Photoshop is the standard program photo editing. It has always been a tool aimed at professionals that is accessed for a fee. Along its history, Photoshop has had several business models. For years, it was a one-time payment and you had a lifetime license to the software. Relatively few years ago, Adobe migrated its programs to the subscription system. With Adobe Creative Cloud, we paid a monthly fee to access Photoshop and other programs in their suite. And finally, the most recent model was the freemium, used for the mobile version of Photoshop and other variants like Lightroom. Adobe wants to remove the price barrier, and that’s why are working on a fully accessible version of Photoshop for free.
Photoshop will have a free version
Adobe knows its market well. They know that Photoshop is used all over the world, and that it is used by both professionals and home users who want to learn how to use the tool. For years, Adobe has tried to create more affordable versions of their softwareas is the case with Adobe Photoshop Elementsa limited and much cheaper Photoshop variant.
To continue advancing in this field, the company has announced that its team is behind a completely free version of photoshop. It will be an app for browser and cloud. The only requirement to access the tool will be to log in with an Adobe Creative Cloud account, which is also free. You will not need to have an active Adobe subscription to use this new Photoshop. Yes, it will be a more limited version than the payment application for desktop computers.
A strategy similar to that of Lightroom Mobile?
Everything seems to indicate that Adobe has been inspired by the business model of its mobile version of Lightroom. Lightroom Mobile is today the most advanced application that exists to process photographs in RAW format on smartphones. It can be downloaded completely free of charge. The development engine is the same as that of the paid app for computers, and its performance is very good.
Where is the business? Lightroom Mobile doesn’t give you some of the tools that its desktop version does. And even though it’s a trimmed-down version, many users will never miss those tools that are only available in Lightroom Mobile for a fee. With Photoshop, it looks like the model will be the same.
An app that really isn’t new
This new Photoshop for browsers is not really a new product. It was presented last year at the Adobe MAX 2021. What has changed is his approach.
Originally, this program was intended for all users who had an activated Adobe CC membership. And the idea that Adobe was looking for is that its paying subscribers could work on the same files collaboratively and from any machine, without having to download and install the editing program.
After completely changing its approach, this version of Photoshop will be free and for everyone who registers an Adobe Creative Cloud account. At the moment, this version is only available for Canadian users, but it is expected to reach more countries in the not too distant future. We will see if in the next Adobe Max 2022 they surprise us with more news in this regard.