Pixelmator Photo now available for pre-order, coming April 9th

[Andrius]

The date is set. On April 9th, the incredible, AI-powered Pixelmator Photo will be released on the App Store. And you can make sure Pixelmator Photo makes its way onto your iPad the second it becomes available by pre-ordering it today. If you want a little taste of what the app’s about, check out this short video we whipped up.



The initial price of Pixelmator Photo will be $4.99. That’s a one-time purchase. No subscriptions and no in-app purchases for additional tools. And, for pre-orders, we’re knocking 20% off the price so you can get it for $3.99. $3.99!

All the feedback we’ve had over the beta period has us incredibly excited for the release as well as the future of Pixelmator Photo — the future of photo editing on iPad. If you have an iPad and take photos, Pixelmator Photo is a must-have. Just 7 short days to go until you can all get your hands on it. We can’t wait.

Pre-Order

[MastaBaba]

I'd want this. Trying to pre-order tells me that the app requires features not available on my device, an iPad mini 4th generation.

What features are these?

[Andrius]

It's mostly down to the fact that we can't separate that iPad mini model from some of the older ones and we want everyone who is able to buy the app to have the best experience possible. So the cut-off is a little more aggressive than we would've liked, but it's to ensure everyone with the app has a great experience.

[Vlad Ghitulescu]

For iPhone XR too?

[Andrius]

It's iPad-only for now, but we'll see what the future brings!

[JF Martin]

Seems really nice like all your apps!

Would like to post a review of Pixelmator Photo on my blog here: https://numericcitizen.me
Please get in touch with me on Twitter: @numericcitizen

[Michael_vB]

Seems a nice new app. What is exactly the difference between this app and the existing Pixelmator for iPad/iPhone? I got that one (and the Pro version for macOS)

[Andrius]

Seems a nice new app. What is exactly the difference between this app and the existing Pixelmator for iPad/iPhone? I got that one (and the Pro version for macOS)

Pixelmator Photo is focused around photo editing and RAW editing in particular, so it's all about making photos look great. Pixelmator is a layer-based image editor, so it's more geared towards creating designs, compositing images, stuff like that.

[vit]

So no layers support? What about adjustment layers?
Also, does it have something similar to liquify (distort tools)?

[ShenMue3]

Does it have lens correction and distortion options for making buildings look straight?

[AbsarF]

Hi..I am trying to pre-order but giving me the error : "This app requires specific features not available on this device"

My device is :
Model Name : Ipad Air-2
Model Number : MGTY2ZP/A
Software Version : 12.2

Please let me know the compatibility...

Thanks

[Michael_vB]

Please let me know the compatibility...

Thanks

Sorry, afraid not compatible with the Air-2....

Info from the App Store page:
Compatible with
12.9-inch iPad Pro,
12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular,
9.7-inch iPad Pro,
9.7-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular,
iPad (5th generation),
iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (5th generation),
12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation),
12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi‑Fi + Cellular (2nd generation),
10.5-inch iPad Pro,
10.5-inch iPad Pro Wi‑Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation),
iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (6th generation),
iPad Pro (11-inch),
iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular,
iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (3rd generation), and
iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular

[Andrius]

Yes, just as I mentioned above for certain iPad mini models, we can't separate the iPad Air 2 from the first iPad Air and we want everyone who is able to buy the app to have the best experience possible. So, again, the cut-off is a little more aggressive than we would've liked, but it's to ensure everyone with the app has a great experience.

[Andrius]

Does it have lens correction and distortion options for making buildings look straight?

Perspective correction is available, absolutely!

[mswhalen]

Is there a list of compatible cameras and RAW formats?

[Andrius]

Is there a list of compatible cameras and RAW formats?

Yes, Pixelmator Photo supports the RAW photos from every device supported by your version of iOS. Here's the list for iOS 12:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208967

[Mwolfe]

Andrius- So, are there things that you can do to photos in Pixelmator Photo that you can’t do to photos in Pixelmator for iOS? Does one need Pixelmator Photo if one already has Pixelmator for iOS or Pixelmator Pro? Sorry if I seem to be asking the same question twice, but your first response to a similar question above was a little vague. Also, any update on Pixelmator Pro for iPad Pro? Thanks!

[Andrius]

Andrius- So, are there things that you can do to photos in Pixelmator Photo that you can’t do to photos in Pixelmator for iOS? Does one need Pixelmator Photo if one already has Pixelmator for iOS or Pixelmator Pro? Sorry if I seem to be asking the same question twice, but your first response to a similar question above was a little vague. Also, any update on Pixelmator Pro for iPad Pro? Thanks!

Well, if you're familiar with other apps in this sphere, the simplest and most obvious comparison is this: Pixelmator is a layer-based editor (kinda like Photoshop). Pixelmator Photo is a photo editor for single layer images (kinda like Lightroom). Pixelmator Photo also has a completely nondestructive workflow so if you apply certain adjustments, repair some parts of an image, crop it, etc., you can always go back and undo or adjust each change. That's what makes it so powerful for photo editing in particular.

And that actually brings me to an interesting point about Pixelmator Pro. We had been working on it for a while but a big part of what makes Pixelmator Pro so special is its nondestructivenes. So you can apply adjustments, effects, styles, etc, to layers and go back to readjust those changes later on. We weren't satisfied with being unable to bring this over to iPad but, in the process, created Pixelmator Photo which actually doesn't compromise in any way on the nondestructive front. So for now, Pixelmator Pro for iPad is on hold but we'll also see what the future brings because we would, of course, love to bring it to iPad as well.

[Mwolfe]

Thanks so much for your prompt response! The images and photos that I edit/create in Pixelmator for iOS appear to be non-destructive. Are they not? I go back and edit/re-edit and revert to original images all the time in the app. What new editing features and tools will I gain with Pixelmator Photo to make my photos even better, as compared to the photos that I can edit in the original app? Better filters? AI enhanced filters? I watched the promo video but didn’t see anything strikingly new. ??? Again, thanks!

[siggi]

Is there anyway to pre-order without having the supported device?

[old_mac]

I want to be clear on a point, does this new App, edit the RAW data, or are RAW files, converted to .jpgs or TIFFs prior to editing.....

Real pity about the Mini4 not being support, the laminated screen and colour gamut make it one of the better image editing iPads, although small, it is very good.

I certainly understand that there are advances in display technology, that the Mini4 does not support, and the A7 is aged... but until a month or so ago it was still a current Apple product, now replaced by the Mini5.

I hope there will be some flexibility in the cutoff ... and the Mini4 might be included in the future, technology permitting.

[Andrius]

Thanks so much for your prompt response! The images and photos that I edit/create in Pixelmator for iOS appear to be non-destructive. Are they not? I go back and edit/re-edit and revert to original images all the time in the app. What new editing features and tools will I gain with Pixelmator Photo to make my photos even better, as compared to the photos that I can edit in the original app? Better filters? AI enhanced filters? I watched the promo video but didn’t see anything strikingly new. ??? Again, thanks!

Well, they're nondestructive to a degree — I mean, the layers are separate, for example. But let's say you adjust the colors, repair or clone part of the photo, those edits are merged onto the photo. You can undo your changes, but you wouldn't be able to undo just a particular change without undoing the others. It's not a particularly big issue for most workflows but when you're working with photos, it's great to be able to adjust certain things independently of other things.

The presets in Pixelmator Photo have also been designed specifically for photos, so they're based on analog photographic films and others are created for particular styles of photographs — landscape, urban, night photography, etc. Plus, they're adjustment presets, so they apply a specific set of adjustments to get those looks, so you see every change and can fine-tune them yourself. The AI stuff refers to things like ML Enhance, which is available in Pixelmator Pro. Basically, that's a Core ML-powered machine learning algorithm trained on 20 million professional photos that enhances photos like a pro photographer. There's also an ML Crop feature, that automatically crops photos to improve their composition.

Oh, also, there's quite a few additional and improved color adjustments, like Selective Color, Color Balance, Fade, Grain, there's a live histogram, and the app works directly with the high dynamic range RAW data. That's just a few things, but there's quite a lot more, to be honest.

Is there anyway to pre-order without having the supported device?

Unfortunately not.

I want to be clear on a point, does this new App, edit the RAW data, or are RAW files, converted to .jpgs or TIFFs prior to editing.....

Real pity about the Mini4 not being support, the laminated screen and colour gamut make it one of the better image editing iPads, although small, it is very good.

I certainly understand that there are advances in display technology, that the Mini4 does not support, and the A7 is aged... but until a month or so ago it was still a current Apple product, now replaced by the Mini5.

I hope there will be some flexibility in the cutoff ... and the Mini4 might be included in the future, technology permitting.

Yes, there's no issue with the iPad mini 4 itself, actually, it's just that if we supported the mini 4, we'd have to support at least the 2nd and 3rd minis as well. That's where the trouble starts. We'll see if there's anything else we can do here, though!

[poffuomo]

Didn’t expect such a small price, gonna preorder it now after having enjoyed the beta

It would be cool to have a Photos extension though, for instance for ML Enhance alone.

[Mike Paterson]

I have a 3rd Gen iPad Pro 12.9” but will also be ordering the new iPad Mini 5.
Question being ~ Does Pixelmator Photo support the Mini 5 and if not then why, it is bang up to date?

[Jeph]

What color spaces are supported?

[ToastyFlake]

What does this do that the Apple Photos app doesn’t?

[iPedro]

This is as close to an Aperture successor — or what Apple would have made had they ported Aperture to iPad using modern UI standards — as one can get.

What’s missing is file management. I know that that’s not what you’re going for (you leave file management up to Apple) but do you have any insight into whether the Photos app is trending in supporting professional file management such as multiple libraries and speed flagging?

Does Pixelmator Photo work as an extension from within the Photos app or do you browse photos from within Pixelmator Photo (or both)?

[Graham K Rogers]

Taking up the comment by iPedro: as soon as I saw the video I was reminded of Aperture and ordered right away. I have the 11” iPad Pro coming this week. Now a curveball, the tools are on the right, but with Aperture they could be located left OR right: any chance of that on Pixelmator Photo?

[Allen Krasna]

I do not use Apple Photos or Icloud - will I be able to use this bringing in the photos either

1. Directly into the app from Itunes
2. Via Google Photos or Dropbox


Thanks

[lllusion]

Whoa! I'd like to have a desktop version!

[Steve K]

Interesting in the list of compatible iPads, the iPad 5th generation is named, but not the 6th generation (non-pro) model. Or did I just miss it?
Of more concern is whether Pixelmator Photo is going to be able to edit IPTC data, i.e. adding a cutline/caption, and rename images? I’d also like to know about compatibility with Shortcuts.

[Ralph42x]

I'm looking forward to it I have just received the newest iPad mini from Apple and now I'm a little bit disappointed, that I cannot install Pixelmator Photo But I'm glad I have still the iPad Pro

[Andrius]

I'm looking forward to it I have just received the newest iPad mini from Apple and now I'm a little bit disappointed, that I cannot install Pixelmator Photo But I'm glad I have still the iPad Pro

Are you unable to pre-order it from the App Store? Or are you unable to install the TestFlight beta, if you were signed up for that?

Interesting in the list of compatible iPads, the iPad 5th generation is named, but not the 6th generation (non-pro) model. Or did I just miss it?
Of more concern is whether Pixelmator Photo is going to be able to edit IPTC data, i.e. adding a cutline/caption, and rename images? I’d also like to know about compatibility with Shortcuts.

Both the 5th and 6th generation iPads are listed on the App Store compatibility page and on our website, are you seeing this conflicting info somewhere else? As for IPTC editing and Shortcuts support, those two features won't be available in 1.0, but I've added them to our feature request list and we'll consider them!

Whoa! I'd like to have a desktop version!

That's actually not out of the question...

I do not use Apple Photos or Icloud - will I be able to use this bringing in the photos either

1. Directly into the app from Itunes
2. Via Google Photos or Dropbox

Thanks

As long as the photos are accessible via the Files app, either on the iPad or in a third-party storage location, you'll be able to edit them with Pixelmator Photo. I'm not 100% sure, but I think Google Photos isn't available as a location in iOS, but I could be wrong here. Are you able to browse your Google Photos library in the Files app?

Taking up the comment by iPedro: as soon as I saw the video I was reminded of Aperture and ordered right away. I have the 11” iPad Pro coming this week. Now a curveball, the tools are on the right, but with Aperture they could be located left OR right: any chance of that on Pixelmator Photo?

Yep, if you take a look at the video, the first shot is of the tools being move across the screen from the right to the left.

This is as close to an Aperture successor — or what Apple would have made had they ported Aperture to iPad using modern UI standards — as one can get.

What’s missing is file management. I know that that’s not what you’re going for (you leave file management up to Apple) but do you have any insight into whether the Photos app is trending in supporting professional file management such as multiple libraries and speed flagging?

Does Pixelmator Photo work as an extension from within the Photos app or do you browse photos from within Pixelmator Photo (or both)?

Yeah, file management is probably more difficult and complicated to do than creating the color adjustments that we have, even with our own color models and all the really cool engineering stuff we've done to make sure they work better than those in other apps. So we've got nothing but love for Photos and its library! No idea what Apple might have in store for it, though...

We're planning to create a Pixelmator Photo extension for Photos, but on iOS, there are some memory constraints that would prevent us from bringing all the tools into the extension. The Repair tool, in particular, needs a lot of memory. Even ML Enhance is difficult to do, to be honest. So we don't want a watered down experience or tools that are mostly available in Photos, but we do have some ideas for what we could do.

What does this do that the Apple Photos app doesn’t?

Lots! Much more advanced color adjustments, crazy magical Repair tool, adjustment presets, export to different formats, perspective correction, machine learning-powered automatic image enhancement, and just an overall mind-blowingly awesome user experience!

What color spaces are supported?

Whatever color space a photo is in, we respect that as much as possible, so all common color spaces are supported if they are supported by iOS.

I have a 3rd Gen iPad Pro 12.9” but will also be ordering the new iPad Mini 5.
Question being ~ Does Pixelmator Photo support the Mini 5 and if not then why, it is bang up to date?

It does, for some reason, it's not appearing in the compatibility list on the App Store, but we don't see any reason why it shouldn't. As far as we know, our beta testers in TestFlight were able to install and use it, but we're trying to get to the bottom of this at the moment.

Didn’t expect such a small price, gonna preorder it now after having enjoyed the beta

It would be cool to have a Photos extension though, for instance for ML Enhance alone.

We're considering this!

[Ben Christensen]

Will it support editing photos from the iOS Photos library and saving directly back to the library, without importing/exporting?

I sure hope so otherwise the workflow is too tedious. RAW Power has this workflow with all RAW edits saved to the Photos library and synced across all devices with iCloud. It’s an amazing workflow. I’m really hoping PixelMator Photos supports that. Otherwise this will be like Lightroom CC, too tedious to use in most cases as it requires double importing, having a separate library, and exporting only JPEG/TIFF/etc and only persisting the RAW files in a siloed storage environment.

[Drew Lavyne]

How does it work with JPEG files directly from Camera? Is the majority of the functionality lost on those files? Does it require RAW to really shine? Thanks!

[imagladry]

It Pixelmator Photo be available as a Photos Extension?

[Ben Christensen]

It my earlier post, to be very clear, I'm asking if it allows browsing, opening, editing, and saving RAW photos in the Photo library, but directly from PixelMator Photos – not as an extension. Not going via Files app. Not importing images that copy from Photo library.

I would expect a Save Dialog like this when saving back to the Photo's library:

[Stev Nicholas]

I am a happy beta tester and I’m looking forward to the final release. Nevertheless (and I’m sure the team is already working on it) I am missing essential tools such as a clarity slider , noise reduction tool and selection mask tool to only affect certain parts in the image for let’s say color adjustments. I already pre ordered the app and will continue supporting the hard working team behind pixelmator because they have great ideas and are good in the execution part as well but in order for me to not continue switching between apps I’d appreciate you also consider implementing the above mentioned features. Keep up the good work and thanks for designing the app

[TomRhodes2010]

I really appreciate PM’s wide array of tools and the ability to use non-destructive layers, but one thing which has been missing from the desktop version is the ability to align layers for Focus Stacking and HDR work. Any chance we’ll see a layer alignment feature anytime soon?

[befehr]

Perspective correction is available, absolutely!

Is that available on the beta?
Never mind. Found it! AWESOME!

[Andrius]

Will it support editing photos from the iOS Photos library and saving directly back to the library, without importing/exporting?

I sure hope so otherwise the workflow is too tedious. RAW Power has this workflow with all RAW edits saved to the Photos library and synced across all devices with iCloud. It’s an amazing workflow. I’m really hoping PixelMator Photos supports that. Otherwise this will be like Lightroom CC, too tedious to use in most cases as it requires double importing, having a separate library, and exporting only JPEG/TIFF/etc and only persisting the RAW files in a siloed storage environment.

The library isn't necessarily separate — any 'imported' photos are saved as Pixelmator Photo files which retain all the edits to the photo because everything is nondestructive that way. But you can save the changes to the photo back to the Photos library over the original image (the changes are revertable in Photos, just like edits made with other apps). And you can delete the Pixelmator Photo file if you now you won't be going back to fine-tune any of the edits.

How does it work with JPEG files directly from Camera? Is the majority of the functionality lost on those files? Does it require RAW to really shine? Thanks!

We have a very cool color model that works better with JPEGs than other apps do — at least that's what we've aimed to do. The reason for that is it tries to intelligently recreate or simulate the extended range data in low dynamic range images. So it edits JPEGs in a way similar to RAW. Obviously, RAW photos give you a little more color accuracy and an extended range, but with JPEGs, you'll still get great results. Better than those in other apps, we feel.

It Pixelmator Photo be available as a Photos Extension?

Not initially, but we plan to bring as much of the app into a Photos extension as we can. There are certain memory limitations though, so the Repair tool, for example, has no chance of making it into an extension at this time. ML Enhance is also tricky as it has quite a large Core ML model. But the other tools should be possible.

It my earlier post, to be very clear, I'm asking if it allows browsing, opening, editing, and saving RAW photos in the Photo library, but directly from PixelMator Photos – not as an extension. Not going via Files app. Not importing images that copy from Photo library.

I would expect a Save Dialog like this when saving back to the Photo's library:

Well, we use the Files interface, but the Photos are edited/imported directly from Photos. Yes, you would see that Save dialog for any images imported from Photos when you tap Share > Modify Original in Photos. We also create a separate Pixelmator Photo file to save all the changes made nondestructively but you're free to delete that if you only want to keep the edited resulting image in Photos.

I am a happy beta tester and I’m looking forward to the final release. Nevertheless (and I’m sure the team is already working on it) I am missing essential tools such as a clarity slider , noise reduction tool and selection mask tool to only affect certain parts in the image for let’s say color adjustments. I already pre ordered the app and will continue supporting the hard working team behind pixelmator because they have great ideas and are good in the execution part as well but in order for me to not continue switching between apps I’d appreciate you also consider implementing the above mentioned features. Keep up the good work and thanks for designing the app

All very good points — Clarity and Denoise have been in development for quite a while now, actually, and they're getting fairly close to being ready to test. A release will still take some time, though.

I really appreciate PM’s wide array of tools and the ability to use non-destructive layers, but one thing which has been missing from the desktop version is the ability to align layers for Focus Stacking and HDR work. Any chance we’ll see a layer alignment feature anytime soon?

Honestly, not much chance of that happening soon. There's a whole bunch of things already in the works — the above-mentioned Denoise and Clarity stuff, pretty serious quality improvements to the individual adjustments, performance improvements, some other stuff that I can't reveal just now, possibly even an iPhone version, LUT support, export improvements, the list goes on So focus stacking and HDR merging is just not something we could physically do in the near future when there are other things that we feel are a little more important in the short-term.

Is that available on the beta?
Never mind. Found it! AWESOME!

Alriiiiight!

[Ben Christensen]

> We also create a separate Pixelmator Photo file to save all the changes made nondestructively but you're free to delete that if you only want to keep the edited resulting image in Photos.

That’s unfortunate. It is like many other photo editing apps then and rather tedious when working with dozens or hundreds of files imported from a camera. The way RAW Power works is already non-destructive. All edits to RAW files show up and can be modified any time all without need to import or export files.

[pjglad]

Is a Clarity adjustment on the Roadmap? Thanks.

[Andrius]

That’s unfortunate. It is like many other photo editing apps then and rather tedious when working with dozens or hundreds of files imported from a camera. The way RAW Power works is already non-destructive. All edits to RAW files show up and can be modified any time all without need to import or export files.

Noted! That's definitely something for us to explore and we know we could improve the file management side of things, so it's also something we plan to do.

Is a Clarity adjustment on the Roadmap? Thanks.

Very much so. It's actually been in development together with a machine learning-powered Denoise feature for a while now, so unless something goes catastrophically wrong, you can expect both those features in upcoming updates to both Pixelmator Pro and Pixelmator Photo.

[JF Martin]

My review here of this app: https://numericcitizen.me/2019/04/09/pi ... low-price/

Enjoy.

[RicD]

iPad Air 2, and iPhone XR: when I edit a photo then save it, then later open the photo I want to revert to original. In Pixelmator I cannot find any way to do that on the iPhone nor iPad. Using Apple Photos we have the ability to revert to original thus the expectation is the same with Pixelmator.

[Andrius]

iPad Air 2, and iPhone XR: when I edit a photo then save it, then later open the photo I want to revert to original. In Pixelmator I cannot find any way to do that on the iPhone nor iPad. Using Apple Photos we have the ability to revert to original thus the expectation is the same with Pixelmator.

I assume we're talking about the original Pixelmator here — if so, it is a layer-based image editor and while some features are nondestructive, others are, so certain changes are more or less permanent once you close the image. However, there are a few different ways to create a nondestructive workflow yourself. For one, if you import an image from the Photos app and choose Save to Photos, you'll be able to revert to the original in Photos. For another way, you can open the image, then duplicate the base in the Layers bar and work on the duplicated copy. That way, you'll always have the original image together in the same Pixelmator file.

[RicD]

Hello Andries,
Thank you for your prompt reply. Yes, though I have used both techniques you mentioned, sometimes I forget to so (ole-timers) then slap my forehead. For future releases maybe it is something for consideration perhaps.

Cordially,
RicD

[Andrius]

Yes, agreed, a file-level Revert to Original button is definitely worth considering!