The full Adobe Photoshop experience could arrive on Apple iPad as early as 2019

The first question I’ve always asked when looking at a new platform is: Can it run Photoshop? As far as the iPad is concerned, I’ve always been disappointed that the answer to that has so far been a no. This will soon change.According to Bloomberg, Adobe will unveil the Photoshop app for iOS at the MAX conference in October. The app itself will release sometime in 2019, say Bloomberg’s sources.The report further adds that Adobe is designing the system in such a way that you’ll have access to the fully functional versions of these apps on an iPad, and that you’ll be able to continue edits on other devices. While only Photoshop was mentioned, the reference to “programs”, plural, in the report, suggests that we’ll see more of the suite arriving on the iPad platform.It might be wishful thinking, but could this list also include Premiere Pro, Adobe?[caption id="attachment_4737311" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

The arrival of Photoshop on the iPad will complete the Holy Trinity of essential apps.[/caption]The holy trinityIt was two years ago that Apple announced that the iPad was the ultimate PC replacement, and while I did smirk at the silliness of that statement, I was also disappointed that the iPad wasn’t the ultimate PC replacement.Who wouldn’t want an ultralight work machine that gives all-day battery life, has a brilliant display, brilliant speakers and offers an unmatched Netflix/YouTube experience? The iPad’s limitations ensured that it would never fit the bill.For me, the biggest limitation was the lack of Photoshop. Most of my work involves three things, typing, browsing and image editing. If I can’t do either of those things, I can’t work.The holy trinity of apps for most people who need a portable work device is, I think, Google Chrome, Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.The first two and their equivalent have always been available. The third option, a capable image editor, has been impossible to find. I’ve tried everything from Adobe’s collection of iPad apps (I’m an Adobe CC subscriber) to paid apps like ProCreate and Paper, they were never enough.Without a viable option for editing images, the iPad was useless to me as a work machine. Why should I go through all that trouble when I could just, you know, buy a laptop?With this report, I’m suddenly excited about the iPad again! When and if the apps finally arrive, I think I’d happily dump my 2 kg laptop and swap it out for a 500 g iPad. Throw in a USB-C port, Apple, and you might actually realise your dream of killing off the PC.