Photoshop alternative Pixelmator Pro now belongs to Apple
Apparently there were no objections from regulators: the popular Pixelmator apps are officially affiliated with Apple. There are no public plans for the future.
Pixelmator and Photomator (pictured here) now show an indication of the new owner.
(Image: Mac & i)
Apple's takeover of developer studio Pixelmator appears to be complete: The Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator and Photomator apps display a notice at – after installing the latest version – that they now belong to Apple and that the use of the software is now subject to Apple's privacy policy. Neither the developers nor Apple have yet released any further information.
No concrete plans announced
The Pixelmator team surprisingly announced the takeover last fall: Apple had already signed the purchase agreement, but the parties still had to await approval from regulatory authorities, it said at the time. No objections to the purchase were subsequently made public. Pixelmator said at the time that it hoped to gain a larger customer base in the creative segment. Apple now owns an application that many users use as a cheaper alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
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So far, there has been no change to either the apps or the business model: the Photoshop alternative Pixelmator Pro has always been sold exclusively via Apple's App Store for macOS and is available there as a one-off purchase for 60 euros, with regular price reductions in the past. The simpler Photomator, which is designed for RAW development and photo retouching, relies on subscriptions, but can also usually be unlocked "for life" for 80 euros. Photomator is designed for Macs, iPhones and iPads.
Apple gave up Aperture
Apple's takeovers in the market for creative tools date back decades, in some cases. For a long time, the company offered Aperture, an in-house application specifically for photographers, but discontinued further development around 10 years ago – to the annoyance of many users. Since then, Apple has bundled its photo tools in the Photos app pre-installed on iPhones, iPads and Macs, which has just been given an entirely new user interface. However, fresh tools were only added with the "Cleanup" tool, which is part of Apple Intelligence. However, it is sometimes also available on Macs running a current version of macOS 15 – and the AI package is not activated at all.
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