News

New Adobe SDK, Apps Extend Creative Software to Mobile Arena

• By David Ramel
• October 6, 2014

Adobe Systems Inc. today unveiled a new software development kit (SDK) to help developers leverage the company's "Creative Cloud" of software and services when building mobile apps.

Now in public beta, the Creative SDK is just one part of a broader initiative to extend functionality of the company's traditionally desktop-oriented creative software -- such as Premiere and Photoshop -- into the mobile realm.

The SDK comprises iOS components to provide user access to files in the cloud, edit images, access a market featuring design assets and more.

Previously in private beta, the SDK is being opened up to more developers in the public beta, Adobe announced at its MAX conference in Los Angeles. "While we're ready to share the Creative SDK more broadly, we still have a lot of work left to do," said Adobe's Adam Lehman in a blog post today. "In the coming months we will be adding new frameworks and functionality including a collection of image and photo tools from Photoshop, Lightroom and our new friends at Aviary." Aviary is a developer of mobile SDKs acquired by Adobe last month.

Also announced at Adobe's MAX conference were new mobile apps that further extend connections between desktop and mobile workflows. For example, using one of the new apps called Adobe Color CC, a mobile user could use an iPhone camera to capture color combinations and save them to Creative Cloud libraries or sync them with the Adobe Color service for further use from other devices or desktops.

Other mobile apps are available for: creating custom brushes and shapes; drawing vectors and other images; working with videos and audio; and more.

"These mobile apps work with all Creative Cloud plans, giving everyone -- from freelancers to creatives in large organizations -- access to all the benefits of a deeply integrated mobile and desktop workflow, connected via their Creative Profile," Adobe said in a statement. The Creative Profile is another new initiative, designed to help connect desktop apps with the nine new mobile apps so designers on the go have access to assets such as files, fonts, graphics and so on wherever they are.

Amid the plethora of news being generated at the conference, Adobe also announced updates to its key traditional desktop apps as part of the 2014 release of Creative Cloud, the subscription-based service that replaced its shrink-wrapped software products.

The company even announced it was getting into the employee recruiting business with Creative Talent Search, which hinted at the use of Big Data analytics to find potential new hires via "custom algorithms," as many new similar services do.

The new Creative Cloud updates are available to subscribers now, while the new and updated mobile apps are free for everyone, though some functionality may require subscription access to the cloud. Creative Cloud subscriptions are available in many levels and pricing configurations.

While limited to just iOS now, Adobe said Android support is on the agenda. "The Creative SDK for Android is currently limited to select app developers," Adobe said. "Over the coming months, this group will showcase the growing capabilities of the Creative SDK. If you have an existing app or are creating a new one and would like to be an early part of this program, please tell us why."