Wednesday, September 05, 2012, 07:09 pm

Updated Photoshop Touch for iOS gets Retina display, Photo Stream support

By Mikey Campbell

Adobe on Wednesday rolled out an update for Photoshop Touch, adding new features and support for devices equipped with high resolution Retina displays like Apple's third-generation iPad.

While Photoshop Touch v1.3 is an update for both iOS and Android devices, Apple iPad users will be able to take advantage of the tablet's Retina display as the app's user interface, text and graphic assets now support the high-resolution screen. Also announced was the app's integration with Apple's Photo Stream service which allows iOS device users to pull images directly from iCloud.

The new UI features are joined by the ability to work with print-resolution images up to 12 megapixels, with each file capable of handling up to 16 full-size layers in real time. It should be noted that the default resolution is 4.2 megapixels with 10 layers, but can be raised to the full 12-megapixel maximum in the app's preferences. Due to its limited processing power, the iPad 2 can only handle resolutions up to 10 megapixels.

Two new effects called Shred and Colorize are now available, as well as overall operational tweaks like smoother animations and added multitouch gesture controls.


According to Adobe, it was "no easy task to get such a complex app like Photoshop Touch to work with the Retina display," a statement echoed in a recent report regarding similar updates to the company's desktop software.

At the end of August, it was announced that both Photoshop and Lightroom will be getting support for the new MacBook Pro with Retina display's high-resolution screen this fall. Adobe also plans to bring HiDPI support to Dreamweaver, Edge Animate, Illustrator, Photoshop Touch, Prelude, Adobe Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade.