Adobe is bringing Photoshop CC to the iPad. Set for release next year, Photoshop CC for iPad will bring the full Photoshop engine to Apple's line of tablets.

Photoshop for iPad has a user interface structured similarly to the desktop application. It is immediately familiar to users of the application but tuned for touch screens, with larger targets and adaptations for the tablet as well as gestures to streamline workflows. Both touch and pencil input are supported. The interface is somewhat simpler than the desktop version, and although the same Photoshop code is running under the hood to ensure there's no loss of fidelity, not every feature will be available in the mobile version. The first release will contain the main tools while Adobe plans to add more in the future.

Cloud syncing is a key element of Photoshop on iPad. Edits made on the iPad will be synchronized transparently with the desktop—no conversions or import/export process to go through. Using a feature not available in the iPad version should then be as simple as hitting save and then opening the file on the desktop, picking up where you left off.

Adobe is building other tablet apps, too. Project Gemini, also due for release next year, is a new painting app that simulates real brushes, paints, and materials as well as the interactions between them. It combines raster graphics, vector drawing, and the Photoshop engine into a single application designed for artwork and illustration. The use of the Photoshop engine means that Gemini too can sync with Photoshop on the desktop. This enables, for example, artwork to be drawn on the iPad with final editing and composition done on a computer.

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