Pixelmator for iOS Updated With Dynamic Touch, Repair Tool Improvements

Pixelmator for the iPhone and iPad was today updated to version 2.0.2, adding the first major new features since the app expanded to the iPhone in May. The 2.0.2 update brings Dynamic Touch, a new feature for all of the app's Retouch tools.

With Dynamic Touch, users can adjust the stroke size of Retouch tools without needing to open up the brush settings menu for faster image corrections. Dynamic Touch detects the surface area of the finger that's in contact with the screen and changes the brush size accordingly. If you paint with just the tip of your finger, the brush will be thinner, while painting with a full finger on the screen will make the brush thicker.

Today's update brings the Pixelmator for Mac repair tool algorithm to iOS, which makes removing unwanted images from a photograph or image quicker and more precise. According to the app's release notes, the repair tool is up to five times faster.

"There are numerous ways to repair any area of an image, so we did a lot of testing on a Mac Pro to optimize the algorithm of our Repair tool," said Simonas Bastys, the lead developer of the Pixelmator Team. "We analyzed millions of possible ways to repair areas of various complexity, and then compared the speed and quality ratio of each final result. After six months of testing, we derived a repairing algorithm that gives stunning quality with incredible speed every single time. Pixelmator for iOS now takes advantage of the same algorithm."

In addition to the above mentioned features, Pixelmator is also gaining an improved Pixelmator Photo Editing extension for editing directly within Apple's Photos app, and the Pixelmator team is also introducing both an iOS Guide Book and a selection of tutorials that will help iPhone users get the most out of the photo editing app.

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

Tag: Pixelmator

Top Rated Comments

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flowsy

55 months ago

I just bought a Nikon Camera and decided to get pixelmator on my iMac. Still playing with the camera and have not started with photo editing, but that is coming. My big disappointment is that in order to use the software on the iPad, I need to buy the software AGAIN. I may get the iPad version since it is only USD$5.00, but I will do so begrudgingly. Would have prefered to pay a little more on the mac and have the iOS version given for free (maybe through a redeemable coupon).

I'm afraid to tell you: You will have to pay for every Nikon lens you might get in the future.

Rating: 12 Votes

JPark

55 months ago

You would have preferred to pay $5 more on the mac and received the iOS version for free? I feel like I'm being trolled here...

Rating: 5 Votes

Keane16

55 months ago

That really is not viable. Unless they started charging more for the Mac app in the first place to cover the iOS development costs. But then there would be users who only use the Mac version that are in effect paying for the iPad version that they don't use. Or conversely, users that only want the iPad version and not the Mac.

The iPad app is completely different, if it was a simple case of clicking a button and recompiling the Mac app for iPad, sure. But it's so much more involved than that. They really deserve to charge for all the platforms, the software is superb.

Rating: 5 Votes

TMRJIJ

55 months ago

I love this app. These guys know how to innovate.

Rating: 4 Votes

jlc1978

55 months ago

I love this app. These guys know how to innovate.

I agree. I've use date OS X version since it came out and find it pretty much equal to Photoshop for my needs. Unless you need some feature that is only available in PS Pixelmator is a great low cost alternative.

Rating: 2 Votes

windowpain

55 months ago

Would have prefered to pay a little more on the mac and have the iOS version given for free (maybe through a redeemable coupon).

If they added five bucks to the OS X version, wouldn't that mean you end up paying the same?
Or even more if you just needed the one version..

They are priced very reasonably imho. They could probably get away with charging much more for the apps.

Rating: 2 Votes

Keane16

55 months ago

on my 5S using the repair function takes a good 30sec or more to process if the image is detailed (and heats it up significantly). might be different on the 6/6+ but i've yet to hear from anyone about it.

I haven't noticed any serious heating up on either my iPad Air 2 or iPhone 6. But The 6 is definitely slower than the iPad. Not much you can do. The 5s is coming up to 2 years old, the processing power of these mobile chips is still growing ridiculously, it's to be expected. You've got to remember that the repair tool is the same algorithm running on their desktop app, repackaged to run on iOS - that's got to take some grunt to drive.

The heat part should be nothing to worry about, if it was getting too hot the OS would throttle the CPU speed and if it was an issue shut down. An example, in graph form: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7460/apple-ipad-air-review/3

So now it takes 24 seconds on a 5s?
:D

6 seconds? Ha, in all seriousness it's probably "up to 5x". And even then only on the latest hardware.

I think that they should charge for the iOS version. What I was trying to say is that they should give the iOS version for free to buyers of the OSX version. That is why I stated they should include a redeemable coupon. Also, I would think that a budled package of OSX and iOS versions would not require raising the price the full $5.

I own both the OS X and iOS version. Happily paid. And will pay for future major releases if that's what they want. I hate this race to the bottom in software. Good software is worth paying for. $5 is almost nothing when you already own the OS X app, an iOS device and a Mac.

Nothing more annoying than good software dying because the devs ran out of money. Everpix still hurts.

Rating: 2 Votes

Jessica Lares

55 months ago

Just tried this new dynamic touch with the repair tool, pretty nice!

Love that they have a manual now. :D

Rating: 2 Votes

jlc1978

55 months ago

The problem is that Apple really doesn't make it easy to do that, and would probably charge them for each redemption. In the end, it's far easier to simply charge for both, and it's not like $5 is unreasonable, compared to say, OmniGraffle...

Rating: 2 Votes