Adobe plans to launch a free version of Photoshop soon

 Adobe has begun testing a free version of Photoshop on the web and plans to make the service open to everyone to introduce more users to the app. The company is now testing the free version in Canada, where users can access Photoshop on the web with a free Adobe account. Adobe describes the service as "freemium" and eventually plans to lock down some features that will be exclusive to paying subscribers. Enough tools will be available for free to perform what Adobe considers the core functionality of Photoshop. "We want to make [Photoshop] more accessible and make it easier for more people to try it and experience the product," said Maria Yap, vice president of digital imaging at Adobe.

In October, Adobe's web version was released and it delivers a version of the app that could be used to handle basic edits. Months ago, Adobe has been making a handful of updates to the service. Now, any photoshop subscriber can log in and start a new document straight from the web unlike before, when someone had to share a document to the web from the desktop app. Adobe's goal is to use the web version of Photoshop to make the app more accessible and potentially attract users who might want to pay for the full version later.

The company has followed a similar path with a number of its mobile apps, including Fresco and Express. The web version of Photoshop is a particularly important offering, as it opens up one of the company's most powerful tools to Chromebooks, which are widely used in schools. "I want Photoshop to meet users where they are," says Yap. "You don't need a high-end device to use Photoshop." Adobe hasn't provided a timeline for when the freemium version will be rolled out more widely. In the meantime, the company continues to update Photoshop for the web with more tools including Refine Edges, Curves, the Doge and Burn tools, and the ability to convert Smart Objects. The web version also gets mobile support for reviewing and annotating images. Adobe also previewed today a new AI-powered neural filter coming to Photoshop. The new Photo Restoration filter can take a dented yellowed photo and automatically remove scratches and restore some of its colours. Combined with Adobe's existing Colorize filter for adding colour to black and white photos, the two filters can quickly bring an old photo to life, even if the result looks a bit cartoonish.

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