Aperture and iPhoto Removed From Mac App Store Following Photos for OS X Launch

Following Wednesday's release of OS X 10.10.3 and the new Photos for OS X app, Apple has, as promised, removed Aperture and iPhoto from the Mac App Store. Apple warned that development would stop on the two photo editing apps in the middle of last year, and put notices in the Mac App Store a couple months ago to let users know the apps would be pulled from sale following the launch of Photos.

The two apps remained available for download from the Mac App Store for approximately a day after Photos for OS X was released, but attempting to access them via search now gives no results and clicking through from an external Mac App Store link gives an "Item Not Available" message.

itemnotavailableaperture

Apple has ceased development on Aperture and iPhoto to concentrate its resources on Photos for OS X, its new photo editing software that integrates with the Photos for iOS app and iCloud Photo Library to let users access their complete set of photos on any device.

Photos for OS X has been described by many as an excellent replacement for iPhoto, as it includes more advanced tools and it runs much faster. Aperture users may find Photos for OS X lacking, however, as it does not have advanced tools like a loupe or brushable adjustments. It also does not support plugins.

With only one major photo editing app to focus on, it's likely that Apple will make improvements to Photos for OS X that could bring its feature set more in line with Aperture in the future, making both casual users and professional photographers happy.

Photos for OS X is available through the OS X 10.10.3 update, and when opened for the first time, it will prompt you to migrate your existing Aperture and iPhoto libraries. Though they won't receive updates beyond compatibility fixes, Aperture and iPhoto can continue to be used for editing purposes, both alone and in conjunction with the new Photos app.

Tags: Photos for OS X, Aperture, iPhoto

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Aetles

47 months ago

RIP Aperture, you will be missed. :(

Rating: 29 Votes

voyagerd

47 months ago

Waiting for Photos Pro.

Rating: 15 Votes

netnothing

47 months ago

Waiting for Photos Pro.

Wait no more!
https://lightroom.adobe.com/

-Kevin

Rating: 13 Votes

ginkobiloba

47 months ago

I moved to Adobe Lightroom too, and i absolutely hated the interface. It's built against all common sense and an ergonomic disaster. I 'm really going to miss Aperture...

Rating: 13 Votes

artguy3d

47 months ago

Removing Aperture and iPhoto is a good sign for all of us. It demonstrates Apple hasn't lost that knack of never allowing the past to inhibit the future.

And Apple should be immensely proud of the achievements in releasing the first version of Photos for Mac to everyone. It's a remarkably stable and feature-rich product, and Apple is giving it away for free to every mac user.

you make me sick, apple paid ****** idiot....

Rating: 11 Votes

DavidLeblond

47 months ago

This is what I think Beats will become. Apple Music.

They should call it Apple Records, just to stir the pot.

Rating: 8 Votes

Hughm

47 months ago

Lr

Went to Lightroom as soon as Apple seemed about to bail on Aperture. Never looked back.

Rating: 7 Votes

simonmet

47 months ago

Has anyone confirmed that if you remove it or switch computers that you can still install from your "previous purchases"

Or is it gone as in - forever?

This I must know too.

Hosestly I'm not all that impressed with Photos even as just an iPhoto replacement. It looks and feels more like an iPad app than an OS X app. UI is so minimal it's basically non-existent.

Be warned also that once you upgrade your library to the new format it won't be available in Aperture!

Just what is going on over at Apple?

----------

But doesn't have a download button hmmmm

This is what I'm guessing - and unfortunate.

This is shocking if true. One can only hope that it can still run if migrated to a new system manually. I depend on my Aperture plugins I've spent a lot of money on.

Really so stupid to get rid of a product without an equivalent replacement. It's like FCP X all over again but this time even worse.

Seriously Apple WTF? You are screwing over a huge user base.

Rating: 6 Votes

Canubis

47 months ago

I moved to Adobe Lightroom too, and i absolutely hated the interface. It's built against all common sense and an ergonomic disaster. I 'm really going to miss Aperture...

Fully agree. I tried using Lightroom several times over the past years and always eventually stopped using it several times. It just made me vomit :confused:

I am not a pro in photography, so I actually don't need all the features from Lightroom. But still something more powerful than iPhoto or Photos would be great. Maybe some indie developer could pick this up, maybe the guys making Pixelmator? There sure is an empty spot left now with Aperture being perfectly usable for now but eventually being a dead end :(

Rating: 5 Votes

merlinmage

47 months ago

The fact that Apple does basically the same thing with Aperture what they did with FCP and X, canceling a product or even a whole product line (XSan, Shake etc.) really concerns me. I don't use FCP X at all (Adobe/Avid) however I bought a nMP and while I am very pleased with the machine, I'm very concerned about the "pro line" at Apple. They never made clear roadmaps and consumers bring in a heck more money than "us pros" but at this point, they could basically kill everything "pro" and just go with it. I really don't like this direction at all.

I really like long OS cycles, but right now I hold on Mavericks and will probably never upgrade, looking at the Yosemite and beyond situation. When I compare Mav/Yose with Win7 and 8.1, they are by far more matured OSs.

Rating: 5 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]