Since its launch in 2019, Adobe has been working hard to bring a version of Photoshop to the iPad that’s actually as close to the Desktop version as possible and with the latest update, they’re bringing the portable version of the photo editing software a little bit closer to the full version with the introduction of the Content-Aware Fill tool as well as easy ways to remove backgrounds/parts of images.
With Content-Aware Fill, users can make one-tap selections and then use the built-in AI to fill its contents based on the surroundings. As Adobe explains, you can: “make distracting objects in your background disappear, or blend artifacts smoothly. Remove unintended bystanders in your photos, clear out artifacts and dust, and see what else our AI technology can do.”
To use it, take the lasso tool, or one of Photoshop’s smart AI-powered selection tools like Object Select to pick an area, tap “Content-Aware Fill”, and watch your selection disappear and blend into your image.
Another useful tool added to Photoshop on the iPad is the ‘Remove Background’ option which can be found under the Lasso tool, or under Quick Actions. With this tool, you can swap out a background or place your subject within a new image without too much effort on your part (thanks AI!).
In addition to removing backgrounds, Select Subject technology can now identify photos of people, and perfectly select and then refine the small details like wisps of hair and edges of clothes – a process that can literally take hours manually.
When Select Subject is used on a portrait photo, it will automatically complete all the hair and edge refinements for you. Once selected, it’s easy to use masks and adjustment layers to quickly refine the selection.
The final really useful edits that have been added to the iPad version of Photoshop are Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color. These commands will give you one-tap solutions to correct tonal issues or colour imbalances and can be found from the “Filters and adjustments” icon on the right side.
Away from editing, the following additions have been brought in:
- Access to all 20,000+ Adobe Fonts from directly within the type tool
- Load your own custom fonts
- Rename your cloud document while editing it
- Sync your cloud document on-demand
- View pins and annotations left by others on documents you’ve shared from the commenting panel
Photoshop on iPad is available as part of the Adobe Photography plan which starts at £9.98 a month. For more information, visit the Adobe blog.