7 ms·

Perhaps acquiring Pixelmator is about competing with Creative Cloud

98 points by robenkleene 2y ago

TheAtomic 2y ago
Definitely follow the lead of one of the most reviled companies going.
- tempodox 2y ago
  The mercenary mind has no receptors for that, it only registers $$$.
ksec 2y ago
I think it is more acquire-Hire rather than anything else. Their products are so good, rather than risking losing them due to potentially some buy-out Apple will just bring them in-house.
oidar 2y ago
I really hope they don't go this way. The only software that I can think of that Apple offers as subscription is Filemaker (Claris is an apple company). I believe the subscription model has harmed FileMaker, as more Filemaker developers are shifting to frameworks for building web apps due to the unreasonable per-user pricing.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  Today I learned that: 1. FileMaker still exists, and 2. It’s $43/person/month for a reasonable amount of storage. Or you can buy a single license for $594. I strongly suspect 2 is why I didn’t know 1.
  - gjsman-1000 2y ago
    In LOB, $43/mo. is a pittance - the only question worth considering is whether it boosts productivity by at least $43 of paid time per month. A low-code app in the right spot could easily meet that benchmark. I suspect the bigger reason is the complete absence of advertising.
  - actionfromafar 2y ago
    Wow. I never knew FileMaker made the transition from classic Mac OS.
    - FireBeyond 2y ago
      I worked for an EHR company in the mental health space that as recent as 2020 was still selling their FileMaker-driven EHR, mostly to psychiatrists.
    - oidar 2y ago
      It's actually really slick for making CRUD apps - the pricing is just horrible.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- terramex 2y ago
  > The only software that I can think of that Apple offers as subscription iPad versions of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro are subscription based and these are latest pro apps Apple released.
  - oidar 2y ago
    Good catch. Thankfully the full version are not subscription on macOS.
newsclues 2y ago
Apple might go for subscription services for pro apps, but probably not the consumer versions.
whycome 2y ago
What are the reasons Apple might stick with the one-time-fee model for Logic and Final Cut Pro? (What are the advantages? Even if those advantages might just be for goodwill with their existing (pro)consumer base.) (Not rhetorical here -- I'm genuinely curious)
- contagiousflow 2y ago
  I think there are two possible reasons. The first is they stand to make a lot of money from selling high spec machines to creative types (look at the upgrade costs to the new Mac Mini) simply because the cost of a computer is a drop in the bucket for large media enterprises. And the second (may be a little optimistic from my end) they gain a lot of prestige from their computers and software being used to make media and art.
- lbourdages 2y ago
  Probably as a "bait" to get users into the Apple ecosystem? They can't run Logic on PC so they have to buy an expensive Mac.
  - whycome 2y ago
    I'm wondering now if it also serves as a better way to also make users stick around (and ultimately buy more hardware). eg., with a subscription model, it might make it slightly easier to bail and try an alternative? (especially when those alternatives might offer discounts on subscriptions).
    - MBCook 2y ago
      I could see it either way, Apple still gets a benefit. Whether a subscription or purchase any piece of software you use on a Mac that you can’t get on Windows is one more sticking point that helps Apple retain their users. And since they make a lot of profit on their hardware that’s a very good thing for them.
- Etheryte 2y ago
  Unlike Microsoft, Apple seems to understand that sometimes it's okay to not milk every last cent out of every last possible channel — looking at you, ads in the operating system. I would wager the revenue they could make on making that software a recurring subscription is pennies compared to the marketing ethos that every pro artist uses Apple, and so should you. The amount of hardware and iCloud subscriptions they sell to all aspiring artists, kids who want to be like their heroes, their parents, etc, should far outweigh what they could make from the other end.
whywhywhywhy 2y ago
Zero chance Apple is getting back into professional tools, this team and their work will be rolled into the photo app edit view at least and that Freeform app they have at most.
- robenkleene 2y ago
  That was my initial gut reaction too, but the more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense: 1. Apple is increasingly a company who's primary growth area is through services revenue and Adobe is one of the most successful services-revenue companies around. 2. Adobe's bread and butter is essentially native desktop apps, one of Apple's areas of expertise. 3. Adobe is vulnerable today with a specific market segment, who resents the high cost, quality issues, and subscription-only model of Creative Cloud. One thing I agree with is these wouldn't be professional tools the same way Adobe's tools are, they split the market between the high-end, which would continue to use Adobe products, and the low-end which would use these competitors. The low end would be content creators and smaller businesses. The biggest flaw here is around #3, not sure how Apple can capture that services revenue without creating a suite that has the same flaws with consumers that Creative Cloud has? I think they could emphasize quality, and probably come in at half the cost of CC or less, maybe $25 a month. Maybe that's enough?
  - wyre 2y ago
    Apple doesn’t need to move their desktop software to a monthly fee to compete with Adobe, they can compete by stealing their users and locking them into Apple’s platform. If Apple came out with professional alternatives for photoshop, lightroom, and illustrator I would bet a large market segment will switch away from Adobe (and Windows) to Mac purchasing new hardware and tying those users into Apple’s ecosystem (Apple’s bread and butter).
    - robenkleene 2y ago
      The problem with this viewpoint, is that's exactly what they've been doing with Logic and Final Cut and that's proved to be a failed strategy (both of those applications have shed users for the last decade, specifically the problem they've both made is prioritizing larger platform priorities over the needs of creators. E.g., they both introduced bundled file formats, bundled file formats are great for long-term platform goals [e.g., cross-device sync], but are terrible for professionals who need to micromanage massive individual media files, that are often edited with several different apps). The reason it's not working is the incentives internal to Apple aren't great, they aren't (significant) revenue generators, so they're seen as disposable, and by choosing the wrong priorities (platform over creators), they end up losing to competitors where it's a primary revenue generator, because those other apps are fighting tooth-and-nail to stay ahead. One way of solving all this is to try and make it a revenue generator, and I don't think a revenue generator at Apple's scale is possible without making it a subscription. Also just note that services has been Apple's most reliable recent growth area https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/05/2024-q1-apple-results-90-8-billion-revenue-services-record/ https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/05/2024-q1-apple-results-90-...
herf 2y ago
Just running Creative Cloud's daemons seems to double my Macbook's power usage. (I have a startup script to kill most of it because of this.) Maybe the battery life tail wagging the dog here, but there is something smart about displacing this mess with an...app? Which is all I ever wanted.
- robenkleene 2y ago
  Deep-down I wonder how big a deal this is at Apple. As someone who's sensibility aligns with Apple's approach to design and software architecture (e.g., I strongly believe the Magic Mouse charging port on the bottom is the the right decision), and I use Adobe products heavily: I don't mind the price, and I don't mind the subscription. But I despise, deeply, from the bottom of my soul, that Adobe Creative Cloud runs a background process on my machine, even when the applications aren't running. That is an affront. There are days I wonder if the entire reason for the locked-down iOS App Store and Mac app sandboxing is purely just to try and figure out some approach to software distribution that never lets Adobe run an invisible background process on their hardware ever again.
  - nativeit 2y ago
    If you want to dive deeper into that Adobe CC madness, run something like AdGuard on your network and see how Adobe’s telemetry calls are the #1 source of network traffic, even for someone who runs a web dev shop, a HomeAssistant instance to control all of my lights/thermostats, and a Plex media server that’s playing something nearly non-stop…Adobe CC is still the #1 network activity (until I blocked it). I never got a good answer for why this was the case, but I think it’s wildly out of control.
armchairhacker 2y ago
IMO the most logical pricing for continuously-updating, offline software is paid updates. Or “subscription-based, but you get to keep the old version without renewing the subscription” which is the same as paid updates but modern and auto-renews. For example, this is what Jetbrains does. Businesses need money to keep updating the software, and won’t get it if all their customers have already bought the product. On the other hand, if something is offline and paid for, it should never go away. Online is different, because customers need to continuously pay for hosting and compute. If it’s an app that’s almost all client side and the business just makes it online to force users to subscribe…yeah that’s wrong. But obviously something like a VPS is going to be a subscription.
- thewebguyd 2y ago
  > “subscription-based, but you get to keep the old version without renewing the subscription” I would be content if Adobe moved to this model, particularly for Lightroom Classic. There's only so much they can eventually cram into a RAW editor, and they've stopped adding library management features for a while because it's essentially finished in that aspect. I don't need more AI in it, and it'll be years before I have a new camera that I need it to support - it's at that point I'd love to simply cancel the subscription, but still retain access to the current version. I've had my Adobe subscription long enough now to have paid full price for Lightroom at least 5x over. Just let me buy a specific version and be done with it, and I'll pay for updates when I need them if the features are interesting enough, or I need the update to support new hardware. Otherwise, there's no need.
- yen223 2y ago
  The app store currently does not support the Jetbrains subscription model, which is mildly annoying
wyre 2y ago
I’m sure this has been discussed in Apple’s board meetings. People don’t like change. Users would stop using Logic and Final Cut in protest, and continuing users will be left with a sour taste in their mouth. Some would stop using Apple products all together! Final Cut is Apple’s direct competition with Adobe, but Apple makes their money largely from hardware, App Store fees, and platform lock-in. Their current pricing isn’t outrageous for a casual or adventurous user to purchase and furthers their lock-in to the Apple ecosystem, meanwhile professionals will purchase Apple’s expensive hardware upgrades, this also advances Apple further into the zeitgeist of professional video and music software and anyone looking to get into the hobby will heavily consider Apple against the alternatives.
sgjohnson 2y ago
If that was the case, perhaps they should have bought Affinity instead?
- latexr 2y ago
  They were already bought, by Canva, earlier this year.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
saaaaaam 2y ago
They won’t introduce this subscription bundle. What they will do is introduce Apple One Premier+ : includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+ […] and all your creator tools including Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator, Photomator, Logic Pro […] If you’re already paying $40 or whatever for Apple One Premier it’s a very short step to $65 for Premier+ I pay for Apple One Premier. Would I pay for Apple One Prmeier+? Almost certainly.
- solardev 2y ago
  Is there really a sufficient overlap between Apple consumers and "creators"?
  - MBCook 2y ago
    I agree, I think it would be more likely this would be a different bundle. Maybe there would be a tier of Apple one that also included this stuff, but I think it would be pretty stupid if that was the only way to get it. I think there’s a lot of companies that might be willing to get this for some of their creative employees who would absolutely resent having to pay for Apple TV+ and Apple Music to do so.
  - saaaaaam 2y ago
    I personally think there's probably enough of an overlap with enough customers that it would make sense to offer it as Apple One Premier+ rather than a stand alone thing. I know a lot of people who I suspect would say "OK, another couple of hundred dollars on top of what I already pay Apple, and I have these on demand to tinker with, sure!" I also know a lot of people who are hobbyists or enjoying tinkering who resent having to pay Adobe to be able to use Creative Suite, so if the price was right (you get tools that Adobe charge $75 a month for PLUS Apple Music, Apple TV+, yadda yadda) then that's a sell in itself. I feel like if you're a family and you and the kids have iPhones and iPads and macbooks and you're already paying for the Apple One Premier plan then it's a fairly trivial cost to have another $30 or whatever dollars on top so that your kids have access to some really good software to create things with, because you've already spent an enormous amount of money with Apple, and there's an upsell from Garage Band to Logic, an upsell from iMovie to Final Cut, etc. It kind of fits. Maybe they have a stand alone subscription for them as well - but you get a better price if it's a bolt on to the Apple One subscription. This is all pure speculation though. The only thing I know if that they offered it like I was proposing, I'd definitely subscribe.
n144q 2y ago
Repeating what I said in the other thread -- unless Apple is open to release Pixelmator on Windows and/or the web, it's not going to compete with Adobe CC. ok, maybe the users that exclusively work on Mac. But that's nowhere a replacement for Adobe CC.
- MBCook 2y ago
  Does that matter? We already know Apple doesn’t care about the Windows market, they could’ve made all sorts of moves over the last 20 years if they did. It also seems very unlikely they care about the high-end professional market. The kind of people who are really in with Adobe. But they have a ton of Prosumer customers they could make happy. I know a number of people personally who would like to use Adobe tools but can’t afford the subscriptions. Being able to buy a smaller Apple product, or maybe pay a few dollars a month, to get a good product that covers their needs would probably make them quite happy. And anything that makes the Mac more sticky to current customers (or new customers) is a good investment for Apple. Every person they can lure away from Creative Cloud or prevent from ever starting with it is someone who doesn’t have an easy path to move to Windows without changing software.
- pier25 2y ago
  It's not a replacement for the whole suite but probably the majority of Adobe users are on Macs these days.
  - kyriakos 2y ago
    That's wrong actually. Probably only Adobe knows but from personal experience most photographers I know use Windows. They almost all edit on desktop, they laptops only on location for preview. Nvidia GPUs also work well with Lightroom enhance and denoise features which run locally.
    - pier25 2y ago
      It's anecdotal but I'm a hobbyist photographer and all the photographers I know IRL use Macs. All the designers I know use Macs. Video editing and motion graphics is the area where I see people using Windows but it's still probably 50/50. In the pro world, from my anecdotal perspective, I'd say Windows is still more popular in game dev and 3d stuff which is outside of Adobe's scope.

98 points by robenkleene 2y ago

TheAtomic 2y ago

Definitely follow the lead of one of the most reviled companies going.

tempodox 2y ago
The mercenary mind has no receptors for that, it only registers $$$.

ksec 2y ago

I think it is more acquire-Hire rather than anything else. Their products are so good, rather than risking losing them due to potentially some buy-out Apple will just bring them in-house.

oidar 2y ago

I really hope they don't go this way. The only software that I can think of that Apple offers as subscription is Filemaker (Claris is an apple company). I believe the subscription model has harmed FileMaker, as more Filemaker developers are shifting to frameworks for building web apps due to the unreasonable per-user pricing.

kstrauser 2y ago
Today I learned that: 1. FileMaker still exists, and 2. It’s $43/person/month for a reasonable amount of storage. Or you can buy a single license for $594. I strongly suspect 2 is why I didn’t know 1.
- gjsman-1000 2y ago
  In LOB, $43/mo. is a pittance - the only question worth considering is whether it boosts productivity by at least $43 of paid time per month. A low-code app in the right spot could easily meet that benchmark. I suspect the bigger reason is the complete absence of advertising.
- actionfromafar 2y ago
  Wow. I never knew FileMaker made the transition from classic Mac OS.
  - FireBeyond 2y ago
    I worked for an EHR company in the mental health space that as recent as 2020 was still selling their FileMaker-driven EHR, mostly to psychiatrists.
  - oidar 2y ago
    It's actually really slick for making CRUD apps - the pricing is just horrible.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
terramex 2y ago
> The only software that I can think of that Apple offers as subscription iPad versions of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro are subscription based and these are latest pro apps Apple released.
- oidar 2y ago
  Good catch. Thankfully the full version are not subscription on macOS.

newsclues 2y ago

Apple might go for subscription services for pro apps, but probably not the consumer versions.

whycome 2y ago

What are the reasons Apple might stick with the one-time-fee model for Logic and Final Cut Pro? (What are the advantages? Even if those advantages might just be for goodwill with their existing (pro)consumer base.) (Not rhetorical here -- I'm genuinely curious)

contagiousflow 2y ago
I think there are two possible reasons. The first is they stand to make a lot of money from selling high spec machines to creative types (look at the upgrade costs to the new Mac Mini) simply because the cost of a computer is a drop in the bucket for large media enterprises. And the second (may be a little optimistic from my end) they gain a lot of prestige from their computers and software being used to make media and art.
lbourdages 2y ago
Probably as a "bait" to get users into the Apple ecosystem? They can't run Logic on PC so they have to buy an expensive Mac.
- whycome 2y ago
  I'm wondering now if it also serves as a better way to also make users stick around (and ultimately buy more hardware). eg., with a subscription model, it might make it slightly easier to bail and try an alternative? (especially when those alternatives might offer discounts on subscriptions).
  - MBCook 2y ago
    I could see it either way, Apple still gets a benefit. Whether a subscription or purchase any piece of software you use on a Mac that you can’t get on Windows is one more sticking point that helps Apple retain their users. And since they make a lot of profit on their hardware that’s a very good thing for them.
Etheryte 2y ago
Unlike Microsoft, Apple seems to understand that sometimes it's okay to not milk every last cent out of every last possible channel — looking at you, ads in the operating system. I would wager the revenue they could make on making that software a recurring subscription is pennies compared to the marketing ethos that every pro artist uses Apple, and so should you. The amount of hardware and iCloud subscriptions they sell to all aspiring artists, kids who want to be like their heroes, their parents, etc, should far outweigh what they could make from the other end.

whywhywhywhy 2y ago

Zero chance Apple is getting back into professional tools, this team and their work will be rolled into the photo app edit view at least and that Freeform app they have at most.

robenkleene 2y ago
That was my initial gut reaction too, but the more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense: 1. Apple is increasingly a company who's primary growth area is through services revenue and Adobe is one of the most successful services-revenue companies around. 2. Adobe's bread and butter is essentially native desktop apps, one of Apple's areas of expertise. 3. Adobe is vulnerable today with a specific market segment, who resents the high cost, quality issues, and subscription-only model of Creative Cloud. One thing I agree with is these wouldn't be professional tools the same way Adobe's tools are, they split the market between the high-end, which would continue to use Adobe products, and the low-end which would use these competitors. The low end would be content creators and smaller businesses. The biggest flaw here is around #3, not sure how Apple can capture that services revenue without creating a suite that has the same flaws with consumers that Creative Cloud has? I think they could emphasize quality, and probably come in at half the cost of CC or less, maybe $25 a month. Maybe that's enough?
- wyre 2y ago
  Apple doesn’t need to move their desktop software to a monthly fee to compete with Adobe, they can compete by stealing their users and locking them into Apple’s platform. If Apple came out with professional alternatives for photoshop, lightroom, and illustrator I would bet a large market segment will switch away from Adobe (and Windows) to Mac purchasing new hardware and tying those users into Apple’s ecosystem (Apple’s bread and butter).
  - robenkleene 2y ago
    The problem with this viewpoint, is that's exactly what they've been doing with Logic and Final Cut and that's proved to be a failed strategy (both of those applications have shed users for the last decade, specifically the problem they've both made is prioritizing larger platform priorities over the needs of creators. E.g., they both introduced bundled file formats, bundled file formats are great for long-term platform goals [e.g., cross-device sync], but are terrible for professionals who need to micromanage massive individual media files, that are often edited with several different apps). The reason it's not working is the incentives internal to Apple aren't great, they aren't (significant) revenue generators, so they're seen as disposable, and by choosing the wrong priorities (platform over creators), they end up losing to competitors where it's a primary revenue generator, because those other apps are fighting tooth-and-nail to stay ahead. One way of solving all this is to try and make it a revenue generator, and I don't think a revenue generator at Apple's scale is possible without making it a subscription. Also just note that services has been Apple's most reliable recent growth area https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/05/2024-q1-apple-results-90-8-billion-revenue-services-record/ https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/05/2024-q1-apple-results-90-...

herf 2y ago

Just running Creative Cloud's daemons seems to double my Macbook's power usage. (I have a startup script to kill most of it because of this.) Maybe the battery life tail wagging the dog here, but there is something smart about displacing this mess with an...app? Which is all I ever wanted.

robenkleene 2y ago
Deep-down I wonder how big a deal this is at Apple. As someone who's sensibility aligns with Apple's approach to design and software architecture (e.g., I strongly believe the Magic Mouse charging port on the bottom is the the right decision), and I use Adobe products heavily: I don't mind the price, and I don't mind the subscription. But I despise, deeply, from the bottom of my soul, that Adobe Creative Cloud runs a background process on my machine, even when the applications aren't running. That is an affront. There are days I wonder if the entire reason for the locked-down iOS App Store and Mac app sandboxing is purely just to try and figure out some approach to software distribution that never lets Adobe run an invisible background process on their hardware ever again.
- nativeit 2y ago
  If you want to dive deeper into that Adobe CC madness, run something like AdGuard on your network and see how Adobe’s telemetry calls are the #1 source of network traffic, even for someone who runs a web dev shop, a HomeAssistant instance to control all of my lights/thermostats, and a Plex media server that’s playing something nearly non-stop…Adobe CC is still the #1 network activity (until I blocked it). I never got a good answer for why this was the case, but I think it’s wildly out of control.

armchairhacker 2y ago

IMO the most logical pricing for continuously-updating, offline software is paid updates. Or “subscription-based, but you get to keep the old version without renewing the subscription” which is the same as paid updates but modern and auto-renews. For example, this is what Jetbrains does. Businesses need money to keep updating the software, and won’t get it if all their customers have already bought the product. On the other hand, if something is offline and paid for, it should never go away. Online is different, because customers need to continuously pay for hosting and compute. If it’s an app that’s almost all client side and the business just makes it online to force users to subscribe…yeah that’s wrong. But obviously something like a VPS is going to be a subscription.

thewebguyd 2y ago
> “subscription-based, but you get to keep the old version without renewing the subscription” I would be content if Adobe moved to this model, particularly for Lightroom Classic. There's only so much they can eventually cram into a RAW editor, and they've stopped adding library management features for a while because it's essentially finished in that aspect. I don't need more AI in it, and it'll be years before I have a new camera that I need it to support - it's at that point I'd love to simply cancel the subscription, but still retain access to the current version. I've had my Adobe subscription long enough now to have paid full price for Lightroom at least 5x over. Just let me buy a specific version and be done with it, and I'll pay for updates when I need them if the features are interesting enough, or I need the update to support new hardware. Otherwise, there's no need.
yen223 2y ago
The app store currently does not support the Jetbrains subscription model, which is mildly annoying

wyre 2y ago

I’m sure this has been discussed in Apple’s board meetings. People don’t like change. Users would stop using Logic and Final Cut in protest, and continuing users will be left with a sour taste in their mouth. Some would stop using Apple products all together! Final Cut is Apple’s direct competition with Adobe, but Apple makes their money largely from hardware, App Store fees, and platform lock-in. Their current pricing isn’t outrageous for a casual or adventurous user to purchase and furthers their lock-in to the Apple ecosystem, meanwhile professionals will purchase Apple’s expensive hardware upgrades, this also advances Apple further into the zeitgeist of professional video and music software and anyone looking to get into the hobby will heavily consider Apple against the alternatives.

sgjohnson 2y ago

If that was the case, perhaps they should have bought Affinity instead?

latexr 2y ago
They were already bought, by Canva, earlier this year.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

saaaaaam 2y ago

They won’t introduce this subscription bundle. What they will do is introduce Apple One Premier+ : includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+ […] and all your creator tools including Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator, Photomator, Logic Pro […] If you’re already paying $40 or whatever for Apple One Premier it’s a very short step to $65 for Premier+ I pay for Apple One Premier. Would I pay for Apple One Prmeier+? Almost certainly.

solardev 2y ago
Is there really a sufficient overlap between Apple consumers and "creators"?
- MBCook 2y ago
  I agree, I think it would be more likely this would be a different bundle. Maybe there would be a tier of Apple one that also included this stuff, but I think it would be pretty stupid if that was the only way to get it. I think there’s a lot of companies that might be willing to get this for some of their creative employees who would absolutely resent having to pay for Apple TV+ and Apple Music to do so.
- saaaaaam 2y ago
  I personally think there's probably enough of an overlap with enough customers that it would make sense to offer it as Apple One Premier+ rather than a stand alone thing. I know a lot of people who I suspect would say "OK, another couple of hundred dollars on top of what I already pay Apple, and I have these on demand to tinker with, sure!" I also know a lot of people who are hobbyists or enjoying tinkering who resent having to pay Adobe to be able to use Creative Suite, so if the price was right (you get tools that Adobe charge $75 a month for PLUS Apple Music, Apple TV+, yadda yadda) then that's a sell in itself. I feel like if you're a family and you and the kids have iPhones and iPads and macbooks and you're already paying for the Apple One Premier plan then it's a fairly trivial cost to have another $30 or whatever dollars on top so that your kids have access to some really good software to create things with, because you've already spent an enormous amount of money with Apple, and there's an upsell from Garage Band to Logic, an upsell from iMovie to Final Cut, etc. It kind of fits. Maybe they have a stand alone subscription for them as well - but you get a better price if it's a bolt on to the Apple One subscription. This is all pure speculation though. The only thing I know if that they offered it like I was proposing, I'd definitely subscribe.

n144q 2y ago

Repeating what I said in the other thread -- unless Apple is open to release Pixelmator on Windows and/or the web, it's not going to compete with Adobe CC. ok, maybe the users that exclusively work on Mac. But that's nowhere a replacement for Adobe CC.

MBCook 2y ago
Does that matter? We already know Apple doesn’t care about the Windows market, they could’ve made all sorts of moves over the last 20 years if they did. It also seems very unlikely they care about the high-end professional market. The kind of people who are really in with Adobe. But they have a ton of Prosumer customers they could make happy. I know a number of people personally who would like to use Adobe tools but can’t afford the subscriptions. Being able to buy a smaller Apple product, or maybe pay a few dollars a month, to get a good product that covers their needs would probably make them quite happy. And anything that makes the Mac more sticky to current customers (or new customers) is a good investment for Apple. Every person they can lure away from Creative Cloud or prevent from ever starting with it is someone who doesn’t have an easy path to move to Windows without changing software.
pier25 2y ago
It's not a replacement for the whole suite but probably the majority of Adobe users are on Macs these days.
- kyriakos 2y ago
  That's wrong actually. Probably only Adobe knows but from personal experience most photographers I know use Windows. They almost all edit on desktop, they laptops only on location for preview. Nvidia GPUs also work well with Lightroom enhance and denoise features which run locally.
  - pier25 2y ago
    It's anecdotal but I'm a hobbyist photographer and all the photographers I know IRL use Macs. All the designers I know use Macs. Video editing and motion graphics is the area where I see people using Windows but it's still probably 50/50. In the pro world, from my anecdotal perspective, I'd say Windows is still more popular in game dev and 3d stuff which is outside of Adobe's scope.