Adobe is dropping some hints about new and future creative tools coming on tablet devices and for HTML5 content creation. On a publicly-available conference call earlier this week, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen shared some guidance on the company’s upcoming product roadmap and what to expect…
With a shifting landscape that favors HTML5-based content and application delivery, we are doubling down in our investment in this area. CS5.5 delivered enhanced HTML5 capabilities. We recently previewed Adobe Edge, a new HTML5 web motion and interaction design tool, which allows web designers to create cutting-edge animations for their websites. Interest in this tool far exceeded our expectations.
We also just introduced the beta release of a new product code-named Muse, which allows designers to create and publish HTML-based websites without writing complex HTML code. And we are contributing new innovations to WebKit to allow for a more expressive Web. These initiatives show our commitment to help drive the evolution of browsers and be the leading tools provider for HTML5, and this is only the beginning.
So what does this mean in terms of the next release of Creative Suite? Will we see Adobe Muse and Edge – or other new HTML5 tools – as part of CS6?
So as we think about the evolution of Creative Suite moving forward, I think there are a couple of different things that we’re hearing from our customers in terms of what would be catalysts for Creative Suite. And HTML5 and support for HTML5, whether that’s browser-based content or creating standalone applications, is certainly one of them. So as you can expect, we will be taking the tools we’ve been delivering, like Adobe Edge and Muse, and you might see those in future versions of the Creative Suite.
So big picture, I would say as HTML5 is getting more prevalent, we’re clearly both embracing it from the point of view of tools and being the leader in tools but also contributing aggressively to the evolution of HTML as a standard.
On tablets, there’s some big news as well… Adobe will soon be introducing a broad new collection of tablet applications centered on content creation. This has the potential to significantly deepen the company’s footprint from the handful of Photoshop-connected mobile device apps they have released to date.
The explosion of tablets is changing the paradigm for content authoring. We believe that content will be consumed and created on these devices. Similar to the desktop, we intend to be the leading provider of creative authoring applications on tablets.
We will soon be introducing a broad set of tablet-based and cloud-connected apps and services across iOS, Android and other mobile platforms that represent a new revenue stream. We intend to deliver a whole new set of tablet applications which will be augmenting the current desktop functionality for creative professionals. We believe there’s a large opportunity to attract new customers to the base with the new tablet applications we will create. We are excited about the recent introduction of Adobe Carousel, an innovative new cloud-connected imaging app for Mac OS and iOS devices.
On the tablet side specifically, I think we would all say it’s early. We do believe strongly that tablets will be used not just as consumption devices but as creation devices. You’re going to continue to see styluses added to tablet devices which make it an even more compelling offering. We will have a comprehensive set of products, and I think it’s early to say how rapidly that will grow, but we do think that’s a new product stream that will be meaningful for Adobe.
So this is very interesting, as up until now these devices have been used more for content consumption than creation… So we can only speculate what Adobe has in store here. One possibility, a Lightroom app for iPad?
When will we find out more?
At Adobe MAX in early October, we will unveil some of our newest innovations in the content authoring arena. And as we look forward, frankly, to the next version of Creative Suite, we think there are a lot of things that are going to drive the new release, and not least of which is a new version of our franchise imaging application [Photoshop CS6]. But in addition to that, the things that I mentioned earlier – video, expect to see a fair amount of HTML5 innovation coming in the next CS, and the combination of both the creative applications, the tablet applications, and what we provide as cloud services. So, a lot of excitement about what we’re going to deliver next year.
Listen to the entire conference call here, or read the transcript for more details.
Give your input before it ships – what would you like to see in CS6? Please share your thoughts below or at Adobe’s official feature request “wishlist”…