Adobe has just unleashed a free Photoshop mobile app for the iPhone. Now you could say they’re a bit late to the party of photo editing apps on the iPhone with mainstays like Photogene, Brushes and Layers already filling that space in one form or another. Adobe has one thing going for it above any feature other apps have, however, and that’s the photoshop name. With photoshop a household name (and verb), any app with Photoshop in the title is instantly recognisable, even if you’re not a graphic artist.

Read on to find out how it handles.

So what does Photoshop mobile provide? Well there’s all the usual features you might expect from a pocket photo editor including crop, rotate and flip. Some of the more advanced functions include exposure and saturation adjustment, application of coloured tint and creation of black and white photos. Then there’s the fancy effects including sketch and creation of soft focus. Finally there’s a whole host of effects to apply to your photo including vibrant, pop (like some LP covers), borders, vintage blur, warm vintage, rainbow, white glow and soft black and white. All these effects are incredibly easy to apply, although in a very simplified way, by sliding your finger across the photo to vary the level of the effect. With these effects in your pocket you can make simple yet quite beautiful tweaks to your photos right on your device. There aren’t any painting tools and no way to add text to your photos, but then again if you’re after something like that why not just boot up your PC or Mac and do it right?Photoshop mobile also provides a limited integration with Photoshop.com. You can upload your photos, edited or not, to your free 2Gb photoshop.com account for access later or just plain storage and share them via email right from the app.

Available in the US App Store (not the UK currently incidently) for free, Photoshop.com Mobile provides a decent amount of simplified and easy to use photo tweaking functionality. Of how much use all the effects are is debatable, I would have liked to have seen some photo retouching tools such as spot heal and brushes, but for free you can’t argue can you?

Verdict? Not a bad first attempt, easy to use and free, worth having on your device but if you’re looking for more you might need to look elsewhere.

One Response to “iPhone App Review: Photoshop Mobile”

1. Chris R says:

   October 12, 2009 at 12:38 pm

   Thanks Adobe. I can totally use this app. Not as powerful as I had hoped but what do you expect for free?

   Reply