Pixelmator got its High Sierra update late last week. The new version lets you now launch Pixelmator directly from the Photos App and save edits back to your original image. It’s nice to have this feature back on the Mac. Pixelmator also now supports the new Apple HEIF image format. 

There are a bunch more small updates and fixes including fixing an Automator script bug. That little fix is one of the big reasons I am a Pixelmator user. They focus on Apple software and cover their bases on even the most obscure Mac-only features, even Automator.

Version 3.7 is a free update. Learn more directly from Pixelmator.

Of course Pixelmator was one of the first to release a Touch Bar update for its Mac image editor. Indeed I think apps like Pixelmator are perfect for the Touch Bar. It gives users quick access to its more powerful features and speeds things up. It makes me wish there was a Touch Bar-based external keyboard for my iMac. This latest update (dubbed 3.6 Cordillera) also includes tabs (a Sierra feature), Smart Refine (which makes selections faster and easier), and Deep Images support.

If you don’t have an image editor at your disposal, I’d recommend checking out Pixelmator. It’s a one-time purchase, as opposed to the subscription-based model, and, as evidenced here, the Pixelmator team is always on top of things. You can learn more at the Pixelmator blog and there’s a cool Touch Bar video below.

It’s remarkable to me how I do nearly all of my photo processing these days on iPad. Along that theme, the Pixelmator team just released a nice update with a focus on selecting objects.

Quick Selection Tool
Just swipe over an area to select it. This works better than you’d think. There’s a video below.

Magnetic Selection Tool
This is a long time Mac feature that now exists on iPad.
Learn more at the website or on the App Store.

Today Pixelmator (website) (App Store) released an update supporting the iPad Pro including 16K image support and a new palm rejection feature. There are over 50 brushes that work with the Apple pencil.

I’ve been working on the family Christmas card in Pixelmator on my iPad Pro for a week now. When I loaded the image in the updated version of the app, I immediately saw the benefits. I particularly like the way they’ve taken advantage of the additional screen size.

This update also introduces support for 3D touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Force touching on the Pixelmator icon opens quick action shortcuts and inside the application they use 3D touch support to bring touch sensitive painting. Varying the pressure on the screen with your finger changes the thickness of a brushstroke.

Over the past year I’ve increasingly done my more complicated photo editing on the iPad. This trend will only continue with this new version of Pixelmator and the arrival of my Apple pencil.

There are a lot of updates hitting the wire this week. One of my favorites is Pixelmator for iOS 2.1. Pixelmator now fully supports iOS 9 and multitasking on the iPad. Having the Photos app and Pixelmator open simultaneously is pretty nice. The application now also supports images at 8K resolution up to 50 megapixels right on your iPad and iPhone. Finally, you can save photos directly back to the Photos library so everything is in one place.

There is a running theme here. Things that used to only be possible and traditional computers are now becoming possible on mobile. Just think for a moment about the impossibility of editing a 50 megapixel photo on your iPad or iPhone a few years ago.

Learn more at the Pixelmator website. You can buy the application in the App Stores for Macand iOS.

One of the reasons I’ve not got too bent out of shape about no localized editing on Photos for Mac is because for years now I’ve been doing all of my heavy-duty photo editing in Pixelmator for Mac. Last year Pixelmator arrived on the iPad and it’s great. In some ways it’s better than the Mac version. I especially like using the iPad version on my couch while fiddling with pictures. Also, iOS Photos does an even better job of integrating third party photo apps than its Mac counterpart does. 

Today Pixelmator released an iPhone version of Pixelmator. The new iOS version of Pixelmator takes advantage of Apple’s Metal technology to add new Distort tools. I’ve been using the beta and it was killing me not to include this in my Photos Video Field Guide. In addition to bringing a very robust set of photo editing tools, there are also filters accessible straight from Pixelmator in the Photos application.

Best of all, it’s universal. If you’ve already bought Pixelmator for your iPad, you’ll get it for free on your phone.

Have you noticed how many iOS iPad-only apps are going universal and finding their way to the iPhone? I think there are several reasons for this trend including the bigger iPhone screens, better processors, and better development tools. Pixelmator is great in my pocket. The below video provides an overview.

I’ve been fiddling with the latest Pixelmator update. It’s pretty great. Even though Apple doesn’t support external editors with Photos on the Mac (at least yet), Pixelmator can now access your full Photos library from inside the Pixelmator with its Photo Browser. They also drastically improved the repair tool. There is a video on the Pixelmator blog that demonstrates removing objects (and people!) from an image with almost no effort. It’s definitely worth checking out.

One of the best things about being a Pixelmator customer is reaping the benefits of their aggressive update schedule. Today, the Pixelmator team released version 1.1 of the iPad app, Aquarelle. This new version includes some amazing watercolor tools. there are 12 separate watercolor brushes and I can’t wait to see what artists do with this. The painting engine is also faster and the new color picker remembers recently used colors. 

There is a reason why Apple awarded Pixelmator App of the Year. Check it out their website or on the App Store.

I finally got some time to play with Pixelmator for iPad this evening. I know some of the people at Pixelmator and I know they’ve been working on this application for a long time. I knew it was going to be something special but not this special. For five dollars, you’ll get a full features photo editor that just a few years ago would have required a Mac Pro and thousands of dollars in software. Moreover, the touch interface makes the photo editing more intuitive. I’m going to write more on this as I dig in deeper but for now, if you’ve got a recent iPad, just go buy this. Learn more at the website.