Photoshop for web browser announced at Adobe Max 2021

adobe photoshop web browser beta
(Image credit: Adobe)

This year at the Adobe Max conference, it was announced that Photoshop is now available for web browsers in beta format. You’ll still need a Creative Cloud subscription to use the platform, but it means that you’ll be able to lightly edit and collaborate with other people without having to download or launch the full app. 

Photoshop is regarded as the best photo editing software by many photographers, graphic designers and generally arty end users. Whether you need to retouch an image, remove an object or create an artistic collage, the uses of Photoshop are pretty much infinite. This latest announcement is great news for anyone who needs to use Photoshop on the move with a laptop that doesn’t have the same processing power as their main computer. 

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Basic features such as navigating layers, selection tools, exposure adjustments and annotations will be included in the scaled-down version, but more advanced edits will still need to be done in the desktop version of Photoshop. 

“We are trying something new by introducing a public beta of a new web-based share for comment workflow in Photoshop that is accompanied by a preview of a small set of Photoshop editing features all running on the web," said Pam Clark, who’s in charge of product management for all things Photoshop. 

"In this beta, you and your collaborators can open and view work in the browser, provide feedback and make basic edits without having to download or launch Photoshop.”

Now that it’s more common for people to work remotely, the ability to share images within the web-based version of Photoshop will cut down time spent uploading images and emailing edit suggestions back and forth. Collaborators are able to manage feedback and editing permissions with both internal and external clients, and you can share documents either in a read-only or editable format.

Several other updates were announced for Photoshop across desktop and iPad, too. The object selection tool has been significantly improved, so now you can just hover over an object and manually select anything that hasn’t automatically been included. 

It’s also now possible to mask all objects in one click, which is a massive time saver, and new Neural Filters have been introduced that enable you to add non-destructive effects and explore new creative ideas. Other new or improved features include a landscape mixer, depth blur effect, color transfer and harmonization. 

The new Photoshop updates promise to make photo editing easier and faster than ever before. The Photoshop web beta is now available to use – simply head to your Creative Cloud Web account, open your files, select the one you want to edit and click 'Open in Photoshop on the web beta' button. 

Read more: 

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Hannah Rooke
Freelance contributor

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. Hannah spent three years working at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant, using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With eight years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.

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