They said it couldn’t be done – but at long last, after many years of waiting, the dream has come true: We finally have the real Photoshop running on your mobile phone.
Photoshop for iPad has been out for five years and is an excellent product, but getting the same code and a workable user interface on the small screen of a smartphone has until now proved a formidable challenge.
But wait no longer, it’s finally here. And best of all, it’s free to download with no subscription required for most features and functions. It’s available on Apple iPhone today, and Android is coming soon. Adobe says:
Photoshop power in the palm of your hand. Craft something truly unique with the all-new, free Photoshop on iPhone photo editor app. Combine and edit photos, graphics, and Adobe Stock images. Create faster with next-gen AI. Even view PSD files from anywhere. It’s easy to learn.
On the heels of desktop Photoshop just celebrating its (incredible!) 35th birthday, to see it now running on a phone is a whole new frontier and couldn’t be imagined even a decade ago.
So what Adobe has done is take the existing Photoshop for iPad app and adapted it for iPhone, building a user experience that is really quite impressive in terms of what it can do, and feels very much like the Photoshop we all know and love with precise selection tools, unlimited layers (up to 8,000!) and masks.
Meanwhile, the previous Photoshop Express app that had (sort of) filled this role on mobile phones has been discontinued from the App Store. It will still run on your phone if you already have it, but will no longer be offered.
Fortunately, the new Photoshop phone app is leaps and bounds above and maintains the same “freemium” model that Photoshop Express had.
Here are some honest early reactions and quick-take reviews from experts in the Adobe Community:
“I have been testing it for a while and am pretty impressed. I never thought I would want to use photoshop on a handheld device, but it is pretty functional and is pretty fast.”
“I was testing it for a few months in pre-release, and I love it. It’s easy to use, and everything is clear. Definitely a nice addition to the Photoshop family.”
“I’m impressed at how the interface compliments the desktop version; I don’t have to think about what the tools and icons represent as they are nearly the same. It is more thorough than any other photo editing apps I used on my phone previously. Overall, I think it’s a fantastic addition.”
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As mentioned, you can already download and do tons of things in the mobile Photoshop app for free. You can even use some of Adobe’s new commercially-safe Generative AI capabilities on the iPhone for free. For the most advanced featureset (like the new Object Select tool), a subscription can be purchased.
A new Photoshop Mobile and Web plan is available for $7.99/month or $69.99/year which gives access to the premium PS capabilities across iPhone, iPad and Web. (Yes, Photoshop can even now run in a web browser like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.)
But for all of you who already subscribe to Photoshop in some form (via the Photography bundle or another paid Creative Cloud plan, including the Student & Teacher Edition), you get this new Photoshop app with premium functionality included at no cost. Your PSDs and other project files can also be moved interchangeably between one platform to another for seamless editing.
Photoshop on iPhone is generally available worldwide in the Apple App Store today. Photoshop is coming to Android later this year.
For more information, see Adobe official press release or their new blog post with more video and demos of what you can do. See the user guide here.
Get started today! Here’s how to get it:
Learn How to Use Photoshop on iPhone
Photoshop 1.0 Now Available!
See Also
- The 10 most common myths about Creative Cloud
- Don’t miss Adobe’s current specials and promotions
- Free Adobe Stock! Download 1,000,000+ top images
- How to save 60% with the Student & Teacher Editions
- Get free guide on Photography, Photoshop, Lightroom
- How to join Adobe’s Creative Cloud for free
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