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Adobe Unveils Updates to Creative Cloud at MAX 2018
15 October 2018
Adobe announced updates to its Creative Cloud applications at MAX 2018 today. Some of them are available now while others are planned for a 2019 release. Photographers will find the updates to Photoshop and Lightroom particularly compelling, including fulls versions of Photoshop designed to run on tablets.
"Today, we unveiled a portfolio of next-generation creative apps that deliver meaningful value to our community by transforming creative workflows across devices and platforms," said Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president, Creative Cloud, Adobe.
"By continuing to innovate in our flagship apps, extending into exploding segments such as experience design and social video creation and pioneering in emerging mediums like touch, voice, 3D and augmented reality, Adobe Creative Cloud has truly become the creativity platform for all."
We were briefed by the Adobe team a few days ago and have had a chance to sample the updates since then. We'll have more in-depth reports on the new features for Photoshop and Lightroom later but we'll summarize the updates here.
PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop CC, the desktop application, adds the following features:
- Content-Aware Fill. You can choose the pixels to include and exclude from the surrounding parts of a photo to seamlessly fill your image. A live preview panel shows how your pixel selection will determine the final fill, so you can watch the image change as you brush on or erase the source content, all before committing the change. Once confirmed, the non-destructive output setting will automatically create a new layer with the selection, providing the intended visual output, while leaving your original image untouched.
- Frame Tool. This new tool lets you create a placeholder for an image size or shape and will auto-scale your image to fit the shape. Additionally, you can convert any shape or text layer into a Frame for easy masking. Simply create a text layer, convert it to a frame by selecting the option from a right-click menu on the Layers Panel, and add your image. An image can come from anywhere: Adobe Stock, Libraries, or drag and drop from anywhere else.
- Symmetry Painting. Use this technique to create mirrored brush strokes along a symmetry axis.
- New Home Screen and Improved In-App Learning. The new home screen makes it easier for you to get started and return to it to open assets. A "What's New" section in the home screen introduces you to the newest features. If you are learning Photoshop, the home screen shows you Learn content and connects to Adobe's in-app tutorial system. Last year Adobe added in-app tutorials and this year, they've added more content as well as the ability to learn those concepts using your own assets.
- Wait, There's More. Additional tidbits include a modernized Undo that can retreat to the first change you've made, automatic commits when you click on a new tool or layer, proportional transforms so you don't have to hold down the Shift key while scaling, double-click to edit text, a hidden layer reference point and new panel lock to prevent accidental moves, live preview of blend modes and more.
- Auto Update. When you click Update or Update All to update your apps in the Creative Cloud desktop app for the first time, you will get a dialog box with an option to keep your apps up-to-date automatically. Select Enable Auto-Update now to enable this feature.
PHOTOSHOP IPAD
Photoshop CC on the iPad is the newest piece of the system, bringing real Photoshop to mobile devices with an approachable user experience and the power and precision needed for image compositing.
Photoshop on the iPad. Coming in 2019.
You can use the mobile version of Photoshop on its own or as a partner to Photoshop on the desktop. A preview is available now but it won't ship until next year.
User Interface. It's all there.
Versions for other tablet operating systems will be forthcoming, the company said.
LIGHTROOM
Lightroom's new features include:
- People View. Adobe Sensei-powered People View automatically tags people in photos and provides you with an easy way to see all the photos the person appears in.
- Improved Search. Get better search results with automatic search suggestions provided to you as you type in the search box. Lightroom CC provides suggestions for metadata like cameras, lenses, aperture, ISO, locations, keywords and more.
- Share Tab. The new Share tab gives you an easy way to browse and access shared albums and images that you made through lightroom.adobe.com.
- Connectors. As part of the new Share tab, you can also share albums directly to your portfolio hosted on Adobe Portfolio from within Lightroom CC using the new Connector feature. Adobe is building out the Connector service to have a full menu of third-party services (like photo labs, photo book printers and others).
- Apple Photos Migrator. You can use the new Apple Photos Migrator to migrate your Apple Photos library into Lightroom CC on your desktop.
- Additional Sharing Options. When sharing your albums to Lightroom Web you can now choose to only share images that are flagged or that have a certain star rating or higher, while controlling the display theme, directly from Lightroom CC.
- Display View. The new Display view within lightroom.adobe.com lets you see a preview of the page, exactly how your viewers will see it. While in the Display view, you can control the layout and background color while inserting breaks between images and text to help tell the story that accompanies your photos. When you’re done setting up the layout, you can then share the album using the controls under Sharing.
In addition, Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw updates include:
- Improved Tethered Capture for Canon Cameras. This update provides a big increase in both speed and stability with a 1.5-2x improvement in transfer time. While the new release improves the experience for Canon cameras, Adobe said it is working to expand the functionality to Nikon tethered capture in a future release.
- Single-step HDR Panorama Merge. You can go from a large set of bracketed exposures to a single HDR Panorama DNG in a single step, using the new HDR Panorama option in the Photo Merge menu.
- Depth Range Masking. Depth information captured on some devices in an additional channel of data (like the red, green, and blue channels all digital cameras capture) provides information about where the objects in the photograph exist in three-dimensional space. In this release, a new Depth option has been added to the Range Masking tool. Depth Range Masking enables you to use the depth information in your images to make precise selections and isolate subjects faster.
Adobe Announces Next Generation of Creative Cloud at MAX 2018
Major Updates to Flagship Apps, Launch of Premiere Rush CC for Social Video and Previews of Photoshop CC and Project Gemini on iPad Accelerate Creative Cloud Innovation and Value
LOS ANGELES -- Today at Adobe MAX, the Creativity Conference, Adobe announced major updates to Creative Cloud applications including Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Premiere Pro CC and Adobe XD. Adobe also introduced Adobe Premiere Rush CC, the first all-in-one, easy-to-use video editing app for social media creators, simplifying video creation and sharing on platforms including YouTube and Instagram. Adobe previewed new iPad versions of Adobe Photoshop CC and Project Gemini, a drawing app, reinforcing the company's commitment to delivering high- performance apps that work seamlessly across surfaces.
"Today, we unveiled a portfolio of next-generation creative apps that deliver meaningful value to our community by transforming creative workflows across devices and platforms," said Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president, Creative Cloud, Adobe. "By continuing to innovate in our flagship apps, extending into exploding segments such as experience design and social video creation and pioneering in emerging mediums like touch, voice, 3D and augmented reality, Adobe Creative Cloud has truly become the creativity platform for all."
Expanding Innovation Across Creative Cloud Applications and Services
Adobe introduced major updates to its desktop applications, including: a new Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC; performance and workflow improvements across Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic; the ability to design with photorealistic, Freeform gradients in Illustrator CC; a powerful Content-Aware Fit in InDesign CC; the power to instantly create and animate unique, stylized puppets using a webcam and reference artwork with Character Animator's new Characterizer; a new rendering engine for improved render preview performance in Dimension CC; and new Sensei powered search features and exclusive content in Adobe Stock, including a new library of clips from GoPro. In addition, Adobe announced it is addressing the needs of the video animation industry with new workflows and integrations across apps, including Animate to After Effects, Animate to Character Animator and Adobe XD to After Effects.
Adobe XD, the all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing Web sites and mobile apps, now features new capabilities leveraging recently acquired Sayspring technology to empower designers to prototype experiences and apps for voice-powered devices, such as Amazon Echo. New voice capabilities, including voice triggers and speech playback, enable designers to create powerful experiences with screen and voice prototyping now in one application. In addition, developers can now leverage Adobe XD APIs to build plug-ins and app integrations that add new features, automate workflows and connect XD to the tools and services designers use every day.
Unleashing Social Video Content Creators with Premiere Rush CC
Designed specifically for online video creators, Premiere Rush CC integrates capture, intuitive editing, simplified color, audio and motion graphics with seamless publishing to leading social platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram, all together in one easy-to- use solution. With Premiere Rush CC, content creators do not have to be video, color or audio experts to publish professional- quality videos. Premiere Rush CC harnesses the power of Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC, offers built-in access to professionally designed Motion Graphics templates in Adobe Stock to get started quickly and features a Sensei-powered, one-click auto-duck feature to adjust music and normalize sound. It also allows access anywhere, enabling users to create compelling video projects -- optimized for social distribution -- on one device and publish from another with a consistent user experience across desktop and mobile.
Previewing High-Performance Creative Imaging and Drawing Apps Across Devices
Adobe previewed two future mobile apps designed to usher in a new era of multi-surface creation while complementing workflows across Adobe's existing flagship desktop applications:
- Photoshop CC on iPad: Redesigned for a modern touch experience, Photoshop CC on iPad will deliver the power and precision of its desktop counterpart. Photoshop CC on iPad will let users open and edit native PSD files using Photoshop's industry-standard image-editing tools and will feature the familiar Photoshop layers panel. With Photoshop CC across devices, coming first to iPad in 2019, you will be able to start your work on an iPad and seamlessly roundtrip all of your edits with Photoshop CC on the desktop via Creative Cloud.
- Project Gemini: A new app designed to accelerate drawing and painting workflows across devices, Project Gemini, coming first to iPad in 2019, combines raster, vector and new dynamic brushes into a single app experience built for drawing. Project Gemini enables artists to use and sync their favorite Photoshop brushes and works seamlessly with Photoshop CC.
Unparalleled Productivity Enhancements with Adobe Sensei
The 2019 release of Creative Cloud delivers more than a dozen new Adobe Sensei-powered features and productivity enhancements -- building on dozens of existing Sensei-powered features already available to Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud customers. Sensei-powered features in the 2019 release include:
- An expanded Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC that offers greater precision and control to save editors valuable time when working with their images.
- A new Content-Aware Fit feature in InDesign CC that intelligently detects an image and crops or fits it to an image frame automatically.
- New Freeform Gradients in Illustrator CC that enable the creation of natural gradients.
- A new tool in Character Animator CC, Characterizer, that transforms any style of portrait into a vivid, animated character.
Designed to make creatives more successful and supercharge their productivity, the 2019 Creative Cloud release delivers significant performance and usability improvements, greater cross-application integration, intuitive collaboration features and faster access to file assets and services. Among the new capabilities, Adobe is optimizing the in-app Start experience to accelerate customer on-boarding with new apps and improve discoverability of new features and product capabilities.
Additional workflow improvements include a contextually-aware Properties Panel in InDesign CC to display options based on the object selected, expanded Undo and auto-resizing in Photoshop CC, a customizable toolbar in Illustrator CC and a modern UI in Bridge CC with support for bulk uploads of libraries. Creative Cloud members also get the all new Adobe Acrobat DC, which provides a completely reimagined way to share work and get it reviewed and approved without sending email attachments or managing version control.
Previewing the Future of Immersive Design
Adobe previewed Project Aero, a new cross-device AR authoring tool that enables creators to design augmented reality experiences. Project Aero is the first AR app built for designers and artists and was first sneaked on-stage at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this year. Project Aero enables optimal delivery of AR experiences, empowering creatives to place digital content in the real world. At Adobe MAX, Adobe showcased an AR-powered retail store of the future, revealing the exciting possibilities of immersive design experiences.
Empowering Enterprise Customers
Adobe announced deeper integrations between Creative Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud that unify creative and marketer workflows. With these integrations, brands can now easily access assets in Experience Manager within Creative Cloud apps, Adobe Stock images can be leveraged in Experience Manager and 3D content designed with Dimension CC can be adjusted in Experience Manager and published as marketing assets.
Pricing and Availability
Updates to Creative Cloud desktop software are now available to all Creative Cloud subscribers, including membership plans for individuals, students, teams, educational institutions, government agencies and enterprises. Adobe's mobile apps are available for download from the iOS App Store and Google Play.
Photoshop CC on iPad, Project Aero and Project Gemini on iPad will be available in 2019. Spark Post on Android, previously available as a public beta, is now available as a 1.0 app in the Google Play store.
The all-new Premiere Rush CC, available now on Windows and macOS and via the iOS App Store (Google Play store availability coming in 2019), is offered across a series of plans tailored for customers' unique needs.
- Premiere Rush CC is available for $9.99/month to individuals, $19.99/month to teams and $29.99/month to enterprise customers. Premiere Rush CC is also included as part of All Apps, Student and Premiere Pro CC single app plans and comes with 100-GB of CC storage. Additional storage options, up to 10 TB, are also available for purchase.
- Premiere Rush CC Starter Plan: Available for free, the Starter Plan gives customers access to all Premiere Rush CC features, use of desktop and mobile apps and the ability to create an unlimited number of projects and export up to three projects for free.