Creative software giant Adobe has released beta versions of Photoshop (opens in new tab) that run natively on Arm-powered Windows and macOS devices.
Previously, the popular image editing software (opens in new tab) has had to be emulated on machines that utilize Arm processors, via Windows on Arm or Apple Rosetta for macOS.
With the new versions, however, owners of affected devices - which include the Surface Pro X (opens in new tab) tablet and new M1-powered MacBook Pro (opens in new tab) - will no longer have to suffer the inevitable performance drops brought about by emulation.
(opens in new tab)- Check out our list of the best laptops for photo editing (opens in new tab) right now
- We've built a list of the best graphic design software (opens in new tab) available
- Here's our choice of the best photo editing PCs (opens in new tab) on the market
Adobe Photoshop for Arm
The arrival of Arm-native versions of Photoshop will be a relief to users that have struggled with emulated versions in the past, but also to anyone planning to invest in the latest Apple products based on the M1 chip (opens in new tab) - the firm’s new Arm-based custom silicon.
According to an Adobe support post (opens in new tab), the beta versions of Photoshop for Arm will “offer many of the core features you’ve come to rely on for your day to day editing needs” and users with qualifying Arm-based devices should find the relevant installer under the Beta section of the Creative Cloud desktop client.
The new versions should improve the speed at which users can perform resource-heavy functions, render large images and more.
The main caveat, however, is that not all Photoshop tools will be present in the beta versions. For example, the patch tool, healing brush, and content-aware fill feature will all be lacking at first, although Adobe hopes to be able to reintroduce them in the coming weeks.
The firm is actively soliciting feedback on the beta versions, but cautions users to familiarize themselves with the known limitations (of which there are many (opens in new tab)) before submitting questions or complaints.
Adobe is also expected to publish Arm-native versions of other products in its Creative Cloud suite - which includes Illustrator (opens in new tab), Premiere Pro (opens in new tab), After Effects (opens in new tab), Dreamweaver (opens in new tab) and more - although the company has not yet shared concrete roadmaps.
- Here's our list of the best video editing laptops (opens in new tab) out there
