobe (as it was by this time last year) – and if one is offered next month (which we are doubtful), then you would still have the option to return anything purchased now and get something else instead, if the upgrade path still worked.

      The flip side (if no grace period were available) is that current CS5 and CS5.5 owners would not be able to move up to CS7 – meaning CS6 now or Creative Cloud are the only routes.

  13. Adobe usually give grace periods only after a new product has been announced, not before. Last year was different because of the new restrictions in upgrading one complete version back.

    But usually, the grace period is for software purchased after a new version has been announced.

    What is for certain is that If you buy now, you will not get a free upgrade to CS7. Also you will not be able to return the software and swap it for CS7.

    So I see little benefit in buying now?

    Reply
    • No, most of that is not true. Last year’s grace period started in March and had nothing at all to do with the change in upgrade policy, which ended in December.

      Previous to that, for example with CS5 going to CS5.5, grace periods always covered recent purchasers before the new product launch, as well as new purchasers after the announcement but before the shipping date.

      We’re a week away now, well within that historical pre-launch window.

      However, because it’s already May and with the new presence of the Creative Cloud, we think that Adobe may possibly announce and ship on the same day (i.e., immediate availability) – thus reducing the possibility of a grace period running after the date. Just our sense here.

      Finally, anybody who purchases any product at any time now can always easily return that product and exchange it for another one with 30 days, no hassle and no questions asked! See Adobe’s Return Policy if you have any doubt.

      So really it’s the other way around – there is every benefit in buying now (either CS6 or CC), and actually more risk in waiting… We’ve covered and studied this stuff for years and know it backwards-forwards, inside-out, upside-down, and six ways to Sunday!

      Hope this helps clarify.

  14. Hola,

    I am am no different than the cartoon characters in the video on this page, particularly the dude. Have 2 questions.

    1. Will CS7 software be available for existing users who just want to buy the software and not the cloud?

    2. How does Photoshop Cloud work with 500 meg files? I have interests in the cloud but not if I am to load a 500 meg photoshop layer file into it. Thoughts … Suggestions … All welcomed.

    Edb2013

    Reply
  15. @Jonny

    It looks like that time has come. Unless I just misunderstood, it seems CS is no more. the only option going forward is now Creative Cloud.

    Mike

    Reply
  16. There was a lot of great news from Adobe MAX, which I watched on my PC. I`m sure that many people were shocked when they found out about the new Adobe CC being available only through Creative Cloud. I love it so far and that`s OK with me.

    However, maybe you can help. I signed up for CC this year with 40% off as CS6 Suite owner. Now I feel kind of cheated by Adobe, because today I found that CS6 owners who join now will pay less. At the moment I pay JPY3,000/month and new price is JPY2,200/month. Is it possible to lower my (and probably many others) monthly payment or there is no chance that Adobe would adjust to the current one?

    Thanks

    Reply
  17. @ Michael Spencer

    You can still buy / upgrade to CS6 but they have no plans to offer any further perpetual upgrades. All future updates will be cloud only.

    Already a lot of backlash so interesting to see how this pans out!

    Reply

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