Pixelmator Pro 2.3 Adds Smart Subject Selection and Background Removal Features, Plus New Select and Mask Tools

[MacRumors]

Pixelmator Pro 2.3 went live on the Mac App Store on Tuesday, and the latest major update to the popular image editing app brings a smart new automatic background removal feature, automatic subject selection, new Select and Mask tools, and more.

In a blog post announcing the update, Pixelmator's developers say that it's now possible for users to "magically" remove the background from any image with just a click. The new feature is based on machine learning models that can find a subject in almost any image and automatically strip out the background, and it's also available in Finder as a built-in Quick Action.

In addition to the background eraser feature, a new AI-powered Decontaminate Colors feature can remove traces of the old background from the edges of objects left behind, allowing them to blend seamlessly with any new background. Decontaminate Colors can be applied manually in any layer, even on ones that have been cut out in other apps.

Building on the same set of machine learning algorithms is Automatic Subject Selection, which allows users to make a selection of the subject of any image with just a click. Meanwhile, a new Select and Mask tool makes it easier to select difficult areas of subjects like hair, fur, and other objects with complex edges.

The Smart Refine feature has also been redesigned to enhance selection accuracy, and a new Refine Edge Brush lets users brush over particularly tricky edges to get the selection they want.

These new features are powered by ML algorithms that are integrated into Pixelmator Pro using Core ML, which makes them "absolutely fly" on the latest M1-powered devices thanks to their overall speed and the Apple Neural Engine, according to the developers. For example, background removal takes around 2-5 seconds on M1 devices and up to 30 seconds on Intel devices for an average image.

The update includes some smaller changes, like the ability to specify custom export sizes and scales in the Export dialog. More details are available in the release notes. Version 2.3 is free for existing Pixelmator Pro users, and there's currently a 50% discount off the app price (usually $39.99) in the Mac App Store.

Article Link: Pixelmator Pro 2.3 Adds Smart Subject Selection and Background Removal Features, Plus New Select and Mask Tools

 

[FSMBP]

Pixelmator Team is killing it...Lot of good updates this year.

 

[AFPoster]

Love this update so far! Thanks Pixelmator for investing time and talent to creating an innovative product that destroys Photoshop.

 

[joshwenke]

Pixelmator is an incredible app. Not only is it powerful and can handle projects fit for Photoshop, it's intuitive and combines everything I love about Mac and UI and graphic design.

 

[onlyforbo]

I was so excited when I saw the Monterey wallpaper... When is Universal Control coming? I was so incredibly excited for it.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I don't know why anyone would buy into Adobe when Pixelmator exists.

(Provided you don't need the rest of Adobe's ecosystem, of course.)

 

[psxp]

Oh, this feature would have helped me last month when I was doing some similar editing. Looking forward to the update

 

[MBAir2010]

does this 'thing" have layers?
and older 10.14 versions?

the graphic program looks very good and at a great price!

 

[hefeglass]

Just tried this feature out and it very impressive. Super quick on my m1 pro mac too

This is going to save me so much time making thumbnails, etc..

 

[Icelus]

does this 'thing" have layers?
and older 10.14 versions?

the graphic program looks very good and at a great price!

Yes, it is basically Photoshop.
Mojave / 10.14 is the oldest supported version, but there are older versions for <10.13

 

[attila]

Shame it's such an unintuitive application. It's not good for anything but meme making.

 

[attila]

does this 'thing" have layers?
and older 10.14 versions?

the graphic program looks very good and at a great price!

I'd recommend "Affinity Photo" instead if you need anything similar to Photoshop.

 

[alien3dx]

will check it out . marquee in adobe is nice . in pixelmator before i zoom and delete non wanted lol

 

[PsykX]

I don't know why anyone would buy into Adobe when Pixelmator exists.

(Provided you don't need the rest of Adobe's ecosystem, of course.)

I'm asking myself the same thing.
It's basically the price of 1-2 months of Photoshop, except that you own it and you have it forever.

 

[alien3dx]

I'm asking myself the same thing.
It's basically the price of 1-2 months of Photoshop, except that you own it and you have it forever.

i own adobe cs2 premium i think before, now cannot be download or moved to mac. Nowdays more on pixelmator to edit small thing.Photoshop is nice but the price . ouch ..

 

[cflem]

Just need an iPad Pro version….

 

[Icelus]

I don't know why anyone would buy into Adobe when Pixelmator exists.

(Provided you don't need the rest of Adobe's ecosystem, of course.)

PSD file support?

 

[BWhaler]

Incredible app from top-tier developer.

Nothing better than true native Mac apps. it’s amazing Apple is allowing halfass iOS apps to pollute the Mac.

 

[cnnyy20p]

I use Affinity Photo mainly because Pixelmator Pro is limited. But have it is a very nice addition. I often use ML Resolution to quickly clean up images from online source when I want to use them for Keynote presentation and it works amazingly.

 

[alpi123]

I don't know why anyone would buy into Adobe when Pixelmator exists.

(Provided you don't need the rest of Adobe's ecosystem, of course.)

Hmm, let me think of one case: You don't use Mac?

 

[VictorTango777]

Monitor resolutions are constantly increasing. However, Pixelmator continues to use tiny, microscopic icons and text in the toolbars and tool palettes. Instead of distinguishing icons by sight, I have to resort to remembering them by position. The numerical displays for coordinates, zoom level, RGB values in the main window, and slider values in tool palettes are also microscopic. The tiny text and icons make Pixelmator frustrating to use on high resolution monitors. BBEdit is just as bad, so it’s not just graphic design applications that do this. After multiple emails to BBEdit and Pixelmator, there is still no change. Why do so many of these “professional” applications like to use tiny, microscopic icons and text in toolbars and tool palettes? And why do the developers of these applications continually refuse to update their interfaces to work better with high resolution monitors?

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

PSD file support?

Pixelmator Pro 2.1.3 brings huge improvements to PSD support - Pixelmator Blog

In Pixelmator Pro 2.1.3, the PSD engine, which handles support for Adobe Photoshop files, has been rewritten from the ground up, adding support for many new features in PSDs and greatly improving existing support.

www.pixelmator.com

Hmm, let me think of one case: You don't use Mac?

This is MacRumors. We're posting in a forum thread for an app that is Mac-specific. Why would Windows even be a part of the question, here?

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Just need an iPad Pro version….

Yeah, I'd love it if Pro were ported fully to the iPad Pro. The iPad version is alright, but it's still missing some parts of the Mac version.

Though since both are now sporting M1s, maybe that will happen sooner rather than later.

 

[MBAir2010]

I'd recommend "Affinity Photo" instead if you need anything similar to Photoshop

ah, Affinity, that was a good and in-depth program,
just could not get used to the tool settings and searching for the select tool or erase tool
no matter what i needed to perform on affinity i just could not get into that rhythm.
Krita is better friendly wise, but crashes and doe snot have the preview image.

thanks for the tip tho!

 

[n-evo]

PSD file support?

Pixelmator supports PSD.