Pixelmator is Apple’s iPad Air 2 Showcase

During its iPad keynote earlier today, Apple needed an app to showcase just how powerful the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 were. To that end the company who gave watches of its live stream a first look at Pixelmator, a picture editing application made by a team in Lithuania.

During the iPad Air 2 keynote earlier today, users were treated to just a short look at the editing they’ll be able to do when the final version of Pixelmator for iPad arrives soon. The team on stage was able to manipulate text without any lag or issue. Another part of the demonstration including removing an animal out of a photo. All told, what viewers got to see of Pixelmator for iPad was pretty impressive and easily analogous to what users are able to do with photos on PCs or Macs with professional tools like Adobe’s Photoshop.

 

A blog posted to Pixelmator’s website moments ago gives potential iPad Air 2 and other iPad users a better look at what they can expect from the app. Costing $4.99 when it debuts in the iTunes App Store for the first time, Pixelmator for iPad will include a painting engine, options for correcting and adjusting photos, a slate of effects and a slate of shapes to use in editing photos.

Like other hard-core graphics programs, users will be able to layer images on top of other images using Pixelmator. This will also allow for easier editing. If that sounds familiar it’s because Photoshop actually uses layering too. So does GIMP, an open-source image editing project that’s available on Windows.  To cut down on file formats and mak it easier for users to replace their Photoshop installations, Pixelmator will allow users to open files created in Photoshop.

Apple is aiming for a future where users buy more of its products because they all completely work together. Apple CEO Tim Cook, closed today’s iPad Air 2 Keynote declaring as much. Pixelmator does its part by supporting two of the latest technologies designed to bridge the gap between iPad and Mac. There’s already a Pixelmator app available in the Mac App Store. When this new iPad version arrives users will be able to start work on a photo on their iPad and pick up work on their Mac and so forth. The idea is simple. This connectivity is thanks to Handoff a new feature that’s making its début in iOS 8.1 on iPads and Mac OS X Yosemite.

Pixelmator says it’s able to bring a decent experience to iOS because of the hardware and software features of the iPad Air 2. The new Apple 8X processor gives the iPad Air 2 the power it needs to allow quick and seamless image editing. It’s hard not to imagine that the Metal software that Apple is using to let developers harness more performance out of the hardware is at play here too.

The iPad started out as a way to stay entertained, but Apple has always maintained that the iPad could be a solid computer replacement for those with basic needs. With apps like Pixelmator showing up more frequently, we could be in for a future where a computer – Windows or otherwise – is just a tool for professionals. Tim Cook talked at length about how easy the iPad was to use and how that’s driving sales. One statistic even showed that 100% of the people who owned an iPad mini were satisfied with their purchase. He also took swipes at what Microsoft is doing with tablets and mobile productivity, name dropping 2-in-1s as a category that just isn’t competitive. 2-in-1s are what Microsoft calls Windows laptops and tablets that have productivity modes like an attachable keyboard or dock.

Pixelmator hasn’t given an exact launch date for Pixelmator on iPad.