Apple's quiet comeback in creative software: Is Adobe in trouble?

As subscription fatigue grows and creative professionals seek more affordable options, we investigate whether Apple is positioning itself to disrupt the $60-a-month Adobe Creative Cloud monopoly.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is at least two years behind industry leaders in the AI gold rush. However, one of the easiest ways for big tech companies to play catchup is to acquire smaller companies that are already doing well in that space.

Unsurprisingly, Apple recently revealed that it had agreed a deal to acquire Pixelmator, the hugely popular Mac-based photo editing tool maker. There are currently no further details, and completion of the takeover will depend on regulatory approval.

The news has captured the imagination of creatives, who are excited about the potential reigniting of the fierce rivalry between Apple and Adobe.

From Vilnius to Silicon Valley

Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Pixelmator was founded in 2007. Its premium app, Pixelmator Pro, quickly became a massive hit with creatives. It was easy to use and had a one-time purchase price rather than a subscription. Better still, Pixelmator combines everything you expect to find in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom in a single application.

It's worth noting that Apple has already successfully transitioned away from Intel's x86 architecture to its own M-series silicon chips across its devices. By adding Pixelmator, Cut, and Logic Pro to its ecosystem, Apple could make moves to tempt Mac users away from Adobe and towards its creative suite of tools.

Fans of Pixelmator looking at the history of previous acquisitions are understandably nervous. Apple famously killed Aperture ten years after Apple released its version of a professional photo editing app. After acquiring Dark Sky, it was eventually integrated into Apple's Weather apps. There was also a similar story with the acquisition of the Workflow app.

However, it's not all bad news. Other Apple acquisitions like Cut and Logic Pro are still available as apps. Pixelmator could be the missing piece of the puzzle, offering creatives an alternative to the increasingly expensive Adobe Creative Cloud.

Why Adobe's dominance in creative software is under question

Adobe has enjoyed a near-monopoly in the creative industry. But in recent years, it has made a few noticeable stumbles. The problems began with the US software giant paying $3 million to settle kickback allegations after accusations of making improper payments to companies that would influence federal purchases of Adobe's software.

Elsewhere, Figma quietly challenged Adobe's dominance by becoming the go-to solution for enterprises wanting to bring designers and programmers' workflows closer together. Adobe quickly swooped in to remove the threat with a $20 billion acquisition of Figma.

However, it was embarrassingly forced to pull out late last year without a clear path to regulatory approvals. The failure involved Adobe being ordered to hand its competitor a reverse termination fee of $1 billion in cash.

The growing rift between Adobe and the creative community

There has also been a storm brewing within the creative community and a growing frustration with inflexible subscription plans that force members to choose between having just Adobe's photography apps or paying for the Creative Cloud subscription to access Premiere Pro. But this expensive option features a long list of apps they'll never use.

However, that relationship further soured after users accused Adobe of using their work to train AI tools. Adobe quickly backtracked and attempted to clear up any confusion with yet another update to its terms and conditions. These incidents were enough for photographers to explore their options and if it was possible to avoid Adobe's expensive subscription.

Apple sharpens its focus on software

Although Adobe used to regularly attend Apple's WWDC events, they last attended in 2018 and now seem more interested in courting Microsoft. Could this be an early sign of growing friction between these rivals?

Apple appears to be making moves of its own as the public perception of Adobe changes. High-profile incidents surrounding terms and conditions, subscription prices, and complaints of performance issues have left Adobe looking vulnerable.

After years of neglecting software in its ecosystem, Apple Intelligence has shifted its focus back to software rather than hardware. Apple hardware is performing better than ever, with its speedy M-series chips being the perfect foundation to introduce creative software for graphic-intensive tasks.

Updates to Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Camera, and a potential acquisition of Pixelmator indicate a possible showdown between Apple and Adobe in 2025.

As Apple prepares to go toe-toe with its creative offerings, we could see a future battle between the traditional one-time purchase approach and the more modern subscription model.

Final Cut Pro 11 is such a nice pro app experience coming from Adobe.

You just download an app and run it. No weird ‘Apple Creative Cloud’ app to install full of crappy AI ads, no bizarre files on disk and uninstaller, weird ‘genuine service’ malware eating resources, etc pic.twitter.com/05MP1s46Rp

undefined Sebastiaan de With (@sdw) November 14, 2024

At a time when subscription fatigue is increasing, we could also see a digital arms race where hardware providers such as Apple bolster their value offerings by adding products to their AI-driven ecosystem. For example, outside of the creative space, if Apple acquired a popular subscription-based app like Flighty and allowed users a seamless way to manage their travel plans for free, it would quickly become a value proposition.

Regulatory pressures vs innovation

Antitrust cases and regulatory burdens in the nineties famously weighed down Microsoft. These hurdles allowed the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, and Apple to flourish. Ironically, we are now experiencing antitrust déjà vu, and regulators are focusing on the big tech companies that have become too powerful.

Adobe's embarrassing $20 billion failure to acquire Figma has left it vulnerable. Apple also has its own mountain of problems with antitrust cases, and analysts will be watching very closely to see if regulators give Apple the green light to acquire Pixelmator and what this will mean for the future of creative software.

Adobe's Creative Cloud offers more than 20 creative apps, many of which are seldom used by the average user. The debate on whether AI democratizes creativity or lowers the quality and harms the industry is set to intensify in the months ahead.

For better or worse, AI is lowering barriers to entry to an industry that previously judged creativity based on who had the luxury of an expensive Adobe subscription and thousands of hours to master the suite. How will Apple tempt users away from a $60-a-month Adobe subscription? This is one to watch very closely.