Photoshop Is Now Officially Available (and Free) on IPhone and Android
“Photoshop” is synonymous with image editing—the app has been the industry standard for more than 30 years. But while Photoshop has always been available on computers and has been available on tablets for some time, those who want to edit images on their smartphones have had to deal with competing programs.
That changed earlier this year. In February, Adobe officially made Photoshop available on the iPhone. Just over three months later, the app has now released a beta version on Android, and you can officially download it for either platform. Head to the App Store or Play Store, search for “Photoshop,” and you’ll see not only the usual alternatives—like Lightroom, Canva, and Facetune—but the real deal. Plus, the app itself is free, in addition to a number of its “essential imaging and design tools.”
According to the company, you will be able to use the following tools for free:
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Selections, layers and masks
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Click “Select Tool”
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Spot Correction Brush
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Adobe Firefly AI features such as Generative Fill and Generative Expand
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Integration with Adobe Express, Adobe Fresco and Adobe Lightroom
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Access to “hundreds of thousands” of free Adobe Stock assets
In its initial announcement in February, the company showed off a number of editing capabilities the app could be used for: using the masking tool to copy an object from one image and paste it into another; using the “quick selection brush” to isolate parts of an image from the final product; layering multiple images on top of each other to create a dramatic yet realistic set of elements around an object; changing the color of one element in an image while preserving the rest; and selecting objects to quickly remove them from the scene.
Of course, Adobe also promotes its AI features , namely Generative Fill. In one demo, a representative needs to insert an island into an image of the ocean. They use the lasso tool to select the area of the image where the island should be, then use Generative Fill to create a grassy patch of land using AI. In another demo, Generative Fill is used to remove the background, replacing it with the sky visible in another part of the image.
If you have previous experience with Photoshop, you should be fairly familiar with the tools and features of this version of the program. However, it may take you some time to get your bearings. This version definitely feels and functions like a mobile app, meaning its user interface is similar to many other image editing apps you may have used before. So it may take some trial and error before you figure out where all your usual options and features are. Other than that, it’s a typical Photoshop experience, reworked into a mobile form.
There are other paid features (but they are temporarily free on Android)
While Photoshop and its “core” features are free to download and use on the iPhone, there are more features and benefits if you decide to pay. Adobe has a “Photoshop Mobile and Web plan” for customers who want more in the iOS, iPadOS, Android, and web versions of the app. This includes:
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Access Photoshop on the Internet
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Expanded access to Firefly-powered AI tools like Create Similar and Reference Image.
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Access over 20,000 fonts (or import your own)
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Object Select for precise selection
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Magic wand for targeted correction
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Remove tool
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Clone Stamp
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Content-aware filling
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Advanced blending modes for image stylization
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“Lighten” and “Darken” to lighten or darken different parts of the image.
This plan costs $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year. If you already pay for Photoshop, all of these benefits are now included in your plan.
Additional features are free while the Android version is in beta.
The good news for Android users is that Adobe is making all of these features free while the app is in beta . If you have even a passing interest in Photoshop, I’d recommend checking out the beta as soon as possible to try out these premium features while you can.