Adobe plans to give Photoshop free access to the web. He is currently testing a free version in Canada.
Adobe has begun testing a free version of Photoshop for the web, and plans to open the service to everyone as a way to get more users into the app.
The company is now testing its free version in Canada, where users can access Photoshop online through a free Adobe account. Adobe describes the service as "freemium" and plans to block certain features that will be exclusive to paying subscribers.
But several Photoshop tools will be available for free, or at least those that Adobe considers to be the basic functions of Photoshop.
"We want to make Photoshop more accessible and easier for more people to try and get to know the product," says Maria Yap, Adobe Vice President of Digital Imaging.
Adobe released for the first time the web version of Photoshop in October 2021, providing a simplified version of the application that could be used to handle basic editing. The levels and basic editing tools were in the menu, but the service did not come close to the full range of application features.
Instead, Adobe framed it primarily as a collaboration tool, a way for an artist to share an image with others and get them to log in, leave some comments and make some minor tweaks and hand it back.
Over the past few months, Adobe has made several updates to the service and has also begun to open it beyond use cases of collaboration. At first, one had to share a photo of the application on the web, but now, any Photoshop subscriber can be connected and launch a new document directly from the web.
Adobe's goal is to use the web version of Photoshop to make the application more accessible and potentially attract users who will want to pay for the full version either on the web or as an application. The company has followed a similar path with a number of its mobile applications, including Fresco and Express.
The online version of Photoshop is a very important offer, as it opens one of the most powerful tools of the company in all operating systems, even on linux.
Adobe has not announced a timeline for when the freemium version will be released. Meanwhile, the company continues to update Photoshop for the web with more tools, including optimized edges, curves, doge and burn tools, and the ability to convert smart Objects. The web version also supports mobile for image control and annotation.
