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Adobe Lightroom Coming to iPad Soon

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Last May, Adobe showed off an early build of Lightroom for the iPad. This, Lightroom for the iPad showed up on Adobe’s website briefly as 9 To 5 Mac discovered. The price was $99 for a 1-year subscription.

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Adobe featured the tagline “Take Lightroom anywhere” in conjunction with the product. Of course, the big feature photographers have been asking for is the ability to edit RAW files on an iPad. It looks like Adobe is ready to deliver on that wish.

Additional features may include the ability to sync Lightroom photos in the cloud, further expanding on Creative Cloud’s connected features. Think about that. You can make edits on your iPad while on a plane, then those edits are available on your desktop when you open Lightroom. If Adobe leverages Smart Previews with the already lightweight XMP files, then Lightroom for the iPad stands to be an amazing tool.

Of course, the big downer is the subscription model that will leave many folks in the dark as either unwilling or unable to take the plunge. Presumably, Lightroom for the iPad would be available as part of the complete Creative Cloud subscription for existing customers or as a standalone companion to Lightroom perpetual license users.

Given the presence of the product on Adobe’s website, expect official word to come soon.

 

Comments

  1. It makes a lot of sense. The catalog file is a VERY small text file modifying the RAW. So it would be easy to sync to your desktop. This would be the first true mobile app that could actually save me time in my workflow. With full frames coming with wifi built in this is just a wonder of possibilities.

  2. As long as I could use it in conjunction with my standalone-purchased Lr 5 I would be a happy camper.

  3. So do import on the iPad and edit in LR Mobile? Or do import to LR then access the image through CC? If you can import locally and raw edit on the iPad like how it’s done through several apps already then that would be great. The cost is high. I wonder if they are thinking of a stand-alone version of LR Mobile so all you need is your iPad and LRM!

  4. Since I am paying $120 a year for PS and LR combined, I don’t see myself shelling out another $100 a year for LR Mobile. I could see a bundle in the $12 a month range (up from $10 now), but I think the price given would be a hard sell for a lot of folks.