Adobe plans to give free access in Photoshop on the web. 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 on Internet through a free Adobe account. Adobe describes the service as "freemium" and plans to exclude some 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 app that could be used to handle basic edits. Levels and basic tools processings was in the menu, but the service was nowhere near the full range of the app's capabilities.
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.
In the months that have passed, Adobe has done quite a few updates to the service and also began opening it up beyond collaboration use cases. At first, someone had to share a photo from the app 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 app more accessible and potentially attract users who will want to pay for the full version either on the web or as an app. The company has followed a similar path with a number of its mobile apps, 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.
