[NewsPoster]

In the wake of Friday's earlier announcement that it has ceased development of Aperture, Adobe has moved quickly to further reassure users of the pro photo management and editing program that it is working with Apple to offer a transition path, that it plans a "rich roadmap" for future Lightroom development and that it is "doubling down" on its existing and future products for OS X and for iOS. Lightroom 5, Adobe's Aperture alternative, is available as a standalone app or as part of a Creative Cloud subscription.

Currently, Adobe is offering both Lightroom and Photoshop together in a "photographer's bundle" for $120/year. Lightroom alone is still offered on a "perpetual" license for $100, but does not include upgrades, cloud storage space or any of the other extras included in the subscription version. Aperture was only ever offered as a standalone product, originally costing $500 in 2005 but eventually lowered to $80 once the Mac App Store opened. Its last major upgrade came in 2010.

"If you are an Aperture or iPhoto customer looking for change, check out our new Creative Cloud Photography plan announced last week, or our standalone Lightroom app for your desktop as alternatives," Adobe said in a statement. "Put simply we're doubling down on our investments in Lightroom and the new Creative Cloud Photography plan and you can expect to see a rich roadmap of rapid innovation for desktop, web and device workflows in the coming weeks, months and years."

"We also continue to invest actively on the iOS and OSX platforms, and are committed to helping interested iPhoto and Aperture customers migrate to our rich solution across desktop, device and web workflows," the statement went on to say. Adobe recently introduced a mobile version of Lightroom for iPad, alongside several touch-oriented apps to assist Photoshop and other CS software users who need some level of mobile functionality, or want to use devices like the iPad as part of the creative process. It has also been iterating Lightroom and its CS software in a continuous process since moving to a primarily subscription-based model for its pro software.

Apple, for its part, has only said that it plans to phase out its widely-used iPhoto software with a successor app known as Photos. While it has been mum on specific features, the forthcoming Photos is intended to work across both iOS and OS X, and is likely intended to offer a comprehensive management and editing solution for casual users.

However, Apple has also said that engineers formerly working on Aperture will be reallocated to the Photos project, offering some hope that Photos will have some "power user" features alongside the more consumer-level tools. Apple has a history of including some more advanced features in iPhoto for those who needed them, though it always stayed firmly within the bounds of casual or amateur photography use.

The company might also consider offering a "Photos Pro" version to cater to creative pros and Aperture users if enough demand is demonstrated. The company has also said that updates will keep Aperture compatible with current systems and OS X Yosemite when it comes out, allowing those who rely on its workflow a chance to transition to alternatives over time.

[alfredo]

Try LightZone. http://lightzoneproject.org/ free

[Inkling]

Adobe's $10/month Photoshop Creative Cloud is quite a good deal, particularly for the benefits you get in addition to the apps. I only wish there was something similar for InDesign users.

[Stuke]

Too much for me. Old school, probably. But I like buying a piece of software and being able to use it as long as I can run it, not as long as I choose to rent it. Rent/lease is a model that only makes sense for the big companies. Period.

[The Vicar]

@Inkling:

Aperture was $80. The Adobe "cloud" nonsense is $120/year — if you didn't need anything more than what Aperture provided, the move will cost you an extra $40 the first year alone, and will continue to cost in the future.

Not that overcharging for their overrated software is anything new for Adobe.

[davoud]

What kind of scrambled writing is this? It says that Adobe is ceasing development of Aperture!

Those who object to the cost of Adobe CC and refuse to pay for a subscription are probably those who don't need the software, anyway. No sense paying for 16-bit TIFFs and better JPEG compression if you're just putting your photos on Facebook.

[davoud]

What kind of scrambled writing is this? It says that Adobe is ceasing development of Aperture!

Those who object to the cost of Adobe CC and refuse to pay for a subscription are probably those who don't need the software, anyway. No sense paying for 16-bit TIFFs and better JPEG compression if you're just putting your photos on Facebook.