Participant

Question

The New I-Pad pro - Quick Question

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
July 15, 2021
4 replies
378 views

Hi guys,

I have an opportunity to get the new 12.9' I-Pad pro with Apple M1 processor. I never worked on Mac before and wish to know if it's compatible with Photoshop? I heard it's somewhat different but does it mean it's a whole other software? Could I even install my version of Photoshop on it or would I need to get a different software?

Thank you

Mac

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T

Test Screen Name

Legend

It's important to understand that an iPad is not a Mac. It cannot run Mac apps at all, not Windows apps. You don't have a file system like Mac or Windows, you can't add external disks or use a network drive, and can run only Apple's approved apps. As of today, many apps have less features, partly because they are designed mainly for touch screen use without mouse or keyboard. This app may suit you well, but be sure you've had the chance to try it out.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

@Test Screen Name wrote:

You don't have a file system like Mac or Windows, you can't add external disks or use a network drive

That has changed in the last few iOS major system upgrades.

iOS now has a Files app, which is a desktop-like file viewer that lets you organize files in hierarchical folders, independent of any app. You can open multiple views of different folders or devices and move/copy files between them, rename them, and compress them (ZIP), among other things.

You can use USB external storage now. You just plug it in (the iPad Pro has a standard USB-C port), and it shows up as a storage device in the Files app and in the file browser of any properly updated apps. The new M1 iPad Pro also supports Thunderbolt external storage. I have an aging 2017 iPad Pro, but the iOS upgrades now let me use USB hard drives, SSDs, stick flash drives, card readers… Through a USB hub I have connected multiple USB devices to an iPad so I can, for example, copy photos from a camera card reader directly to an SSD, without involving internal iPad storage at all.

You can use a network drive now. The iOS Files app supports connections to network shares using SMB. I have often used this to quickly shuttle files and folders between my iPad and my Mac. The Files app can remember the connection, so as long as I have File Sharing enabled on my Mac, with just a few taps the iPad can reconnect to it and begin file transfers. Or, you can use the Files app on the iPad to browse the files and folders on the Mac, and QuickLook preview any compatible files in a Files app window on the iPad. Once you find the file you want, you pull it down to the iPad.

One remaining limitation is that most apps still corral files into their own data sandbox, which makes it hard to share one file among many apps. But this is changing. The latest update to RawPower allows opening files at arbitrary file system locations linked by referenced file paths, such as a folder I created in the Files app, the same way so many video/layout/DAM applications work on macOS and Windows. Unfortunately, Adobe apps do not currently support referenced locations on iOS.

iOS is still not a Mac. I have a nice long list of complaints about the limitations that iOS still has, and many users are disappointed about long-standing limitations that are still not resolved in the upcoming iOS 15. But iOS has come a long way in the last few major upgrades.

jane-e

Community Expert

@Apple5CC3 wrote:
...the new 12.9' I-Pad pro with Apple M1 processor.

Here are the system requirements for PS for iPad. Note that the iPad version does not have all of the features of the desktops version, such as the Pen tool and Channels.

https://helpx.adobe.com/be_en/photoshop/system-requirements-ios.html

Jane

Conrad_C

Community Expert

Photoshop is available for macOS, Windows, and iPad OS.

If you have any Creative Cloud subscription plan that includes Photoshop for Mac/Windows, it includes Photoshop for iPad OS.

When you create or save a document in Photoshop for iPad OS, it’s saved to Adobe servers in Photoshop Cloud Document format, which you can open directly in Mac or Windows Photoshop as long as there is an Internet connection. Any Photoshop document you have on your Mac or Windows PC can also be opened directly in Photoshop for iPad OS if you save it as a Photoshop Cloud Document.

Along with sharing a file format, Photoshop for iPad OS also shares many features with the Mac/Windows versions. However, the iPad version implements the same features differently (because the iOS touch UI is different), and its feature set is not caught up to the Mac/Windows versions. For those reasons, you cannot use Photoshop tutorials for Mac/Windows to learn Photoshop on iPad OS. You must use tutorials that are written specifically for the iOS touch and stylus UI, and for the more restricted feature set, of Photoshop on iPad.

If your work requires the full traditional Photoshop feature set, including features not currently available on Photoshop for iPad OS (for example, printing, precise numeric control, vector paths/shapes, batch processing, Adobe Camera Raw, actions, plug-in filters, scripting…), use the Mac/Windows version of Photoshop instead.

Ged_Traynor

Community Expert

Hi

You'll need Photoshop for iPad

https://www.adobe.com/ie/products/photoshop/ipad.html

A

Apple5CC3Author

Participant

Thanks @Ged_Traynor! Glad to learn about this version. Is this something brnad new? When I asked around with colleages and such it never came up... So if I have a subscription for Photoshop I can also get the iPad version or i'll need to buy it as an additional product?

John Waller

Community Expert

Photoshop for the iPad has been available for around 18 months now and keeps improving.

Read through the FAQ for answers to the most common questions

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-ipad-faq.html

It is included in Cloud plans which include Photoshop (desktop version).

If you don't subscribe to a Cloud plan, you can subscribe separately to Photoshop for the iPad via the Apple App Store on your iPad.

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