Pixelmator, a popular Photoshop replacement on the Mac, was released for the iPad today. The image editing iOS app is similar to the Mac app, incorporating many of the same tools to allow users to retouch and enhance photos and images.

The app includes a complete set of painting tools and a painting engine that can take advantage of a range of brushes from crayon and marker to pencil and paintbrush to create works of art from scratch or improve photos.

pixelmator
It offers several photo editing tools, including advanced retouching tools that let users remove unwanted objects from images in just a few minutes. There are color adjustment tools (including levels, brightness/contrast, curves, white balance, and more) to improve the look of photos, and a selection of more than 14 pre-created effects can be applied to images.


Pixelmator for iOS supports non-destructive layer styles and it includes powerful selection tools along with image straightening and cropping tools. There are also built-in shape and text tools.

Pixelmator comes with a set of top-quality retouching tools so you can easily make every picture absolutely stunning. With the innovative repair tool, quickly and easily get rid of unwanted image elements simply by painting on them or, with just a simple tap fix red eyes, brush away blemishes, smudge to smooth out hard lines, paint to boost the colors, bring in some light and so much more. Advanced technologies used in retouching tools make them incredibly fast and accurate, so that you can seamlessly bring an image to perfection.

Loaded with dozens of breathtaking effects, Pixelmator for iPad gives even more ways to enhance pictures. Add gorgeous effects like blur, vignette, vintage, black & white, light leak, bokeh, miniaturize and many more -- in an instant. You can even combine different effects for unique, near-effortless artistic creations and see the stunning results in real time.

The app has been designed from the ground up for iOS 8 and it fully supports several different iOS 8 features. It uses iCloud Drive to store images, for example, and with Handoff, it's possible to start editing an image on the iPad and pick it up on the Mac.

There's Document Picker support to allow users to edit images in other apps, and there's a Pixelmator Photo Editing extension designed for the Photos app. It's also possible to share images with other apps with Share extensions.

When Apple unveiled the new iPad Air 2 on October 16, it invited the Pixelmator team to take the stage to demo the Pixelmator app for the iPad Air 2, as it is designed to take advantage of the tablet's powerful 64-bit processor. Though created to utilize a 64-bit processor, Pixelmator for iPad is compatible with iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini 3. iPad 4 or later is recommended for the best performance, however.

Pixelmator can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

citi Avatar
147 months ago
Instant buy...especially at that price.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reden Avatar
147 months ago
Can someone tell me if macrumors makes money off these advertisements?

Why does that matter? You obviously visit this site, and it doesn't ask you for money.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twintin Avatar
147 months ago
Nice. Would buy if I had an iPad.
So what are you waiting for. Go out an buy an iPad so you can enjoy Pixelmator as everyone else. :p
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FieldingMellish Avatar
147 months ago
I'd buy it and not use it just in order to help fund an Adobe antidote.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nostaws Avatar
147 months ago
Apple had better treat developers like these well. Pixelmator adds way more value to the iPad than a lot of other apps.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mak47 Avatar
147 months ago
I've been playing with it on the iPad Air today. It runs smoothly, no problems that I've found.

In some ways it's even more user friendly than on the Mac. I like the rotary dial controls. Very cool.

The only gripe I have is fonts. It's so close to the Mac version that I want to use it for real projects, but without the ability to add fonts from my Mac, I can't do that. Even opening old projects isn't possible because the fonts aren't supported.

I'm sure this will get better in time.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Verizon New

Verizon is Down: iPhones Show 'SOS' Mode Due to Network Outage [Resolved]

Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms. iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Google Gemini-Powered Siri Will Reportedly Have These 7 New Features

Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to… Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner Tell more stories Provide...