The king of image editors
Adobe Photoshop is the reference app when it comes to image editing and many years at the top haven’t dimmed its shine. It’s also a serious app: Photoshop has a steep learning curve and will take practice, often over many years, to get to grips with. For the average user is Photoshop the best option or is it just more power than most people need?
The last word in photo editing
Hands-down the best all-round image editing app
Adobe Photoshop is a powerhouse of an app and has had many years on the market to refine and improve its features. It’s paid off, as few people would deny that Photoshop is the app of reference when it comes to image editing. It’s never been considered accessible and other apps have sought to take advantage of this by launching competing software offering specific Photoshop features (and the occasional app trying to recreate all of Photoshop’s features.
As a result, for many people, the question is: do I opt for Photoshop or do I save effort and money by trying out one of the many alternatives? One thing that is undeniable: Photoshop is the photo editing and all-round image editing app par excellence. If you are specifically looking to edit photos or you regularly need to carry out a wide variety of assorted edits to images, Photoshop offers exactly the features, power, and control you’ll need.
Now, harnessing these powerful features isn't an easy task. It typically takes users dozens of hours to learn how to use Photoshop and even longer to learn how to use it well. Luckily, people have been having a similar problem for decades, so modern users will be able to take advantage of the huge quantity of user-generated and official support documents, videos, and tutorials that have grown over the years.
Bear in mind, however, that Photoshop has been updated many times in this period and older material might be difficult to relate to if you’re using a recent version of the app.
If you’re not an enthusiastic photo editor or you typically use a smaller number of editing tools, the fact that Photoshop takes so much practice and is so intensive on your computer’s resources (older and less powerful Macs will have a hard time keeping up), it might be more practical to look towards another app that isn’t quite so focussed on all-round greatness. It will be easier on your brain and your computer.
Where can you run this program?
This version of Photoshop runs on Mac, version 10.12 or later (Sierra). There is also a version for Windows.
Is there a better alternative?
In terms of an all-round image editing app or photo editor, no: Photoshop is the best. Users should bear in mind, however, that not everyone needs an all-around app or powerful photo editor. If you think that your needs might allow more flexibility, check out Krita or Corel Painter, which are both less resource-intensive, have a shorter learning curve, and offer more specific features than Photoshop. If you’re looking for a free all-around option, try GIMP. It might meet your needs but isn’t the polished hero that Photoshop is.
Our take
Ever heard the expression “With great power comes great responsibility”? It might have originally referred to politics and royalty, but it also describes Photoshop perfectly. It is king of the photo editors but takes serious effort (and RAM) to use properly. Make sure that you really need Photoshop before jumping in.
Should you download it?
If you need Photoshop beyond a doubt, then it’s a definite download.
