Adobe Announces Upcoming 2016 Creative Cloud Updates at MAX

Adobe's MAX creativity and design conference is set to kick off this morning, and during the MAX event, Adobe plans to show off several upcoming software updates and new software experiences that are coming to its product lineup later this year.

All of Adobe's Creative Cloud apps are being updated with new features. Photoshop, for example, is gaining a new universal search bar with visual search options, stock templates, tighter integration of SVG elements, and better support for SVG color fonts, while Illustrator is gaining font, text, and glyph enhancements along with new alignment tools for creating pixel-based artwork.

Adobe Experience Design CC (XD), Adobe's tool for designing and prototyping, is gaining support for layers and symbols, along with the ability for users to comment on shared designs, making it easier to get feedback from clients. During the first half of 2017, XD will also support real-time sharing and collaboration features along with visual versioning to make it easier to keep track of changes.

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After Effects features a new 3D rendering engine that can render 3D elements up to 20x faster, while Premiere Pro is gaining new virtual reality capabilities and optimized video publishing for social networks. The new software is able to auto detect virtual reality video, applying the proper settings. Character Animator is getting faster puppet creation and animation that better integrates with Photoshop and Illustrator. Team and Enterprise users will soon be able to co-edit video files in Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Prelude with updated workflows.

Mobile apps are also being updated. Photoshop brushes will be able to be used in Sketch, and both Sketch and Draw will gain layer blend modes. Comp, meanwhile, will gain auto mockups and the ability to copy/paste within and across documents.

Project Felix, being unveiled at MAX, is an upcoming tool that allows graphic designers to make high-quality photo-realistic images using 2D and 3D assets, even without experience using 3D software. Project Felix includes 3D models, materials, and lights sourced from Adobe Stock, and there are options do to things like adjust camera angles and lighting to make the perfect product shot.

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Adobe Spark, available today as a free service, is designed to allow Adobe Creative Cloud users to create social graphics, web stories, and animated videos. Spark is available to everyone, but paid members will have exclusive features, including the ability to remove Adobe branding from projects.

Adobe is officially bringing its Adobe Stock Contributor site out of beta, allowing Adobe users to sell their photographs and design work to other Adobe users. Adobe Stock is gaining an improved image search feature and a new auto-keyword option that makes it easier to find what you're looking for.

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Adobe is also announcing a new partnership with Reuters, incorporating Reuters video and photography of news, sports, and entertainment events, and it is introducing a new way to purchase fonts through the Adobe Typekit marketplace.

Adobe's Creative Cloud updates will be available to Creative Cloud subscribers before the end of the year. For more details on the upcoming features that will be available in Adobe's range of Creative Cloud apps, make sure to check out Adobe.com.

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Top Rated Comments

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Release

40 months ago

So is this going to turn into another "I'm just a hobbyist that wants to use these pro applications but I'll chime in to complain about the subscription?"

Me, I make my living using Creative Cloud. I have no problem paying the fee. I like the constant updates and features MUCH more than having to wait and then buy an upgrade each year. And yea, I know I'm doing that by paying the monthly fee but it's in the background. I don't even have to think about it. Every 6 months or so, a new version. I like it.

Rating: 11 Votes

verniesgarden

40 months ago

Everyone complaining about the monthly payment issue forgets it solved one massive headache. Compatibility, when you have to send the printer a photoshop 5 file because they haven't updated in 10 years.

Rating: 9 Votes

buttongerald

40 months ago

This is me as well. I upgraded to the Creative Cloud almost instantly and I am perfectly fine with it.

Rating: 6 Votes

baryon

40 months ago

With every Adobe update, there's a very real chance of your new app completely getting messed up, freezing, crashing, etc... Downgrading is also almost impossible even if you have a backup. So those of you working on important stuff: don't upgrade until you're 100% done with your important stuff and your income doesn't depend on it.

Back when new versions came every 1.5 years, a bug would eventually get sorted out and you'd be able to use the app for most of that time. But now by the time bugs get fixed, a new version is out with new bugs.

Just like with macOS, the frequent updates of Adobe apps for every tiny thing mean that you're far more likely to have to constantly live with bugs you have to work around. No version ever has time to grow up and mature.

The number of times I've updated and had Photoshop or Premiere not open anymore, my projects getting messed up, or the interface having a huge bug — has taught me to stick to "If it ain't broke now, consider yourself lucky because it will most certainly be broke in the next update."

Rating: 3 Votes

SBlue1

40 months ago

The same printer still uses Photoshop 5 because he does not want to pay Adobe again. So the headache is still there.

Rating: 3 Votes

c.s.

40 months ago

I want Adobe to succeed. They make great tools. Unfortunately their cloud and mobile services are extremely mediocre. I don't know any professionals using their 20GB of storage to sync anything or use any of the cloud libraries. Dropbox is so much better, faster, and I know where all my assets are. I've given up on the iPad. I can't even open and edit a PSD -- I don't see how it fits into a professional workflow. Far better to just carry a 12-inch MacBook to have the full version of every program with all my fonts.

Rating: 3 Votes

ghostface147

40 months ago

Just stupid that they don't offer perpetual licenses anymore for some of their products.

Rating: 2 Votes

displayblock

40 months ago

While that's the intended result, unless everyone involved in your workflow decides to update at the same time, you're still going to end up with incompatibility issues.

A Premiere Pro project created in CC 2015.3 isn't going to open on CC 2015.1 or CC 2015. Inevitably every time there's an announcement like this, some early adopter goes and updates to the latest version before there's a chance to work out the bugs and then nobody else can work with their project files until they have the time and bandwidth to update to a potentially unstable .0 release.

Rating: 2 Votes

jgelin

40 months ago

Only for Photoshop. If you want to use Photoshop and Illustrator you have to pay full price.

Yeah they should let you have a # of app plan. Like I could get 3 apps for X amount or 5 for Y, and the whole package for Z.

Rating: 1 Votes

mollyc

40 months ago

I thought Adobe does allow people to pay licenses to use some apps individually, like Photoshop?

LR & PS are a less expensive photographer's bundle for $10/mo. If you want anything else, you pay full freight; you can't opt in for specific programs.

Rating: 1 Votes

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