Picking up the missing pieces of Apple’s Creator Studio

In October, I wrote a little piece about how I was concerned over the lack of a clear strategy with Apple’s creativity apps—in particular, the recently-acquired Pixelmator and Photomator, as well as the inconsistent development effort behind Apple’s video apps. As speculated and rumored, progress was being held for a pro apps bundle, Creator Studio, but only sorta-kinda.

It’s not the first time Apple has made a bundle for its pro creativity software. People may remember Final Cut Studio, which included Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor (as well as other software). So Apple glued Logic Pro to that. Then they glued Pixelmator Pro to that. Then they said, “Do you know what’s just like these? (Pregnant pause.) Our productivity office applications.” and bundled those in as well, but only freemium beta features. When I think of Final Cut Pro, I certainly think of “extra things I can do in Freeform.”

While it’s positive that people who have paid for apps, or just like iWork, get to continue to use them, the way the features are partitioned between all of these versions makes very little sense, and will probably make even less sense over time. Take Pixelmator, which is supposed to be Apple’s answer to Photoshop. It will still be available to buy in the Mac App Store, but won’t have the new warp tool.

The only subscribers-only feature.

Sure, that’s the one thing in your Photoshop competitor that requires a subscription, the improved warp tool.

Just one more thing…

What’s the deal with Photomator?

Pixelmator Pro received an update and an iPadOS app, but there are no updates for Photomator, a Lightroom analog, and it is not a part of the Creator Studio bundle. It continues to be a product that you can pay a separate subscription for on a monthly ($8), or yearly (there are three $30 a year plans, and one $40 a year plan, with no clear differences) basis that offers nothing beyond bug fixes.

It seems unlikely Apple is going to kill Photomator, because when Creator Studio was announced, Apple didn’t say anything about it—while it announced that Pixelmator Classic for iPhone wasn’t going to receive any updates.

We’ll get back to Photomator. But first, let me explain how maddening that announcement about Pixelmator Classic was.

Pixelmator Classic was the only Photoshop-like app on the iPhone that was truly Photoshop-like. Adobe’s own iPhone Photoshop apps (there have been many) have all been attempts at reimagining Photoshop for the iPhone, and seemingly aimed at customers who find Photoshop too intimidating. Unfortunately, its solution has just been less elegant than Pixelmator Classic’s.

I pay Adobe for Creative Cloud and don’t use their Photoshop iPhone app. Instead, I use Pixelmator Classic, which is bizarrely being put out to pasture with no imminent or announced replacement. Maybe there will eventually be a Pixelmator for iPhone, and maybe that will eventually be in this Creator Studio bundle. There will simply be no way to know until, and unless, it happens. Apple loves its little surprises!

Why not forecast that possibility by telling us what will happen with the multi-platform app Photomator? It’s the direct analog to Lightroom, making it the most obvious missing piece in Apple’s bundle. If it’s because there are no updates to announce for Photomator after over a year, then I would ask, “Why is Apple charging $30 a year for the existing version of Photomator?”

If it’s because Photomator will instead be a $30 a year freemium unlock for the Photos app, then I would ask, “What’s the Creator Studio bundle for if it doesn’t include photography? And why is Apple still charging $30 a year?”

Let’s say it’s going to make it a separate up-sell for Photos. Then we’ll probably find out in June, but it won’t ship until the fall. Conveniently, that gives me just enough time to start another yearly billing cycle for Photomator, so I will have paid $60 since Apple acquired Photomator and did nothing with it.

I am not arguing that Photomator should be free. Free is unhealthy, because then there’s no motivation to improve the software. I’m arguing that if there’s a subscription fee I’m paying annually, then there needs to be at least annual development of the software. I don’t need massive updates, but I need some sign that there is, and will continue to be, value in paying an annual subscription.

This isn’t software from a small, independent company any longer. It’s now software from Apple, which embarrassingly struggles to release its yearly OS updates for its platforms, and still can’t match its multi-platform apps feature for feature.

There’s something very strange in Apple branding this as a Creator Studio, seemingly targeting independent “content” creators, but then not having a single iPhone app with a video, photo, illustration, image editing, or music specialization when the iPhone is the platform the creatives are the most concerned with as the final destination for their creativity.

That just leads me back to the same conclusion that I drew in October: What is the promise Apple is making by asking for these annual payments? The mismatched nature of the bundle, and Apple’s spotty updates before this, makes me question if it thinks that just continuing things as they were, but with a subscription fee, is good enough.

Needless to say, I’m skeptical of the Creator Studio being a Creative Cloud replacement when Apple can’t even say what its answer to Lightroom is, when they bought their own answer to Lightroom over a year ago.