Yesterday at Adobe MAX 2019, Adobe announced the next generation of its Creative Cloud; including many new apps and updates.
“Today’s announcements redefine the creative experience for everyone—not only seasoned professionals, but also the next generation of designers, photographers, filmmakers and illustrators,” said Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer and executive vice president for the Creative Cloud, in a press release.
Same apps, new devices
A big theme of Adobe’s announcements was making its tools more accessible to creators, no matter where they are. It was in that light that Adobe announced that a few of its major offerings will now be available on new devices including:
- Adobe Photoshop will now be available for iPad featuring full PSD interoperability, a touch-based UI, cloud document access, and the power to work on real-world, multi-layered creations.
- Adobe Fresco is now available for Microsoft Windows. After being released for iPad this past fall, the Windows version will first be available for Microsoft Surface Pro X devices and Wacom MobileStudio Pro. While the app will come equipped with a swath of Live Brushes, users will also be able to import their favourite Photoshop brushes.
- Adobe’s illustration app, Adobe Illustrator, received an update that will allow for iPad users to work with the same documents across devices and have seamless access to Adobe Stock, Adobe Fonts, and all Creative Cloud Libraries.
- A brand new mobile app from Adobe, Photoshop Camera, will leverage Photoshop Magic and Adobe Sensei to automatically enhance photos. The app will also include a range of filters, lenses, and effects.
Creating in AR
With the launch of its brand-new app, Adobe Aero, Adobe is allowing its creators to use the power of AR in their work.
Built using feedback from the beta test that Adobe launched last year as well as the Adobe AR Residency program, Adobe Aero allows users to create and share AR experiences without the need for coding skills.
“The thing I like about working in interactive media is that you can bring things off the screen and into the real world, and you can really cause this amazing effect in people where they don’t realize how this is possible,” said Gabe Barcia-Colombo, a mixed-media artist and Adobe AR Resident.
Aero is being released as a free mobile iOS app for phones and tablets.
Other updates and new features
- Adobe’s announcements also included a large range of updates to its flagship apps and new productivity features including:
- Premiere Pro received a new feature, Auto Reframe, which leverages Adobe Sensei to analyze footage and apply panning and cropping that will ensure the action remains in frame.
- Lightroom was updated with interactive in-app tutorials for desktop.
- After Effects was upgraded with performance updates for a more fluid playback of cached previews, faster Multichannel EXR files, and faster Content-Aware Fill that uses half the memory.
- InDesign was given new support for SVG Imports across digital and print design workflows, as well as an option to use customizable Variable Fonts within the app. As well, a new feature was launched that allows for direct linking between Adobe Experience Manager Assets and InDesign.
- Live Coediting was released as a beta feature; which allows multiple users to work on a document at the same time.
- The Creative Cloud desktop app was redesigned to include a native search engine that searches across all Creative Cloud assets and files, access to tutorials, and new ways to access services like Adobe Fonts, Adobe Stock, and Behance, as well as a new full-screen management tool for Creative Cloud Libraries.
- Creative Cloud Libraries are now fully integrated with XD. This will allow users to leverage what they create in other apps like Illustrator directly within XD. It will now also be accessible within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. As well, Adobe released pre-populated Creative Cloud Libraries.