Why the new Android Photoshop app could be huge for Adobe

There's big news today for the millions of content creators who, contrary to what some media and software companies seem to think, don't have an iPhone. Photoshop for Android is finally out in beta.

While that announcement will probably get less attention than the launch of the iPhone app back in February, it could be more important. The launch of Photoshop beta in the Play store brings a fully featured mobile version of the best photo editing software to the most widely used smartphone platform, putting it in reach of close to 4 billion users. That's almost three times as many users as iPhone.

And Adobe clearly sees the potential to win new customers: unlike with the iPhone app, it's making all features free for the duration of beta testing. (Read here about why we're excited for the Android app).

Android users already had access to the Photoshop Express app. But, despite the addition of Firefly AI tools, that didn't offer much more than what some phone camera apps can do these days, with Instagram-like preset filters and limited text tools.

The new Photoshop mobile app is a different story. I've been playing with it for the past hour, and although not all tools are yet live, it provides something much more akin to the type of layer-based image manipulation you can do in Adobe's market-leading desktop software, including selecting and masking, the use of blend modes and text adjustment tools.

Like with the iPhone app, users will be able to pull in any projects they've saved to the cloud from other Adobe apps and can make use of the photos, textures and other assets available in Adobe Stock.

Layer-based editing can be fiddly on a small touchscreen display, but Adobe has a few tricks to make mobile use more feasible. The interface is much more streamlined than the desktop version, while still packing a lot in. And the 'tap to select' mechanism is intuitive, allowing you to select a layer or object by tapping on it within your canvas.

I think the biggest advantage for me is going to be for working across the two versions of Photoshop. The mobile app still provides only a fraction of what the desktop software can do and is less comfortable to work on, but it could be a game-changer for making last-minute adjustments on the fly when something that needs changing just before hand off or publication, allowing editing of the original PSD file, not a lossy JPG, without having to run for a laptop.

That's just me. Many younger creators are already comfortable working on small mobile devices, and are likely to be happy working heavily in the new app, particularly if it's for social media.

Adobe's inclusion of a built-in help centre is another clear sign that the creative software giant is hoping the Android app will bring a new cohort of users to Photoshop. It's not aiming just professional designers and photographers who already use the desktop software, but people who know the name but may never have used Photoshop before, including small businesses, hobbyists and social media creators who might otherwise use Canva or Adobe Express.

If you've already downloaded the app and tried it out, let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Photoshop for Android main features

• Adobe Photoshop (beta) for Android is available in the Play Store.
• Use selections, layers and masks to edit and composite images.
• Tap to Select tool enables you to select a layer or part of an image by tapping, making it easier to work on a small display.
• The app also provides access to Adobe Stock, the brand's vast library of commercial images.
• There are no painting tools yet, but Adobe says they're coming soon.
• Firefly AI tools including Generative Fill and Generative Expand are coming.
• You'll be able to start work on the mobile app and save it to continue on desktop, or vice versa, and the app will integrate with Lightroom.
• All tools are free for the duration of the beta.

Photoshop Mobile for Android pricing

Like iPhone app, Photoshop for Android will be free to download. Premium features like the Remove tool, Magic Wand and Clone Stamp will later be restricted to subscribers, but everyone can try them out during the beta.

Adobe's not yet confirmed details of what pricing will look like, but I presume that, like with the iPhone app, premium features would be accessible under the Photoshop Mobile and Web plan, which costs $7.99 / month or $69.99 / annually and includes the Cloud version of Photoshop on the web and Photoshop for iPad.

You can see more details of Adobe pricing plans in your area below.