Photoshop comes to Chromebooks

Adobe is set to release an official version of Photoshop for Chromebook — but it’s not the standard web app many were hoping for.

One of the first questions I get asked whenever I introduce a new teachers to their Chromebook is “does it run Photoshop?” It doesn’t matter whether they’ve ever used Adobe’s image editing app or not, you can guarantee the question will be asked. Well, finally I can answer the question with a “yes”.

Google and Adobe today announced Project Photoshop Streaming, a service designed to bring Photoshop to the Chromebook. But PPS isn’t just a standard web app, the app will stream through the Chrome web browser onto Chromebooks and Windows desktops, and all files will be stored in Google Drive.

In partnership with Google, Adobe is proud to introduce Project Photoshop Streaming, a new technology beta. Initially, this beta will be available exclusively to select North America based Adobe education customers with a paid Creative Cloud membership.

Project Photoshop Streaming enables selected participants to access Photoshop on Chromebooks. Applications delivered via streaming are easy to access and easy to manage. Even better, streaming apps work directly with files in Google Drive, so no need to download and re-upload files – just edit directly in the cloud.

How well Project Photoshop Streaming will perform remains to be seen, but it’s likely that a speedy WiFi connection will be a must.

The wording in Google’s announcement is interesting. They use the phrase “we’re welcoming Creative Cloud onto Chromebooks, initially with a streaming version of Photoshop”, which suggests that a Chrome native version of Adobe’s software may be on the way.

Chromebooks are fast, easy to use and secure. They bring the best of the cloud right to your desktop, whether that’s Google Drive, Google+ Photos or Gmail. Today, in partnership with Adobe, we’re welcoming Creative Cloud onto Chromebooks, initially with a streaming version of Photoshop. This will be available first to U.S.-based Adobe education customers with a paid Creative Cloud membership—so the Photoshop you know and love is now on Chrome OS. No muss, no fuss.

For me this feels like a half-step. For Google it’s yet another box ticked in its Chromebook marketing arsenal, but it can only been seen as an acknowledgement that there is still some software too complex to run in a browser. Whether we’ll ever see a true native Chrome version of Photoshop remains to be seen, but this is a good option for those wanting to take Photoshop wherever they go.

Photoshop for Chrome is still in beta, but you can sign up now to get involved on the Adobe website. Don’t get too excited though! You’ll still need an existing Creative Cloud subscription and be enrolled in Adobe’s education program first.

Source: Google Chrome Blog