[Note: Photoshop CS6 will remain available (non-subscription); you don’t have to upgrade/subscribe to keep getting camera updates to CS6; and owners of CS3 and above can subscribe & get Photoshop CC for just $9.99/month. More complete FAQs are available, too.]
PM Zorana Gee writes,
We’re thrilled to announce that the next version of Photoshop, the world’s most popular digital imaging software, will be available to Creative Cloud members this June! This release, called Photoshop CC, will deliver dozens of new features, including capabilities in sharpening, upsampling and reducing blur, improvements to designer tools, added capabilities in Adobe Camera Raw, and much more.
My favorite feature is support for “smart” rounded rectangles:
Check out the rest of Zorana’s post for more info, and stay tuned for even more (cloud-synced settings, integration with Behance & Typekit, automated file export, and more).
I will likely leave Adobe products because of this. The cloud is not a good value, and it’s like Adobe is saying a big f&*k you to all its traditional clients. Any idiot dumb enough to do this will end up paying more per year than if they just upgraded from time to time when new versions came out.
[I guess that depends on just how far behind you typically let your versions fall. Suite upgrades were usually on the order of $550, if I remember correctly. Owners of CS3 and higher (individual app or Suite) can get Creative Cloud Complete for $20/mo. –J.]
The “included storage space” is a joke (I get 25 gigs free just for owning my phone).
Basically, if the creative cloud was not a giant moneymaker for Adobe compared to selling freestanding software they wouldn’t be doing it. As a business, I don’t blame them for offering it, but I will only sign up for this wallet-drain kicking and screaming.
“no intention to update the suite with new features.”
adobe a$$holes…
The cloud is definitely not the way to go for me. I’ll stick with my copy of CS6 till you guys come back to your senses.
In the meantime, I sincerely hope this cloud thing doesn’t work all that well for you.
[I’m sorry to hear that. More than half a million people were already subscribing to Creative Cloud, and momentum has been increasing. If we haven’t yet won you over with services, what might change your mind? Adobe succeeds only by solving customer problems, so we want to hear more about how to do that. –J.]
I am a current cloud subscriber, and a casual user, and I start looking for alternatives, once my subscription hit’s the standard rate.. $50 a month is just too much for the casual user. I/Adobe have till august, at which some alternatives will start getting my money..
I wonder how many more customers are in the same boat as me?
The ability to try out and use the other programs to learn a new thing or two is what got me to try cloud but it’s not worth the standard price($600/yr). I wonder if Adobe has any idea how much business they will lose (sure, they might gain some income over, but they are leaving alot of potential customers out) If Adobe is concerned about support costs, have a separate charge for support.
One group that is likely not upset about this current pricing strategy, Adobe’s Competitors..
@J,
If this is not the appropriate medium to voice my opinion so that the right folks at Adobe can hear me, please let me know who to talk to.
Here is my situation. I’ve been a Creative Suite customer since Feb 2007. I had upgraded my old Academic license of Macromedia Studio MX to CS3 Web Premium at that time. I also bought Lightroom 1 in 2007. For every major CS release, I upgraded like a loyal customer. I also upgraded every release of Lightroom up to LR4.
When I moved to CS4 I switched to Design Premium and have had Design Premium ever since. My main apps are Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and sometimes InDesign. I occasionally dabble with Dreamweaver to do some web stuff but I’ve had trouble finding the time to master all these apps in recent years.
I tallied up how much I have spent since Feb 2007: $2228.54. I take that divided by 75 months and I average about $29.71 per month spent on Adobe.
I’m left with two extremes. I can choose to subscribe to Photoshop CC for $20/mo. and I just deal with the loss of Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver. Or I pay $50/mo to get access to everything. To be honest, having everything has it’s appeal, but it is not worth $20/mo more to me. I’m already overwhelmed keeping up with the apps in Design Premium. You guys move so fast and these apps take some time to learn.
I’ve seen it asked, “What would it take to get me to move to CC?” $30/mo is what it would take to get me to consider moving to CC. The 1 year special rate should be the normal rate IMO. Likewise, I believe the normal rate for the apps should be $10/mo, not $20/mo.
I’ve thought about what bugs me about the CC and it really isn’t the subscription thing. If Adobe had made all varieties of Creative Suite owners upgrade to CS6 Master Collection I’d be just as upset. It’s simply a matter of being forced to pay more (a lot more).
I’ve seen it mentioned before that the great thing about the cost of CC is that it lowers the cost of entry for new customers. I agree, and that’s great for these new customers and Adobe, but that doesn’t do squat for your existing customers who have spent thousands of dollars on your products.
I guess I’m feeling like Adobe doesn’t understand it’s customer base. It really bugs me that the response I’ve been reading from Adobe (and Scott Kelby, and Terry White, etc.) feels very condescending. They are all, “Hey guys, you don’t get it, this /is/ a good deal, quit whining, everybody else is doing it and loving it, etc.” Maybe I’m not good at math but paying $20 more per month than what I have been paying as a loyal upgrading customer does not feel seem like a good deal to me. I really hate the two extremes in the plans here.
I always kept up with the upgrades as you have but I’m used to paying up front for software and I could always rely on the application being there down the road no matter what (computer and OS upgrade compatibility aside). I could still go boot Photoshop 1.0d or Illustrator 88 on a Mac Classic in my garage if I wanted to.
It’s the classic rent vs. own scenario. But in this case, Adobe has now taken away the option to own. For example, some people like to lease cars, some people prefer to own them knowing they will have to take care of maintenance and other expenses on their own. Just like with a car, you can choose if and when to “upgrade” and you could make those decisions based on your financial situation and/or if the “upgrade” is worth it. Could you imagine if Ford bought up all the other car companies, helped eliminate any public transportation and then no longer sold cars, but now required everyone to lease/rent? Adobe is in similar situation. They over time have come to dominate several markets and now they are holding us all hostage.
As far as putting the company’s good ahead… They are selling “their need for constant feature upgrades/updates” as the reason to have to go to a subscription base. They claim that having to maintain two code builds (one for Creative Cloud subscribers and one for perpetual licensees) was taxing on them. They claimed that they couldn’t add features to non-subscription customers because of accounting rules. Apparently that required them to keep features from perpetual users and thus two code builds. Seems to me that Apple has added features to FCP X after its initial release with out having to charge for them?
In all, I and many others online have been voicing our dislike about loosing the option to “own” vs. having to pay Adobe $50/mo for the next 20 years. And who’s to say that they just won’t keep raising that price once everyone is hooked in?
I totally get where you are coming from RHernandez and I too like to own a copy of the software so I can install it whenever and dislike that when I stop subscribing to CC I lose the apps.
I was trying to limit the scope of my discussion to just the fact that the pricing is off, at least for customers like me.
BTW, speaking of Kelby, I really dislike his dishonesty in this Q&A:
Q. But what if Adobe raises the price on me?
A. I doubt I’ll be in my 60s and the price for the Creative Cloud will still be the same. At some point, it’ll probably go up, but any company can raise the price of any of their products at any time, just like the US Post Office does with the price of a stamp (and most companies do pretty regularly, which is why everything costs us more today from milk to gas to coffee). Also, just like any product, you don’t have to buy it if they do raise the price.
What he fails to point out is:
1.) We are no longer “buying” Adobe is “leasing.
2.) If you don’t like the price hike and you stop your subscription, you get nothing. You cannot do anything with your native/proprietary PSD, INDD and AI files.
[I don’t want to trivialize this concern, but I do want to point out that PSD and AI files can be opened in other apps. INDD is a more complicated beast. In any case, I’d really like to see Adobe devise a way for people who stop subscribing to retain access to their files. We work hard on things like the DNG standard specifically so that your intellectual property remains yours & accessible to you. –J.]
Sure.
As soon as you return to selling perpetual licenses, you’ll have won me over as a paying customer again.
In the meantime, it’s nice of you updating CS6 to ensure compatibility with OSX 10.9, I’ll give you that.
Absolutely agree with Thomas. I have been a loyal Adobe customer for years, faithfully paying for every upgrade. And this is what you get????
The price in Denmark is still double the US price and there is still no exit strategy. How about allowing you to “buy out” the current version when ending your subscription?
Creative Cloud makes no sense outside the US because of Adobe’s greediness.
John, beyond the common complaints you will soon get here on your blog, I think there is a feeling of being lied to. While companies are allowed to change their business models, Adobe assured us they would continue to offer their Creative Suite in the traditional method and less than a year later they are killing it altogether.
[Note that CS6 will remain available for purchase. –J.]
I remember how much I hated Quark and Microsoft, their policies and customer service, unfortunately, I think Adobe now ranks right down there.
Note that I bought CS6 on disk last year, now what? –RHernandez
[Check out pricing options here. If you own CS3 or later, you can get Photoshop and other individual apps for $9.99/month each. –J.]
No doubt this is a big middle finger shown to loyal
customers who supported Adobe for years. Those who
used the stolen software are now rewarded – they can
“upgrade” to the same version as everyone else…
BTW, is anyone feeling $600/year is really excessive?
How about those of us who use 2,3 packages, makes
no sense to pay for EVERYTHING they ever make!
[You don’t have to pay for everything. Check out pricing options here. If you own CS3 or later, you can get Photoshop and other individual apps for $9.99/month, and that includes a variety of things beyond Photoshop itself (e.g. your own portfolio site powered by Behance ProSite). –J.]
Another one. If they don’t update the desktop version we’re all going to go elsewhere.
[Just to clarify the terminology: Photoshop is always “the desktop version.” You mean that if you don’t have the option to upgrade in the traditional (perpetual license) way and get the new features, you’ll go elsewhere. –J.]
“Monthly Adobe tax”
You can take your CC and shove it up your @$$, Adobe.
Well, we heard about this two weeks ago, when some guys from Adobe tried to win us back. Too bad that Adobe forgot how to treat pro customers.
I REALLY look forward to any Photoshop alternative, the rest of the suites we already replaced or will replace in the near future. I expect service and upgrades for my advance payments.
I really do not like this – and have said so here in the past, but it looks like SaaS with Adobe is here and that’s it.
Fine, we will all be subscribers someday but I find the pricing is too high.
For me – the first year intro pricing seems about right. Especially since alot of the bundled cloud stuffs might have little value for alot of users. So I’d be all in if the intro pricing was the final price.
Also – what about price increases down the line? So after one year at $30/month it jumps up to $50/month – what happens when it goes past $50? I haven’t seen this addressed anywhere.
[I don’t have a crystal ball & thus can’t say what’ll happen in the future, but I do know that Adobe regularly surveys customers to determine the right mix of cost/value. Presumably if prices were to rise too high, Adobe would lose customers & thus hurt its business. –J.]
John, How would Adobe loose customers? They will be locked into the CC products with no way to view or edit them if they stop paying? And Adobe doesn’t seem to be listening to their customers. They had a relatively small amount of their traditional, long-time customers go to CC over the last year while there was plenty of complaints about the new model. Today’s roll out is a big middle finger to all those customers with the insistence that moving forward is Adobe’s way or the highway.
yes – that’s my point – so one day when the pricing inevitably goes over $50/month (which I think is too high anyway) – that’s going to be too expsensive for some users – what are they to do then? as we know once you stop paying, you lose access.
I doubt most user’s are commercial users of the software.. Commercial users are most likely tied in at almost any price, it is the ma/pa shops, and the casual prosumers that will start to look elsewhere. The introductory rate likely pulled alot of the prosumers into the cloud, but I bet many will find alternatives once the price rises.
Is the individual app price $9.99 or $19.99? When I click on the pricing links I don’t see a $9.99 option… Also – it looks like it might take some people time to come to grips with the new world order.
[It’s $9.99. Did you visit https://creative.adobe.com/plans? Please let me know where it’s unclear & I’ll try to get the site fixed. Thanks! –J.]
Got it figured – use the drop down and choose Requires CS3+ purchase. $9.99 per month for a year – seems reasonable to me.
Not using the language some have done here, – I just want to say I am VERY, VERY dissapointed.
Having used PS since V2 I cannot belive what is now happening.
I dont want to use the CC, – I want to buy a license and get the same features.
…
I feel exactly the same way, been a Photoshop user for 20 years. I will not pay monthly for software. it’s a great option if you are a creative house, not for single proprietor shop. This is a very disappointing development, smacks of hubris. There are more and more alternatives for photographers everyday. I will go there.
John,
YIKES, can adobe get this sooner that June 17th?? I get OCD when you guys tease me with bacon fat, I want the bacon
Kind thoughts
Ken in KY
I am a Creative Cloud member and the way I understand this is that all the new apps will be functional only when connected to the net.
[Not true at all. Only cloud-related features like syncing settings require a connection, and that’s only when they’re operating. –J.]
I don’t mind the subscription model especially since it implies (but doesn’t guarantee) innovation on the part of Adobe. However, if these apps resemble browser apps, I think that’s totally stupid.
[They do not. –J.]
Will the new apps be similar in installation to the CS6 releases?
[It will if anything be better. –J.]
I really can’t wait to see all those crazy users, relying on the cloud for their work, when they’ll see all the problems they’ve put themselves into.
I’m sorry to tell you, Adobe, that the world has not change that much that I need “some cloud” to make my living. My world doesn’t need you, or any ISP, to decide what I want to do with *my* data, where I want to stock *my* data, or when I want to access *my* data.
Only the stupid’s world indeed changed enough for him to believe he should go through cloud based services.
The cloud is as chimeric as the world you’re trying to sell us…
I guess it’s time for another powerful tool to come. You already killed Freehand for this Illustrator piece of crap, now is the turn of Photoshop… well… no problem… someone else will invent something better… reality always finds its way.
I really like the CC software model. I was skeptical about the value at first but I still think the monthly fee is reasonable and having access to ALL the Adobe products as they are upgraded has been great. I’ve done so much more now that I have access to additional tools that I would not have purchased outright had CC not been available.
So basically the CC app model is similar to the CS6 model and the only thing that’s changing is that we won’t be able to buy the apps outright.
This is, by far, the biggest insult Adobe have aimed at its customers to date. Thankfully, I no longer have to accept it.
I’m a paid up and legal Design Premium CS6 user (I actually upgraded last night, believe it or not). I was a paid up and legal CS5.5 user. I was a paid up CS4 user. I was a paid up user all the way back to Photoshop 5. Before that I was reliant on lab computers for my Photoshop fix, but I always sought them out. None of that Corel garbage for me, I needed my effing Adobe fix. I was a rabid Photoshop user. I’m still a hardcore Creative Suite user.
But I am no longer an Adobe customer.
I’ve been paying Adobe for its products for almost twenty years, and that stops today. For almost twenty years, I have steered friends, family members, customers, and casual acquaintances towards Adobe products. No more.
I’m frustrated, I’m angry, and I’m upset. Seriously, I never would’ve thought that I’d be this worked over an amazing software suite made by a terribly abusive company, but I am. That’s a testament to the power of your products. People are invested in them–not financially, but emotionally. These are tools we use to make magic, not money.
It’s also a testament to your company’s abysmal customer service and marketing-driven philosophy that at every opportunity your blog’s comments descend into a cacophony of customer spleen-venting.
I remember thinking things couldn’t get any worse after one of your VPs had to publicly apologize for Adobe’s abysmal treatment of its customers…but it has.
And that hurts.
There are lots good people at Adobe. There are kind people, and helpful people, and smart people (very, very, very, very smart people), and individually they all seem to want to help Adobe’s customers…but why is it that in aggregate, Adobe seems determined to screw us all?
Is there an address I could mail this to, John? I want to print this out, stick it in an envelope, and mail it to ever effing President, Viced President, Assistant Sub-Vice President, or C*O listed on Adobe’s website.
AMEN! Well stated!
Thanks for posting this James!
If there’s just enough people who are not just angry and disappointed but also consequent…
If all users who want to purchase a traditional license simpley stick to CS6… If they don’t get trapped with some delicately placed and “unbeatable” introductory offers, the whole problem will solve itself within weeks. And it could cost a CEO’s head.
Well said.
And good to see that I’m not alone or over reacting. A very bad signal that Adobe has sent out.
James, I think you said it perfectly. I use Adobe products daily while I am training for a new career in Web Dev. However, I don’t have a job now and could not afford to tack on another monthly bill. Especially not at $50/mo. Nor would I do this in the future.
I don’t NEED instant access to every new feature, nor do I suspect does anyone else. Those that are already on the cloud are lemmings who had to make a quick decision on upgrading to CS6 or going with the cloud. They made the wrong choice. And they are not hostages to this system forever. FOREVER!!!
There are things I would rent (a car, a DVD) because I EXPECT to RETURN them. Renting software is a completely ridiculous business model. I will sit tight with CS6 until Adobe comes to its senses.
So us loyal purchasers of boxes get screwed again.
“Adobe succeeds only by solving customer problems, so we want to hear more about how to do that. –J.”
Well damn well listen to your customers.
WE DO NOT WANT THE CLOUD.
Can we make it any more clear?
So, I just saw the announcement – you’re dropping normal software after less than a year! At least you’re honest now, but you still haven’t addressed major concerns with your pricing in general and Creative Cloud in particular. WHY THE H*** IS IT TWICE THE PRICE IN EUROPE? And WHY is there no clear exit strategy? Adding the yearly payments up, you have bought an upgrade package every year – but you don’t get to keep the software that you have ALREADY paid for. That is deceptive – and a distinct disadvantage to buying the software. If I decide that I can’t afford upgrading to the next version, I can keep my current version with normal software – but if I can’t afford Creative Cloud, I lose everything. That is NOT going to work!
I’m shocked by this announcement, frankly. I bought CS6 last year, certain that I could avoid that cloud nonsense by sticking to the traditional schedule – and less than a year later, you tell me that everything has changed. Of course it hasn’t – you have only discovered how much you can make through blatant extortion of your customers! Adobe has always been notoriously greedy, but this has certainly set a new record.
The next step in the plan is obvious: Once you have everyone locked in to this “wonderful” thing – with new, incompatible file formats to make sure we don’t cheat – you will begin raising prices, ever so slightly, bit by bit.
I smell a class action lawsuit in the works…
John, you talk about the price for existing CS3+ customers being $9.99 per month for a single app, but let’s be clear. That’s a promotional price for one year only. After that, the $9.99 price becomes $19.99 per month for a single app, unless Adobe chooses to raise that monthly price at any time (or lower it, to be sure).
Can we get a Glyph panel already?
For those of you unwilling to use Creative Cloud, but who want smarter rounded rectangles, there is an option for PS CS5/CS6. I’ve made a free script that can round the corners on any polygonal shape. It won’t work as smoothly as the built-in tool in PS CC, but it also has some advantages. You can click the link in my name for more info.
Thanks for the info – And unlike PS CC, you won’t try and extort money from us every month to use your script!
As an existing Creative Cloud subscriber, following traditional Photoshop ownership for the previous 10 years, I think this is great news. I find it hard to understand all the negative comment here.
Is this the bottom line for photographers? There will not be a Photoshop CS7 with new features but there will be PS CS6 Camera Raw updates to add future camera support. In addition, we will be able to get Lightroom updates with both new features and future camera support.
I guess CS6 will be my last Photoshop version as I’ll not move to a Web-based service –just doesn’t make sense for me to add the additional layer (the Web)to my Photoshop & Lightroom workflow. Hope a reasonable–for photographers–replacement emerges in the next year or so. And hope it handles current plug-ins. Bye, bye…
Add me to those Adobe may consider to be a former customer, at least until they decide to start selling real products again. Their so-called subscription plan is just about the dumbest idea I’ve heard, and I want no part of it. Methinks the folks who came up with “New Coke” are now in charge at Adobe. You’re worst than Quark… Le me think, it’s possible to BUY Quark, so let’s go back to Quark!
Adobe renting software is like Linden Labs renting virtual properties! Come on!
This reminds me when Movable Type changed the licensing of their CMS from one day to the other, loosing not just a comunity, but also the respect.
I was a customer, I’m actually an exiliated trying other alternatives (and hey! they’re not bad at all!)
Add me to those who are not interested in “subscriptions” to software.
Cracks are starting to show up in the media… http://seekingalpha.com/article/1412811-adobe-jumps-off-a-cliff-leaves-parachute-behind?source=nasdaq