Adobe has begun testing a free version of Photoshop online and plans to make it available to all users as a way of introducing more people to the app.
The free version is currently being tested in Canada by Adobe. Users can access Photoshop online through their free Adobe account. Adobe calls the service “freemium” but plans to eventually make some features available only to paid subscribers. Adobe will provide enough tools to allow users to complete core Photoshop functions.
Maria Yap (Adobe’s VP for digital imaging), says that “we want [Photoshop] to be more accessible and easy for more people to experience it.”
Adobe’s web-based version of Photoshop was released in October. It offered a simplified version that could be used for basic edits. The service did not include all of the features, including layers and core editing tools. Adobe instead framed it as a collaboration tool. It allows artists to share images with others, make some tweaks, and then hand them back.
Adobe has made several updates to the service in the past months. It also opened it up to other collaboration uses. In the past, you had to send a document to the internet via the desktop app. But now any Photoshop subscriber can log in to start a new document from the web.
Adobe intends to make Photoshop web-friendly and attract users who will want to purchase the full version. Similar steps were taken by the company with several of its mobile apps including Fresco and Express. This web version of Photoshop is an important offering, as it allows one of the most powerful tools of the company up to Chromebooks. These Chromebooks are popular in schools.
Yap states, “I want Photoshop to meet users where they are now.” You don’t have to own a powerful computer to use Photoshop.
Adobe did not provide any timeline for when the freemium version will be available. The company will continue to update Photoshop for the web with new tools such as the refine edge, curves, and burn tools and the ability to convert Smart Objects. Mobile support is coming to the web version for editing and commenting on images.
Adobe also showed a new AI-powered Neural filter today, which will be available in Photoshop. The “photo restoration” filter automatically cleans up yellowed photos and restores some color. The new “photo restoration” filter can be combined with Adobe’s colorize filter to add color to black-and-white photos. Even though the final result may look a little cartoony, it can bring back an old photo.
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