So what's happening with Pixelmator and Photomator?

[cjsuk]

I'm a regular Pixelmator user, mostly because I can never remember how to use Photoshop and it's good enough for what I need to do.

However I have been holding out for a decent Photomator release for a couple of years now with an objective to use it for light edits and library management instead of Lightroom. It's nearly good enough. But in the last 6 months since the apple acquisition, the change log has gone dead with updates only.

Wailing into the aether here but please can someone say or do something because I'm slowly resigning myself to be an Adobe stooge forever at the moment.

 

[whitestar27]

Apple bought Pixelmator just as I was evaluating it for a potential Adobe replacement. Unfortunately the missing features that were on their roadmap which I don't think we will see plus the generally dire state of Apple's RAW engine that Photomator uses, has made me go back to Adobe.

Even if Apple does integrate it's features into Photos or a new application, I wouldn't use it as Apple's RAW engine (if I'm correct in my research) has no support for lens profiles. By comparison, files from my DSLR processed with DXO or ACR are far sharper, show way more details and correct for lens distortion. Files processed with the Apple engine look subpar so I wouldn't use it now I know the difference.

 

[RdWing]

Pixel/Photomator have essentially become abandonware in the last year, ever since the apple purchase. The only update was to add a splash screen that they were purchased by apple, oh and they also removed their community forum and a bunch of documentation. So.....that sucks.

 

[whitestar27]

Pixel/Photomator have essentially become abandonware in the last year, ever since the apple purchase. The only update was to add a splash screen that they were purchased by apple, oh and they also removed their community forum and a bunch of documentation. So.....that sucks.

I think that's normal for an Apple acquisition though. This is what this site had to say about Workflow when it was acquired:

"Last month Apple acquired work automation app Workflow, which gives users the ability to create a variety of workflows that can translate articles, create GIFs from photos, calculate tips, and more. It's still unclear what Apple plans to do with the app in the future, but Workflow remains on the App Store in the wake of the acquisition, and now it appears that the app will no longer receive any noticeable updates down the line."

 

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Why buy something that works perfectly and turn it into abandonware. Another corporate clusterfudge.

 

[RUQRU]

Pixel/Photomator have essentially become abandonware in the last year, ever since the apple purchase. The only update was to add a splash screen that they were purchased by apple, oh and they also removed their community forum and a bunch of documentation. So.....that sucks.

Well Pixelmator Pro 3.7 was released in early July 2025. The release notes:

What’s New

Pixelmator Pro 3.7 adds support for Apple Intelligence*, introducing faster new ways to bring your creative ideas to life with Image Playground and Writing Tools. This update also improves RAW format support and adds accessibility improvements.

Image Playground

• With Image Playground, you can now create fun, original images based on a photo, a description, or people from your Photos library.

• Use the new Add to Playground feature to easily recreate any image layers or drawings in beautiful artistic styles like animation, illustration, or sketch.

• Insert your created images as new separate layers from the Insert menu at the top of your screen or replace any existing layers using the Replace Layer feature.

• When working with templates or mockups, you can easily replace placeholder images with your Image Playground creations.

Writing Tools

• With support for Writing Tools, you can proofread, summarize, rewrite, and modify the tone of any text in your designs.

• The Compose feature lets you tap into the power of ChatGPT to create new, original text content from scratch based or a quick prompt or a description.

• Simply hover over or Control-click any highlighted text in Pixelmator Pro and click Writing Tools to get started.

Other Improvements

• You can now open and edit RAW images from OM SYSTEM OM-1 Mark Il cameras, taken using High Res Shot.

• VoiceOver support has been improved to provide spoken and braille descriptions of Pixelmator Pro tools.

• You can also use your keyboard to navigate through tool option items with VoiceOver.

• Hover over items in the Tools sidebar to display their names in large text using Hover Text.

*Apple Intelligence requires a supported device, language, and region. Learn more at https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence/

So, whatever you think of these features, Apple has not abandoned this software and I don't think they will. These are really good apps.

 

[weckart]

None of those was high, or even present, on my list of wants for Pixelmator. If that is the sign of things to come, yeah it's abandonware.

 

[maflynn]

If that is the sign of things to come, yeah it's abandonware.

Changes that you don't like doesn't mean its abandonware.

As someone considering the purchase I am indeed concerned about it the future of pixelmator, but the fact remains that a point release was published last month. Will we see another point release, or a 4.0? That's the big question

 

[dwsolberg]

Changes that you don't like doesn't mean its abandonware.

As someone considering the purchase I am indeed concerned about it the future of pixelmator, but the fact remains that a point release was published last month. Will we see another point release, or a 4.0? That's the big question

I don't know. These seem like AI requirements Apple decided to integrate across their lineup rather than actually investing in the app's longer term usage. There's no new base features.

 

[maflynn]

I don't know. These seem like AI requirements Apple decided to integrate across their lineup rather than actually investing in the app's longer term usage. There's no new base features.

I understand your point, but it is a tiny bit of good news, the risk of Pixelmator being left to whither on the vine is very real, don't get me wrong. I was burned by Apple with aperture and tbh, I'm debating whether I want to buy that or maybe something like affinity

 

[Astuces iOS]

After Apple's acquisition, Pixelmator Pro received some minor updates, but I'm scared that Apple could kill this app... Aren't you?

 

[russell_314]

After Apple's acquisition, Pixelmator Pro received some minor updates, but I'm scared that Apple could kill this app... Aren't you?

Pretty much every app Apple buys gets some of its features integrated into the OS then killed off. Dark Sky is the last one I can remember but there are many.

Pixelmator Pro is walking dead at the moment

 

[ChrisA]

Changes that you don't like doesn't mean its abandonware.

The Pixelmator website says flat out that no substantive changes will be forthcoming.

Yes, they may update it just to keep it running, but they actually say "nothing substantial". So you are right. It is not 100% abandonware. Let's call it "lowest-level maintenanceware" on life support.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Contrary to that, Apple features (Intelligence) got integrated into the latest Pixelmator 3.7 version. Which was released just a month ago. They

v3.6: May 2024
v3.5: December 2023
v3.4: September 2023
v3.3: February 2024

They have previously gone for months between such .dot releases.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Contrary to that, Apple features (Intelligence) got integrated into the latest Pixelmator 3.7 version. Which was released just a month ago. They

v3.6: May 2024
v3.5: December 2023
v3.4: September 2023
v3.3: February 2024

They have previously gone for months between such .dot releases.

I know they added this but that’s almost nothing…

 

[jlc1978]

After Apple's acquisition, Pixelmator Pro received some minor updates, but I'm scared that Apple could kill this app... Aren't you?

Not really. I see a more likely path, if they went away from a standalone product, would be to add it to their suite of included software and perhaps adding some of its features to Photos. It fills a void in their software offerings, now if they'd just bring back Bento...

 

[sracer]

Not really. I see a more likely path, if they went away from a standalone product, would be to add it to their suite of included software and perhaps adding some of its features to Photos. It fills a void in their software offerings, now if they'd just bring back Bento...

I'm glad that you mentioned Bento, because that is a textbook example for why fans of Pixelmator should be concerned.

ClarisWorks/AppleWorks had a flat-file database module. It was head-and-shoulders above the database in MS Works. In fairness, every module in CW/AW was head-and-shoulders above MS Works. I was using CW on Windows for quite a while and is what finally convinced me to move over to Macs. It was THAT good.

My memory might be a bit fuzzy on what happened so corrections are appreciated... (particularly which companies were Apple subsidiaries, spin-offs, etc.)
When CW/AW was discontinued, most of the functionality reappeared in iWork (except database). The database component was reimagined as Bento. Bento was gobbled up by FileMaker and subsequently killed off... never to return.

Then there was talk about a year ago that FileMaker would be making a personal edition of a database app available. That never happened.

I'm still using Pixelmator Classic (Version 3.9.11 Classic (221027.1307)) but I am a bit concerned that in the not so distant future it will be discontinued.

 

[jlc1978]

When CW/AW was discontinued, most of the functionality reappeared in iWork (except database). The database component was reimagined as Bento. Bento was gobbled up by FileMaker and subsequently killed off... never to return.

IIRC, Bento was developed by Filemaker,Inc as a home/small business database for users who did not need FileMaker. They killed it after a 5 tear run, but it was a home grown product, not an acquisition like FileMaker. It would be nice if they had a FileMaker Air version...

 

[weckart]

Contrary to that, Apple features (Intelligence) got integrated into the latest Pixelmator 3.7 version. Which was released just a month ago.

I regard that as the opposite of a bug fix. Adds nothing but instability.

 

[AppliedMicro]

I regard that as the opposite of a bug fix. Adds nothing but instability.

Maybe - I’d still, tentatively, regard it as a sign that Apple may want to keep these apps around.

I mean… Pre-acquisition, they had already added PDF and video (!) layer support: features that way pushed the envelope for image editing applications. For which you might have said exactly the same (“adding nothing but instability”).

Sure, they want to jump on the AI bandwagon - but it’s still wasted development resources if they want to cancel these apps as standalone products.

IIRC, Bento was developed by Filemaker,Inc as a home/small business database for users who did not need FileMaker. They killed it after a 5 tear run, but it was a home grown product, not an acquisition like FileMaker.

Yes, that’s what I remember as well. Bento wasn’t an acquired product that got discontinued.