Pixelmator has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval. There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time. Stay tuned for exciting updates to come.
Talk about fuel for the speculation machines! Is Apple acquiring Pixelmator for its engineering talent? Perhaps the company aims to improve the editing capabilities of its Photos app by integrating features from Photomator? Could this be a step toward reviving Aperture, Appleās once-popular professional photo management app? Can we cast a vote for adding more image editing features to Preview?
The Pixelmator Team says it canāt wait to share whatās next, but companies acquired by Apple historically donāt say much after theyāve been assimilated into the mothership.
Of course, thereās the usual ānothingās going to change for nowā verbiage. I do think adding a Pixelmator-like product to the macOS/iOS productivity suites would be a good thing, but Iād hate to see it get buried as seems to have happened with Dark Sky.
I can certainly see how Photomator could become an improved editing engine within Apples Photos app. Itās offers advanced editing within a very simple framework. My students love it.
Pixelmator Pro is a wonderful Photoshop alternative, handsome and easy to explore, offers layering and compositing beyond Photomator. Iāve recommended both apps to folks who have modest editing requirements and a lack of desire for an Adobe subscription, each have their virtues, both are excellent. I did wonder about the iPad version of Pixelmator which stagnated a good while back.
Iād hate to see Pixelmator Pro disappear but Iād be surprised if Apple brought out their own image editor. Iād say this is a talent acquisition primarily.
I own both Pixelmator Pro and Photomator. Theyāre both nice, and capable, but fall short of professional apps like Lightroom and Capture One. Iād love to see Aperture reincarnated but Iām not sure this is where Apple is heading.
Personally Iād be more excited had they purchased Cyme (Peakto). Theyāre doing very impressive things with what appears to be a very small team and a small following.
Iām not a fan of Apple Photos and much of my opinion is based on the poor DAM. Photomator relying on the Photos library - and a very weak, slow option to read files from the OS - is its Achillies heel.
Lightroom is streets ahead in image management and whilst it took me a while to warm to (I was a long time Aperture, then Capture One user), itās image management is exceptional. Itās GUI is ugly as sin but I tolerate it.
I wonder also if given the generative imagery that Apple are bringing to the ballgame whether theyāve identified a need for a particular tool. Itās possible they see this team as the team to deliver it.
I suspect that we wonāt see any answers for quite some time.
I too miss Aperture (I still have it installed on the laptop). I bought Pixelmator years ago but never liked it much. I do keep it and Graphic Converter around, but typically use Lightroom for tweaking anything beyond a simple āAuto Levelsā in Preview.
For basic correction Iād say Affinity Photo is much closer to Photoshop (in operation) than Pixelmator Pro. Pixelmator has quite a different interface.
It (Pixelmator) also has many more features - particularly focused on graphics and design. Itās like a grab box of bits and pieces from Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign (although far less capable).
The Affinity suite - especially when used together - is remarkable value for what it offers and has an outstanding workflow. It lacks a few features but itās a steal for what they charge,
Affinity is much closer to Photoshop in terms of interface and workflow. More features related to Photoshop as well. Neither hit Photoshopās full features, depth or sophistication.
That saidā¦ how much do you need? Either might match you much closer than Photoshop. I welcome and in many ways prefer the innovative approaches of Pixelmator, rather than the closer match with Affinity. But all in all I would be a tad wary of picking up Pixelmator Pro at this point given the uncertain future.
The same concern might be applied to Affinity, acquired by Canva last year, while assurances of continued development has been given. The only update I have from them since the deal is a massive discount on an upgrade to v2 (which I already own).
Oh, man. Iām not sure how I feel about this. I use Photomator every day. It definitely has one of the best images enlargers Iāve used. I hope it just doesnāt disappear. I guess Apple may want to make their photos app way more robust.
I was a long time user as wellā¦but moved to LR when Aperture was abandoned. Iām firmly in that camp nowā¦and given their previous abandonment would be unlikely to go back even if it was feature matched with LRā¦which would be a bunch of versions down the road. LR or Capture One are what serious photographers useā¦and the likelihood of getting serious adoption of a macOS only solution is pretty smallā¦especially as Apple has abandoned things that were being used before.
Iām happy for the Pixelmator team, theyāll get to see money for all their work over all these years. Thank you! But, as evidenced by all of Appleās acquisitions, we can expect a dumbed down version that is a pale comparison to the original. Yes, DarkSky still hurts! It was a wonderful and precise app to use. Apple says theyāve integrated it into the Weather appā¦ nope. Not even close, and pretty much way off all the time!
These smaller and amazing apps are the Pirates that Apple used to brag about. Now, they get pillaged by Apple, and they just get stashed up onto the pile, like a big lazy dragon sleeping on its mountain of gold.
I hope the Pixelmator team can enjoy some good times at the beach! They earned it.
Letās hope that Apple does good with this purchase and keeps up the good work, through these employees who have done all this excellent work up to now.
Not to beat a dead horse, but DarkSkyās strength was its UI, not its accuracy. This article still is a good read:
The main point:
āIt was processing the images,ā said Andrew Blum, author of The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast, ārather than forecasting the weather using physics.ā
Pixelmator Pro topping the cascade of icons for those āNew to Macā in the App Store today. Both it and Photomator featured in the Photography sectionā¦ Perhaps the Photos and Photos Pro option is a possibility.
