Adobe Adds New Desktop Tools To Photoshop On iPad

Adobe has added new features and enhancements in the latest version of Photoshop on iPad. The two new tools are the smudge and the sponge tools, which have been available on the desktop version of the app but not on mobile until recently. Likewise, Premiere Pro gets faster on M1-powered Macs, thanks to the latest Adobe updates on desktops. 

Blur and Blend Lines or Color With the Smudge Tool

As the name suggests, the smudge tool is used to blur and blend colors or lines. It comes with the usual settings for adjusting the size and strength of the effect with several modes, including normal, darken, lighten, saturation, hue, luminosity, and color. 

You can either use the Apple Pencil or even your finger, but Adobe recommends an Apple Pencil for the best results.

To explore with the Smudge tool, follow the steps below: 

1. Use the Adjustment tools icon from the toolbar to reveal the options and select the Smudge tool. 
2. Choose your preferred brush settings such as Size, Strength, and Hardness. 
3. Then, tap on the three-dot icon to go to Smudge settings and select Mode, Roundness, and Angle. 
4. Brush over the photo area where you want to blend or smudge the colors. 

Check out Smudge areas on images with Photoshop on iPad to learn more. 

Use The Sponge Tool For Retouching Images

The sponge tool, on the other hand, is used to help  retouch images through saturating or desaturating colors, enabling users to refine how vibrant their photos and art look. In addition, the sponge tool feature in the enhanced Photoshop on iPad could also help intensify or remove the color of images. 

Below are the basic steps in working with the Sponge tool: 

1. Use the Adjustment tools icon from the toolbar and choose the Sponge tool. 
2. Next, choose your sponge settings – Size, Flow, and Hardness.
3. Then, tap on the three-dot icon to bring you to Sponge settings and make selections for Mode (Saturate/Desaturate), Roundness, and Angle. 
4. Brush over the image area you would like to retouch. 

Visit this link to learn more. 

Other enhancements include Achieve white balance in camera raw images and View labels for tool icons in the workspace while working with Photoshop on iPad. Learn how to maximize these features in the Photoshop User Guide. 

Plans and Pricing

Photoshop on iPad is available via Adobe’s Creative Cloud plans, priced starting from $9.99 for the Photography plan. The Photography plan consists of Lightroom for desktop and mobile, Lightroom Classic. Photoshop on desktop and iPad, and 20GB of cloud storage. A Photoshop-only subscription is also available, priced at $20.99 per month, including 100GB of cloud storage. 

For more information, visit the Plans and pricing for Creative Cloud apps and more. 

New Update for Premiere Pro for M1 Mac

Aside from modifications done with Photoshop on iPad, Adobe also rolled out a new update for Premiere Pro on desktop. Adobe added key performance enhancements for M1-powered Macs. With the latest release, all M1 Macs now work with hardware-accelerated exports, particularly for DCI 4K and 8K HEVC formats. Adobe says it will result in significantly faster performance. 

Adobe also offers hardware acceleration for ProRes videos on the M1 Max and M1 Pro chips present in the latest MacBook Pro laptops. The recent update will provide up to  five times faster performance. Meanwhile, Windows users with integrated GPUs are also getting a boost, with enhancements to video playback, too.

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