Adobe Photoshop Touch review

With Apple’s refusal to allow direct access to the iPad’s storage, copying files back and forth isn’t as straightforward as it could be. Adobe gets around this with its Creative Cloud service, which gives you 2GB cloud storage for passing files between the app and desktop computers.

We had no problem uploading JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG and PSD files (but not TIF) using a desktop browser and importing them directly into Photoshop Touch. However, while transparency was maintained in PSD, PNG and GIF files, PSD files’ layers were flattened on import. We could send projects from our iPad to a desktop computer via Creative Cloud and maintain separate layers, but the PSDX format used is only compatible with Photoshop CS5.

With Photoshop Touch’s ability to splice together photos using a live camera feed, you can expect to see quite a lot of this sort of thing on Facebook from now on

If you don’t need access to separate layers, then import and export options are much more plentiful. The app can send images to and from Facebook, and pull them directly from Google Image search, complete with options for copyright status, image type (from a choice of Face, Photo, Clip art and Line drawing) and dominant colour. There’s a bug, though – If you select dominant colour as a search type the software gets stuck and refuses to let you change back to a normal search. We have contacted Adobe for a comment. It’s also possible to transfer to and from the iPad’s camera roll. Raw images aren’t officially supported, but if the iPad can view them – and it usually can if the raw file contains an embedded JPEG – then so can Photoshop Touch. There’s no access to the actual raw image data, but that’s hardly surprising considering the resolution limit.

These drawbacks – particularly the 1,600×1,600 pixel limit – restrict Photoshop Touch’s suitability for serious use. It could be used for mobile graphic design, but a PC or Mac running Photoshop seems a better option. Meanwhile, photographers who want to perform colour correction on an iPad are better off with Photogene with its non-destructive effects and support for full-resolution images. Photoshop Touch has its niche, though. With its elegant handling of layers, abundant source of clip-art from Google and live camera feed, it excels at producing photo montages. The fact that they’re more likely to end up on Facebook than in a glossy magazine isn’t necessarily a criticism.