Apple Buys Pixelmator — Possible Scenarios For What’s Coming Next

Apple bought Pixelmator, which sent a shockwave across the creative world. I’m in shock myself. As the dust settles a bit, it’s time to think about the possible implications of this.

As a reminder for what follows later in this article, Pixelmator has been around as a company since 2007 and makes two apps: a Photoshop competitor called Pixelmator Pro and a Lightroom competitor called Photomator. The former is available only on the Mac, while the latter is available for all Apple platforms (except the Apple Vision Pro). Look for this BasicAppleGuy article for a more detailed description of Pixelmator's history.

As explained in this article, I migrated to Pixelmator apps this year, leaving Adobe behind (I was a subscriber between 2016 and 2024). It took me some effort to achieve it, but it was mandatory because I couldn’t justify the subscription price asked by the Adobe Photography plan. I bought Pixelmator Pro and Photomator, which are probably among the best native Mac apps out there. I mainly use Photomator, but I use Pixelmator occasionally to create simple things like the following artwork for my podcast. It's elementary design, and Pixelmator can create more complex content, as you might already guess. Photomator offers a unique take on photo editing. One could argue that Photomator shares familiarity with Adobe Lightroom. Having used both, I would agree this is why I felt at home when I switched from Lightroom to Photomator. I’m pretty happy with my decision because the alternatives are viable for my photography workflow and needs.

Over the years, especially since switching to Pixelmator apps, I often wondered why Apple wasn’t buying the company. When you look at Pixelmator apps, you think: These apps could have been made by Apple. Some would say that Apple should have made those apps! Just look at the Pixelmator website; it looks like Apple designers are behind it.

Until recently, Apple lagged behind Photomator in photo editing features, but not anymore. Without a thorough comparison, let me say that both photo-editing apps are similar in the primary photo-editing area. I prefer Photomator over Apple’s Photos for basic image editing. Apple Photos’ design uses a more complex user interface to edit a photo but also lacks some flexibility. I like many of Photomator’s tools, while Apple’s Photos offers many tools that I don’t need or find a use case for. The capabilities of Photomator layers are approachable because I can understand how to work with them. It’s a well-thought-out app.

For some reason, I believe that Photomator and Pixelmator maximize Apple’s frameworks and APIs for image processing while presenting a different take from the user experience side. Instead of reinventing the wheel, they reuse many Apple graphic technologies and APIs, such as the iCloud Photos Library. Still, they also offer unique features, too, like Super Resolution, Denoise and Workflows.

I’m not very knowledgeable in Pixelmator Pro, but judging from my limited experience, I know that Apple doesn’t have such an app in their current offerings. I think Pixelmator Pro is much more approachable than Adobe Photoshop, and I think it’s a great addition to Apple’s offerings.

Market consolidation to compete against Adobe?

Someone could ask: Is Apple interested in Pixelmator Pro to compete against Adobe Photoshop with a more approachable take on image editing? Maybe, maybe not. It’s tough to tell from my point of view. Others have written that Apple is looking for new talents. This often happens in technology, but I doubt it is only about talent. It doesn’t serve Apple well to kill such a high-quality Mac app also available on the iPad and the iPhone. These apps are so rare these days.

Canva bought Affinity earlier this year. Words on the internet point to Canva's desire to better compete against Adobe. That sounds about right. By buying Pixelmator, is Apple trying to do the same? Probably. The case is compelling. As I said, Pixelmator Pro competes against Adobe Photoshop. Apple doesn’t have an offering in image-editing space and has never entered that space, while Photomator is a bit like Aperture, competing against Lightroom Classic.

From the official announcement on Pixelmator press release, we can read (emphasis is mine):

Pixelmator has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval. There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time. Stay tuned for exciting updates to come.

What’s next for Pixelmator’s app? What was the motivating factor for this acquisition? Let’s look at each of them.

What could come next for Pixelmator apps?

Pixelmator Pro is an image editor that competes with applications like Adobe Photoshop. Looking carefully at this web page on Apple’s website, we can see that Apple has nothing like that while offering many other pro-level apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, MainStage, etc. Some are available on the Mac and the iPad, like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. I can see Apple adding Pixelmator Pro to the mix. It's probably the easiest guess to take. As noted by 9to5Mac, Pixelmator Pro isn’t currently available on the iPad. Apple could make it happen and ask for a small subscription fee, like for FinalCut Pro. I guess the focus of the Pixelmator team would be to work on this in the short term. It might not have been economically possible for the team to do it alone, but with Apple backing, it's an entirely different matter. I’m sure Apple is looking to expand their subscription offerings. Like FinalCut Pro for iPad, I can see Apple adding Pixelmator Pro.

Photomator is a photo editor that competes against Lightroom and… to some degree, Apple Photos. That is the crux of the problem. As I said earlier, there are some feature overlaps between the two. It is not obvious what Apple will do with Photomator. One thing that is unique to Photomator is its support for file-based editing. Photomator can work directly with files, which wasn’t possible until this summer. Of course, Apple wants users with bloated iCloud Photo libraries, potentially translating into more iCloud space subscriptions. But it makes more sense to use a file-based workflow for more serious photo editing of RAW images coming off a digital camera. Speaking of RAW images, RAW support is more comprehensive in Photomator. More advanced features like layers are available in Photomator, making it much more versatile for complex photo editing tasks. Workflows that enable the ability to do many different tasks in a single action are also something power users like me appreciate. Super Resolution is another example of something unique to Photomator. Could these more advanced features be folded into Apple Photos? Some people think it might. Other guys, like the developer behind Acorn, another image-editing app for the Mac, in a blog post, are asking similar questions to mine. He doesn't have a clue. Me neither. The overlapping of many features makes me less comfortable to bet on this. Keeping Photomator around would send a confusing message. The jury is still out on this one.

Looking ahead

Is Apple getting their hands on Pixelmator Pro while dropping Photomator the only possible story here? I hope not, but time will tell. For now, I’ll continue to use Photomator for the more demanding photo-processing needs while keeping an eye on what’s happening next. Let’s just say that I’m cautiously optimistic.