If you’re familiar with Adobe Creative Cloud, you probably know a lot of the cool things it can help you do on your computer. Editing pictures, creating graphics, formatting PDFs, you name it. But did you also know that you can take some of these features on the go? With the suite of Adobe mobile apps, you can get limited versions of Photoshop, Lightroom, and more on your tablet or mobile phone.
So, if being able to edit graphics or preview mobile designs while you wait for the bus sounds interesting, read on for an overview of the best Adobe mobile apps and what you can do with each one.
While most are available on both iOS and Android, there are some exceptions, so I’ve noted the relevant platforms for each app. Also, the apps are technically “free” to use, but to get real value from most of them, you’ll need a subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop apps.
Adobe Capture CC
Adobe Capture is first on the list because it’s one of the coolest apps available. True to its name, it lets you capture images from the real world and turn them into assets for your designs. You can pull out colors, create brushes or patterns, and even create vectors from real-world images.
Then, you can use any of these assets in other mobile or desktop Adobe Creative Cloud apps.
Key Features:
- Integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud mobile apps
- Manipulate photos with your fingers to create elements based on real-life inspiration
- Automatically save elements to your Creative Cloud library
- Create a Look for videos
Platform(s):
- iOS
- Android
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Photoshop Sketch
Photoshop Sketch lets you create your own images using a variety of tools and brushes, including custom brushes from Adobe Capture. You can draw with your fingertips or use any stylus. Sketch probably won’t work that well on a small screen, but on a tablet you’ll have plenty of space to create.
Once you finish a design, you can automatically upload it to your Creative Cloud library.
Key Features:
- Numerous drawing tools such as pencils, pens, markers, erasers, and custom brushes.
- Easily send sketches to Photoshop, Illustrator, or your Creative Cloud library.
- Compatible with almost any stylus.
- Behance integration for easy sharing
Platform(s):
- iOS
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Illustrator Draw
Similar to Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Illustrator Draw lets you create beautiful vector graphics on your phone or tablet. You can pick from one of five built-in brushes and use up to ten different layers. And when you’re done, you can easily share to desktop versions of Photoshop or Illustrator.
You can even use Adobe Capture to pull out shapes to use as the basis for your vectors.
Key Features:
- Five built-in brushes.
- Can use up to ten different layers.
- Integration with Capture to bring in shapes from photos you take.
- Easily send sketches to Photoshop, Illustrator, or your Creative Cloud library.
- Compatible with almost any stylus.
- Behance integration for easy sharing
Platform(s):
- iOS
- Android
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Comp CC
Adobe Comp CC lets you create layouts using your fingertips. Because drawing straight lines with your fingers can be just a tad difficult, the app will help convert your gestures into perfect shapes. You can pull in vectors, colors, styles and more from your Creative Cloud library and then send your compositions to desktop apps for finishing.
Key Features:
- Create print, web, or mobile layouts
- Use basic gestures to create crisp graphics
- Bring in fonts from Typekit
- Send your designs to desktop apps or your Creative Cloud library
- Share designs with clients or collaborators
Platform(s):
- iOS
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Spark Post
Adobe Spark Post isn’t just for web designers, it’s also great for social media marketers or general website owners. The app lets you create beautiful images and videos to share on social media. Quickly add text, resize or recolor, and share to most social networks directly from the app.
Key Features:
- Premade themes let you quickly create beautiful text
- Automatically resize your images to fit the social network
- Automatically recolor images to make them pop
- Share images directly to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more.
Platform(s):
- iOS
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Lightroom Mobile
Adobe Lightroom mobile brings powerful image editing to your phone or tablet. Touch up existing images so they look perfect in your designs. You can use 40+ presets or experiment directly with color, clarity, and vignettes. Once you’re done, you can easily sync your edits to use in designs you create with desktop apps.
Key Features:
- 40+ image presets
- Edits automatically sync with other devices and apps
Platform(s):
- iOS
- Android
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Experience Design CC
If you’re creating a site using Adobe Experience Design, you can use the mobile app to get a live preview of what your mobile site will look like. Any changes you make on the desktop app will automatically update to the mobile app, which makes it super easy to tweak your prototypes.
Key Features:
- Interact with mobile prototypes of Adobe Experience Design creations
- Only for previewing – you’ll need to design in the desktop version.
- Changes made on the desktop version automatically update on the app
Platform(s):
- iOS
- Android
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Adobe Preview CC
Similar to the Experience Design preview app above, Adobe Preview lets you quickly preview Photoshop designs on your mobile devices. Again, any changes you make on your desktop app will appear on the mobile app in real-time. And if you don’t have a wifi connection, you can even connect to your laptop via USB to preview designs.
Key Features:
- Preview Photoshop designs on your mobile device
- No editing functionality – only for previewing your designs
- Changes made on the desktop version automatically update on the app
Platform(s):
- iOS
Price: Free. Requires Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for many features | More Information
Wrapping Things Up
Ok, so it’s not like you’re going to be able to completely move your workflow to mobile. But, Adobe’s mobile apps definitely provide some helpful functionality.
Capture, Sketch, Draw, and Comp can work together to create basic designs. If you already have pictures you want to use, Lightroom Mobile can help you touch them up to get them ready for the web.
And if you need to preview how your designs look on mobile, the Experience Design and Preview apps make that incredibly easy thanks to their real-time updates.
Lastly, Spark Post is a great tool for anyone to create and share beautiful social media graphics.
Have you used any of the Adobe mobile apps? Which one is your favorite?
Article thumbnail image by venimo / shutterstock.com
I used Adobe Spark Post on their website and I was really satisfied with the result. It is a shame that it is not on Android.
Two amazing tools, now for Android too.
Adobe Comp CC (Android)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.comp
Adobe Photoshop Sketch (Android)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.creativeapps.sketch
That’s a phenomenal list of high-quality apps! Kudos to Adobe for these!
I have used Adobe Spark and I totally recommend it. Useful and great results. Thanks for the post!
Very cool! I’ve been using Adobe Capture CC for a few months and it’s become useful in my design process because it easily turns my drawings into vectors. I can easily pull them up on my computer and use them in my design work. Now I’m excited to try these others!
Thank’s for this article !