Adobe releases Lightroom Mobile for iPad today
Lots of Adobe pro users and serious photographers will be thrilled with this news: as of today, you can download Lightroom Mobile for iPad from the iOS App Store. It syncs with Lightroom on your desktop or laptop, and while not meant to be a replacement for the Mac app, it does allow photographers to view, edit, and then update their images on their remote computers.
The app requires an internet connection, and it comes free with any Creative Cloud Subscription. That's the only way to get it. After downloading the app, you enter your Adobe credentials, and you are on your way. If you have non-Creative Cloud versions of Photoshop or Lightroom, the iPad app is not going to work.
Adobe Lightroom mobile consists of three components: Lightroom for iPad, Lightroom 5 on your desktop, and the Lightroom mobile service. The Lightroom mobile service handles sync between Lightroom on your iPad and Lightroom 5 on your desktop. Features include:
• Seamless sync with Lightroom 5. Edit and organize your images anywhere, anytime using your iPad or iPhone. Adobe Lightroom Mobile automatically syncs your work with Lightroom 5 on your desktop.
• From snapshots to raw. Edit everything from smartphone photos to raw images from DSLRs using Smart Previews. Adobe Lightroom Mobile can handle virtually any image format.
• Camera roll compatible. Import images from your iPhone or iPad camera roll straight into your Lightroom catalog. Enhance them using familiar and powerful Lightroom tools. Share them online quickly and easily.
• Share edited images to your social networks. Share directly from Lightroom on your mobile device.
• Showcase your images. Present photos with built-in slideshow.
• View your images online at Lightroom.Adobe.com
The Mac version of Lightroom has been updated to version 5.4 to allow the syncing.
This is a bold step by Adobe, and it is a recognition of how important mobile computing has become. The company says an Android version would follow, but no timeframe was mentioned. There was no word about an iPhone version, which due to screen size would not be very practical. Adobe is also not commenting on any future Windows tablet versions.
I'll have a complete review of Lightoom Mobile for iPad when I've had a chance to put it through its paces. Adobe is offering a free 30-day trial of the Mac and PC versions of Lightroom at http://www.adobe.com/go/trylightroom.
Lightroom Mobile requires iOS 7 or later. It works with all versions of the iPad and iPad mini with the exception of the original iPad.
