Photoshop on iPad has been released at Adobe Max! Originally announced last year at Max as in development, it’s now available for download and use. How does it work? What can it do? Here’s just a flavor of some key features and how you can get it on your iPad…
This Is Just 1.0!
Today’s release of Photoshop on iPad is an initial 1.0 release, so it’s the just starting point and will continue to grow and evolve. It already has many essential features from the desktop – and it uses the same commands and mindset from the desktop environment. If you have a keyboard attached, even many shortcuts are already available to use!
It’s early days, but we already have multiple layers (hundreds supported!), powerful selections, masks and various blend modes. Running on an iPad the Apple pencil is, of course, supported so it feels more like using a Wacom with Photoshop – although finger and multi-gestures also work. The concept is to use the same commands but designed for touch rather than a simple port of the desktop UI. You can learn more about the new features here.
Opening and Saving Files
Photoshop on iPad uses the native PSD file format and will, by default, save the document as a Photoshop cloud document. While you can save in other formats to the local device, using PSD and the cloud means it’s available on any of your devices that are running Photoshop 2020. You can start working on it on your iPad, then continue on the desktop or laptop, and back again. So, for an existing image on your desktop, just open it and then File menu > Save As > Save Adobe Cloud Document. Then you can see it and work on it on your iPad!
In addition to being able to save your work, Photoshop on iPad also allows for sending direct form your iPad mail client and saving to the Files app (for example, iCloud or Dropbox).
Lightroom Integration
The Lightroom integration with the new Photoshop iPad app hasn’t been developed yet, so you’ll need to copy the photo to the app via the Share sheet. To do so:
1. From Detail view, tap on the Share menu.
2. Tap the settings cog icon next to Open In and turn off the watermark, if you usually have it enabled.
3. Select Open In and then choose Maximum Available for the image size. (Remember, if you’ve synced the photos from Lightroom Classic, only a 2560px smart preview will be available.)
4. Tap the Copy to Photoshop icon to send the photo to the Photoshop app.
If Copy to Photoshop doesn’t appear in the thumbnails, scroll along to the More button. Tap Edit, then scroll down to Copy to Photoshop and tap its + button to add it to the favorites, then press Done twice to return to the main Open In dialog shown above.
5. Edit the photo using the Photoshop app.
6. By default, the Photoshop app saves your photo back to your Cloud Documents storage space (found at https://assets.adobe.com/cloud-documents) but it doesn’t send the edited photo back to Lightroom automatically.
7. To send the photo back to your main Lightroom catalog, tap Photoshop’s Share icon (identical to Lightroom’s icon) and select Publish and Export. If you’ve used layers in Photoshop, select the TIFF format. If the finished photo is flattened, you may save it back as a JPEG (quality 12) file, which will be much smaller than a TIFF.
8. Select the Lightroom app from the share sheet. If the icon isn’t available, scroll along to More and follow the instructions in step 4 to add Lightroom to your favorites.
9. Tap Launch Lightroom Now to complete the file transfer.
Download It Now!
Itching to get started? How can you try Photoshop for iPad? Go to the App Store and download it.
If your current Adobe Creative Cloud subscription already includes Photoshop (for example, the Photography Plan or All Apps plan), then you simply download Photoshop on iPad from the App Store, sign in using your Adobe ID, and away you go!
If your current plan doesn’t include Photoshop (for example, you use the Lightroom 1TB plan), you can download and enjoy Photoshop on iPad for a trial period. Your trial starts when you first sign in to Photoshop on iPad. Sign up for a Photography Plan subscription by 31 January 2020 to get Photoshop for iPad included.
Have fun playing, and let us know what you think!
OK – bit of confusion, adobe names and icons etc…
I have the photographer plan, LR Classic and Photoshop (most recent is 20.0.7)… and CC app shows this new round corner-ed icon “Ps” “New” and if I click more info on it, it says Desktop under it and then Mobile over to the right side. If I have no intent to ever want to store or exchange images with mobile apps, simply remain 100% desktop LR Classic and .psd based Photoshop (without the cloud caching file format) – Do I need to download this app to update 20.0.7, and/ or am I being orphaned off ala 5.7/6.14 etc… Thanks.
Photoshop 21.0.0 (the new round-edged one) includes the ability to save to Adobe Cloud (for interaction with the Photoshop on iPad) but also other enhancements too, it doesn’t make you use the cloud. First time you use it, a dialogue box appears asking if you want to save to cloud or locally and you can click for it not to ask again (of course you can change later). So, click local and it works just like it always did in terms of saving.
The rounded edges of the new logo are used to show it’s got cloud compatibility now. So, to be clear, it’s Photoshop 2020, replacing 2019, etc.
so if I load this round cornered PS to get the 2020 version on my Windows 10 desktop, it will work with Camera Raw and Edit in …. from LR Classic, correct ?
Thx – got some time to look at it and it went just as you described.
Thanks for taking the time to clear my mind on it.
L
It’s going to take a decade before Photoshop on iPad is comparable to the desktop version. Just like between “new” Lightroom CC and “old” Lightroom Classic CC. No matter how many hundreds they collect every year for the subscription the “new” just isn’t ever going to match the “old”.
In fairness, Photoshop on iPad is intended to be complementary as a part of the workflow, not a desktop replacement. And it is a 1.0 whereas Photoshop has been developed and continues to be for many years.
There will be a point — different for different users — when the iPad version of each will have /enough/ features to become an important part of their workflow.
Lightroom, for example, for me. When the cloud version first came out, it was just interesting. Now, it is my primary version because the more reliable syncing outweighs the missing features that I rarely use. This will be different for different people.
iPad for PS does not import RAW (at least not CR2)
Currently that would be correct, as the way to get photos into PS is via Share on the mobile app (see the later part of the post) and you can only share using either a small JPG or Maximum size available.
However, Adobe do state: To report a problem, suggest a feature, or take a survey, navigate to App Settings > General > Help > Send feedback.
That’s not listed on there currently and is something I’m sure lots will want asap!
No raw files of any kind, only a special .PSD. Open the raw file in Photoshop 2020. Save as… to the document cloud (not associated with Creative Cloud). The file will be converted to a special .PSD. Now it is available to PS for Mobile. Edit and it it will be auto-saved back to the document cloud. From there you can go back to Photoshop on your desktop/laptop machine and open the file and save to your HD for importing into Lr Classic. Or log in at https://assets.adobe.com/cloud-documents and save the file for importing into Lr Classic. Simple, huh?
Not available in my location, Arizona. I had to change my location to Ireland to access it on the iPad app store. Now, if I can just figure out how to change the settings.
Hi all
I’m traveling in Mexico with an 11 inch IPad Pro Apple Pencil and now using photoshop plus lightroom.
No laptop or extra hard drives.
Been posting Instagram.
Good to hear! It’s only version 1.0, so it’s got a way to go, but it’s good to have it out in the public arena both for use and for development. Enjoy Mexico!
Crazy! No direct link from PS for Mobile and Lr (either version) on the desktop. Lr Queen wrote: “7. To send the photo back to your main Lightroom catalog, tap Photoshop’s Share icon (identical to Lightroom’s icon) and select Publish and Export…”
My Share icon (PS 2020) has no “Publish and Export” option. It has “Add to Lightroom Photos.” But it doesn’t know where my Lr photos are (external drive); it writes to a sub-sub-sub directory in my home directory. From there I must copy it to my Lr directory on the external drive and manually import into Lr Classic. And then delete from the sub-sub-sub directory on my internal drive/home directory.
As Adobe state, this is Version 1.0. Interaction with the Lr mobile apps is high on the priority list.
You state: ‘My Share icon (PS 2020) has no “Publish and Export” option. It has “Add to Lightroom Photos.”’ – where are you looking? in the iPad app, the standard Apple Share icon top right, gives the Publish and Export option, allowing for email, save, or by clicking the More option ‘Copy to Lightroom (which is exactly what it does, to Lr mobile)
Later integration will be better and smoother but for many of us we’re pleased to have the initial app to get to grips with.
There’s also the ability to send Feedback in the App (under the help ? in the top right) which takes you directly to the Photoshop mobile Community and many requests and observations are already appearing there.
Nah. Tired of Adobe make us pay being their testers. I would understand if they would not charge for Photoshop for iPad, but they are. And they ask good money for it, every month.
When they sell us services, they should be ready. Not “later integration” if they charge us money NOW.
It’s included in the existing Photography Plan, not costing me a cent more, so personally I’m more than happy to have it now and help steer the future direction of it.
Ah yes, all those people for whom it already has enough features should have to go without until it’s completely finished in the year 2057. And all the while, the developers should work for free. That seems completely reasonable.
The reality is photographers are a small percentage of Photoshop’s users, and each group has their own must-have features. If they waited to ship until everyone’s must-haves were in, we’d be waiting years.
The blog implies that if you buy a Photography Plan after 31st Jan 2020 then Photoshop for iPad will not be included.
I have just been “chatting” with Adobe UK about ways to get Photoshop for iPad and she didn’t know anything about a 31st Jan 2020 cut off.
Confusing, isn’t it! I’m waiting for confirmation from a manager (they’re all at Max!) but it was on the official purchase page that I found it, and I don’t want anyone to miss out. I’ll update when I get more detailed confirmation.
I now have confirmation direct from Jeff Tranberry, who is a Senior Product Manager for Digital Imaging. Photoshop for iPad will only be included in the 20GB Photography Plan if you’re signed up by 31 January 2020. After that, it’ll only be included in the 1TB Photography Plan, Photoshop Single App and All Apps plans.
Thanks very much Victoria…all clear!
Let’s hope the Adobe employees catch up soon. I’m not surprised she got it wrong…I had to spend the first five minutes convincing her that Lightroom could run on a iPad. I should have bailed out at that point.
LOL that was probably a clue!
It seems to make little sense to get Photoshop for iPad from the Apple Store for £9.99 per month, when for £9.97 you can get the 20GB Photography Package from Adobe, which also includes the desktop and mobile versions of both LR and PS.
The only factor is that presumably the Apple Store will allow five devices while I assume Adobe is only two. However the 1TB Lightroom package from Adobe is for five devices to match the Apple store. Don’t know if anything similar applies to the 20 GB Photography Package, which now has two apps which can also be obtained from Apple.
PS are you expecting to have a new forum section about Photoshop for iPad? or will discussion be in the general Photoshop section?
Their App Store pricing is a bit of a mystery to me too, although I guess they’re having to hand 30% of it over to Apple, so they’d prefer people to sign up direct.
We’ll probably wait and see how many questions we get about PS for iPad. If we start to get a fair few, we’ll split it out into its own subforum.
Photoshop for iPad isn’t showing up on any my options from Lightroom for iPad? I tried to uninstall and reinstall Photoshop, but it’s still not there. Photoshop Fix shows up along with PS express…No photoshop.
Any ideas?
You need to download it from the App Store.