So it’s ironic timing that as I release a write up on working with RAW files on your mobile devices in Adobe, that they simultaneously release their roadmap for the rest of 2019 and 2020 in regards to Photoshop on the iPad. As I had mentioned in the referenced article (link below), when Photoshop for the iPad was released, it was met with a mix of excitement, and a LOT of resentment. Lets face it, the initial feedback, before people had even really used it, was pretty toxic and negative. Like most things on the internet, people tend to leap before they look, and yes, the app is missing a lot, but it’s also a 1st gen app that has a lot of power and functionality, with a LOT more coming. They said it at Adobe MAX, and now they’ve reiterated it with this new Roadmap.

So where are they and where is the app headed? Let’s dive into it all bit by bit

[Related Reading: How to Work with RAW Files in Photoshop for iPad – A Temporary Workaround]

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Where Photoshop on iPad is Now and What’s up for the rest of 2019?

While a lot of functionality is available in the iPad version, there’s equally a lot still missing when compared to the desktop 2020 Photoshop. Adobe’s only started to scratch the surface of what’s possible with the app, and claim that “Your experience, your feedback and your point of view has always been a critical part of our process, and we take that very seriously as we chart a path forward with the iPad.” So, before the year is out, Adobe is bringing several powerful features from the desktop versions to the mobile apps, including access to _ALL_ Adobe Fonts on your iOS device

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fonts on photoshop for iPad

You can already create with Adobe Fonts in Photoshop on the iPad. Using the free Adobe Creative Cloud app you can browse and install 1,300 fonts, and all 17,000 fonts that are included with your Creative Cloud plan. Any font you install on your iPad via the Adobe Creative Cloud app is also available for use in Photoshop. Download the app here. Click here to Learn more.

Additionally, before the end of 2019, Adobe will bring one of it’s newest and more powerful features from Photoshop 2020 over to the iPad version, and that’s it’s new and improved Select Subject tool!

Adobe Photoshop iPad Select Subject
Adobe Photoshop iPad Select Subject

Select Subject uses the Adobe Sensei AI machine learning technology to enable you to automatically select the subject of an image to speed up complex selections. We gave you a sneak peek of this feature on the iPad as part of the Adobe MAX keynote presentation a few weeks ago. There is no other iPad app on the market with this type of powerful yet easy to use selection capability.

They are also improving on cloud documents and their access on mobile devices.

The new cloud documents system saves your documents between Photoshop on the iPad and desktop to make working across devices seamless. The Photoshop cloud document format is optimized to save only the incremental changes made to the PSD, making it the fastest way to work across all your devices with Photoshop.

This update will begin rolling out in December of 2019, and we’re looking forward to testing it out thoroughly!

What’s Coming In 2020:

Adobe seems to have a LOT of plans to improve and update Photoshop on the iPad in early 2020 starting with the Refine Edge tool

Refine Edges 

Adobe Photoshop iPad Select Subject Mask
Adobe Photoshop iPad Refine Edge

The Refine Edge brush is one of the most important selection tools in Photoshop. It is used to make complex, soft edge selections on challenging subjects like hair and fur, or to perfect selections of objects that intermix both soft and hard edges, and many other tricky selection operations. We are thrilled to bring it to the iPad in the coming year.

After that we’ll see improvements added to the following features;

Curves and Adjustment Layer Options

Deepening the app’s retouching capabilities, Adobe will be adding Curves for tonal adjustments to the iPad version and continue to build out adjustment layers to enhance non-destructive workflows. Levels will also get features added like adjust by color range and more.

Brush Sensitivity and Rotate Canvas

Leveraging what it build with the Fresco App (which you can download here if you have not), Photoshop on the iPad is bringing brush sensitivity options which will be great for all types of documents and files, including photo retouching! Also, you’ll be able to easily rotate your canvas if you’re in a position where you can’t just easily rotate your table.

Lightroom Integration

This feature, will tighten up on the workaround writeup I released earlier today, letting you process your RAW files in Lightroom mobile and then take them further into photoshop, much like we all do on our desktops

How You Can Give Input

Finally, Adobe is asking for your constructive feedback. They want to hear from the community about what they love, and what they “hate” about the application. But remember, let’s be constructive. What’s missing from the app version that is preventing you from working the way you want/need to?  Adobe has encouraged everyone to join their community forum to give feedback on this and what you would like to see in the future: feedback.photoshop.com.  So be sure to join that group and let them know your thoughts, and also be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Have you tried out Photoshop for the iPad yet? What are your thoughts? Care to share some of your creations?