A decade ago, Apple officially ended support for its professional photo editing app Aperture. While people familiar with the matter told BGR several times that Apple continued to work on a new version of Aperture, like it did with Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad, it seems these plans eventually turned into the 2024 Pixelmator acquisition.
Interestingly enough, BGR expected Apple to eventually phase out Pixelmator apps and move its features over to the Photos app before one day launching its reimagined Aperture app. However, with Pixelmator Pro receiving a substantial 3.7 update this week, it looks like Apple sees Pixelmator as the modern answer to the defunct Aperture app.
Currently, users can download Pixelmator Pro on the Mac. For iPhone and iPad, users can still download Photomator, a touch-enabled tool for editing photos on the go.
With version 3.7, Pixelmator added support for these Apple Intelligence features:
- Image Playground: Create fun, original images based on a photo, description, or people from the Photos library.
- Writing Tools: Proofread, summarize, rewrite, or modify the tone of any text in your designs
- Other Improvements: Open and edit RAW images from OM SYSTEM OM-1 Mark II cameras, improved VoiceOver, and hover over items in the Tools sidebar.
While Apple hasn’t been clear on whether it will keep Pixelmator apps running and updated far into the future, the company still sells them across its different app stores.
A different approach from Dark Sky
So far, Apple’s approach to Pixelmator is slightly different from the one it took with the popular weather app Dark Sky. When it acquired the software in 2020, it took the company three years to discontinue the app and then offer most of its features in the Weather app after the major iOS 17 and iOS 18 updates.
Over these three years, the company only offered small tweaks, such as accessibility and Apple Watch features. With Pixelmator Pro, Apple continued to fix bugs, but with added Apple Intelligence support, it might mean the company is actually considering keeping the Pixelmator brand around.
However, if Pixelmator is part of Apple’s future, the company needs to be more vocal about it. So far, the software editing tool is only known by hardcore Apple users. To make the app mainstream, Apple needs to promote it in keynotes, press releases, or ads.
BGR’s take
While a revamped Aperture app could be enticing for users, especially with Pixelmator’s incredible machine learning tools, it would also mean some features would be lost for good, as Apple wouldn’t make a 1:1 copy of the app.
For those like me who ditched Adobe’s subscription for a lifetime license of Pixelmator software, I would be disappointed if I had to buy the app again or switch to a subscription of a service that already does everything I need at the moment.
Still, only time will tell what Apple will do with Pixelmator Pro and Photomator. So far, it seems that the two apps will continue to exist on their own.
