Adobe Photoshop Fix and Photoshop Mix get updates and are now free for all…sort of

by Gary Coyne

posted Monday, October 5, 2015 at 12:53 AM EDT

 
 

Today Adobe has released an updated version of Photoshop Fix, their mobile software used to combine multiple images into one image and Photoshop Fix, a new application that pulls together several different mobile applications into one with greater abilities and a more simple interface.

Adobe is releasing both Photoshop Fix and Mix as free applications. The only catch is that to access them, you do need to sign up for a free Adobe account. Not only do you get Fix & Mix for free, but you also get 2GB of CC storage for free. Since Fix is Adobe's application for making your images look better, you can save those images in your 2GB of free storage so that you can bring them into Mix to create a composite.

Adobe Photoshop Fix, takes the position of Adobe's previous mobile image editing software Photoshop Touch, but significantly improves upon its predecessor in a number of ways and should in no way be considered a replacement of PS Touch. First off, Photoshop Fix does away with Adobe Air, a legacy programming structure left over from the days of Adobe's Flash applications. Second off, Photoshop Fix improves upon Photoshop Touch by creating a mobile-first workflow. Rather than trying to emulate adjustments of an image as one might do with Photoshop on a desktop machine Photoshop Fix takes a different approach by providing tools and an interface designed specifically for mobile devices.

Whereas Photoshop Touch was a simplified version of the desktop version of Photoshop, Photoshop Fix stands on its own as a completely redesigned workflow that is meant to complement, not replace, Photoshop on the desktop. As I write this, I've not had a chance to work with Photoshop Fix, so time will tell if their new approach will be more efficient than what we had with Photoshop Touch. What I do know is that more layers, more blending modes and a host of other features will let the user decide which is a better approach to image enhancement on your mobile device.

Photoshop Mix also received a substantial update, giving it a collection of new features to further simplify a mobile-first workflow. Most notably, you can now capture photos directly in the app, make targetted color adjustments and even use Adobe's new Dehaze tool. 

While these new releases are (once again) starting with the iOS platform, Adobe states Android versions will be out in the first half of 2016.

In other mobile app news, four different apps: Adobe Color, Brush, Hue and Shape have all been combined into one application called Adobe Capture. This is a completely logical collection and it's a welcome relief from having to remember what capture application does what. Now, one "capture" application does them all. This is a very welcome change to the mixed bag of applications we had before. Also, Adobe Capture is available for iPhone, iPad and Android now.

Lightroom Mobile is also receiving a slight update. Most notably, Adobe's Dehaze feature can now be used on-the-go with Lightroom Mobile.

Lastly, the final new mobile application is Premiere Clip. This new app from Adobe lets you take any collection of images from LR mobile and, after selecting the images, Clip will combine the images with some royalty free music and make a video ready to play.

For future updates and information, head on over to see the Adobe MAX Keynote website to watch it live. These are presented Monday at 9:30 a.m. PST and Tuesday 10 a.m. PST.