What Photoshop is
Adobe Photoshop is Adobe’s image editing software for photo processing, compositing, retouching, and visual design, and it is the most frequently cited reference point in its category. Development began in 1987 with brothers Thomas Knoll and John Knoll; they sold the distribution license to Adobe in 1988, and Photoshop 1.0 shipped in February 1990.
History and forms
Photoshop’s delivery has changed with the industry: it joined the Adobe Creative Suite branding in October 2003, and with Creative Cloud’s launch in June 2013 it moved to a subscription model, making CS6 the last version sold under a perpetual license. Beyond the Windows and macOS desktop application, Adobe ships an iPad version available since 2019 and a version that runs in the browser. In 2023, Generative Fill and Generative Expand powered by Adobe Firefly were introduced into Photoshop, connecting image generation models to the established editing workflow.
Feature sets, language availability, and subscription terms change, so the official product page is the authoritative entry point. Photoshop sits alongside Adobe Premiere (video editing) and After Effects (motion graphics) in Adobe’s creative software family, each covering a different working material: still images, video, and motion.
Discussion in the show
In Weekly #005’s chapter “Photoshop、重写软件与 GPL 讨论” (Photoshop, rewriting software, and the GPL discussion), Yang Pan opens with the online claim that “Photoshop is doomed” in the Chinese transcript, and the hosts discuss software ecosystems and the boundaries of copying in the AI era; Orange relays the story of someone allegedly cloning Photoshop with AI in front of Adobe’s CEO. What follows is the participants’ commentary and secondhand accounts on software value, copyright, and “distilling an architecture before rewriting it” — commentary on an industry phenomenon, not an evaluation of Photoshop itself. In the same episode’s chapter on the Xiaomi Bluetooth remote, Guizang mentions that years of heavy Photoshop use left him with only muscle memory for its shortcuts, a personal footnote on how voice input reshapes tool habits.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the official Photoshop download?
The official product page is adobe.com/products/photoshop, which leads to the download, trial, and subscription flows. Mobile and web entries live inside Adobe’s official channels as well.
Is Photoshop free?
Photoshop is subscription-based commercial software with a limited official free trial; continued use after the trial requires a subscription. Current trial terms and plan prices are on the official product page.
What AI features does Photoshop have?
Since 2023, Photoshop has included Generative Fill and Generative Expand powered by Adobe Firefly, which generate or extend image content inside selections. Features evolve with releases; the in-app experience and official documentation define what is currently available.
Which platforms does Photoshop support?
Desktop versions run on Windows and macOS, with an iPad version and a web version also available. Feature coverage differs by platform; the official product page has the details.
Sources
- Official Adobe Photoshop product page
- Adobe Photoshop - Wikipedia (development history, version timeline, and the move to subscriptions)