Photoshop for iPad inches closer to the desktop version
Amber Neely
Last updated
Adobe Photoshop iPadOS gains two new features: refine edge, for faster and more accurate selections, and rotate canvas, giving users more control over their workspaces.
Adobe continues to refine the iPad version of Photoshop, something that many long-time fans have been excited to see.
On July 27, Adobe released two updates to Photoshop on iPad. While minor, the updates bring the app closer to functioning like the desktop version.
Refine Edge Brush
Refine Edge Brush allows users to select and mask particularly tricky selections — such as hair, fur, and semi-transparent fabrics — with just a few brush strokes. It also comes in handy for removing a subject from a particularly complex background.
This enables users to get precise selections with minimal effort, cutting down on time and effort spent in the earlier stages of a project.
Rotate Canvas
Users will now be able to rotate the canvas in the Photoshop app. To rotate, just use a two-finger twisting gesture, which can be combined with a two-finger pinch to zoom.
The rotation can be set to snap at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees, and can easily be reset with a zoom out pinch gesture. The rotation isn't sticky, either, so it returns to the original orientation upon closing and reopening a file.
Last month, Adobe released several updates to both the desktop version of Photoshop. The desktop version saw new Adobe Sensei AI updates, new Camera RAW UX updates, and a font matching service that uses machine learning to identify fonts in images.
Last month's Adobe Photoshop on the iPad update included the ability to quickly transfer images between the iPadOS versions of Photoshop and Lightroom, giving users increased control over photo editing.
All of Adobe's creative software is available as a subscription plan. Adobe offers several tiers of subscriptions. Access to all of Adobe's creative suite costs $52.99 per month, while individual apps cost $20.99 per month each. Adobe also offers a $9.99 per month Photoshop and Lightroom combo pack, making it one of the most affordable of Adobe's monthly subscriptions.
Thomas Sibilly
AppleInsider Staff
William Gallagher
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
8 Comments
All this work makes me think that Adobe has actually pulled its collective finger out and they will have a native Photoshop ready for the launch of the Apple Silicon Mac's. Bring it on.
Refine Edge is an indispensable tool. Its a Must Have for my work to be viable on an iPad. Rotatable canvas is a close second.
That’s fine for finding edges against a solid color background, but clipping an image with fine details out of a complex background is a more realistic problem. It requires extensive work no matter which platform is being used.
Whether or not related to amorphous innovation stetching across platforms, the Mac version is on a stationary path for some time
It wasn’t obvious to me where the update was, until I finally found it in the App Store. It’s Photoshop for iPad, and you may find two Photoshops there. It’s the second one with a different splash screen. Click on it, and you’ll see an “update” button. It’s version 16