Photoshop.com Mobile Review

Mark Mackay

We review Photoshop.com Mobile. It’s a miniature and simplified version of Adobe Photoshop for you iPhone

Published on Jan 15, 2010

When we’ve reviewed image editing apps in the past, we’ve occasionally made reference to Adobe Photoshop and how they’re not exactly what you might expect from the desktop software. Of course that’s a given, but today we actually have the iPhone version of Adobe Photoshop. It’s the real deal, albeit a somewhat cut down interpretation of the full package.

Being made by one silicon valley’s biggest software giants, you can all but guarantee that you’re going to get certain production value levels from Photoshop.com Mobile. The interface uses the same fonts and menu style as Photoshop elements, which can only be a good thing. Speaking of good things, the application can edit photos in either landscape or portrait orientation, with the menu bars at the top and bottom adjusting accordingly with the accelerometer movement.

While there are some decent image editing apps for the iPhone with drawing features, Photoshop.com Mobile is, surprisingly, not one of them. While the app is bereft of drawing features, the crop tool is a most welcome one and you can also flip and rotate images too.

Another Photoshop-esque feature is the filters that can be applied to your snaps. Both the ‘sketch’ and ‘soft focus’ filters have been added to the app, a pair of genuinely useful touches for stylizing your shots. Not to be confused with the filters is the effects menu that will add effects such as black and white, vintage, and blur adjustments.

Some are more useful than others. For example, there’s an effect called rainbow that applies strips of bright diagonal colours over an image, which made our photo of central London on a rainy day look quite ridiculous.

Exposure, saturation and tint can all be adjusted individually and there are undo and redo buttons to boot. The feature-set is somewhat limited compared to other image editing apps available on the iPhone, and the lack of drawing tools is a particular let down.

However, considering the app is free, has a crop tool, a few nifty filters and effects, and is brilliantly put together, it would be worth a download even if only to check it out. Hopefully Adobe will continue to add effects and tools as the months roll on by.