Apple's iPhones continue to be some of the best camera phones available, with its latest iPhone 16 the first with a dedicated camera button. Now it looks like Apple is moving beyond just the hardware side of photography by acquiring Pixelmator, an image-editing app developer for macOS and IOS.
This isn't the first time Apple has tried competing against Adobe with image editing software. Between 2005 and 2015 Apple's Aperture software provided nondestructive image editing, RAW conversion, and organization however, it never really took the industry by storm. With photographers questioning Adobe's recent policies and Apple's new push toward content creation, it might be perfect timing for Apple to try again!
So, what is Pixelmator? Founded in 2007 by two brothers, Pixelmator creates apps to edit images across Apple's operating systems and devices including Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro. It produces two main editing programs, Photomater which is equivalent to Adobe's Lightroom, and Pixelmator Pro which works in layers to edit images, graphics, and illustrations – a significant Adobe Photoshop competitor.
The company has won three Mac App of the Year awards, an iPad App of the Year award, and two Apple Design Awards.
Speaking on Apple's acquisition Pixelmator states, "Today we have some important news to share: the Pixelmator Team plans to join Apple. We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one, crafting our products with the same razor-sharp focus on design, ease of use, and performance. And looking back, it’s crazy what a small group of dedicated people have been able to achieve over the years from all the way in Vilnius, Lithuania. Now, we’ll have the ability to reach an even wider audience and make an even bigger impact on the lives of creative people around the world".
There has been no comment on what the future might bring from this acquisition, other than 'exciting updates are to come'. I think it is a fair bet to expect the Pixelmator tech utilized by Apple to either bring back iPhoto or Aperture with advanced editing technology or introduce Pixelmator as standard editing software for future Apple products.
Pixelmator Pro has an extensive collection of tools for editing and retouching photos, creating graphic designs, painting, and drawing vector graphics, and has recently leaned into AI and computer learning features to boost performance.
Having more editing options as standard on the iPhone would certainly go one step further as a viable compact camera – especially if you can then edit professionally on the same device!
