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Lightroom for iPad and iPhone are now totally free, no desktop app or subscription needed

One thing Adobe didn’t make clear in its recent flurry of product announcements is that its Lightroom for iPad and iPhone apps are now available for anyone to use, free of charge. Both apps have always been free to download, but were time-limited free trials unless you had a desktop license or Creative Cloud subscription – and as TNW noticed, that’s no longer the case.

“We’re seeing a lot of people come in first on Lightroom mobile, so now we’re allowing people to use it locally on their local assets, their local photos and videos on their phone and tablet for as long as they like,” Tom Hogarty, Adobe’s director of product management for digital imaging told TNW … 

Both apps were updated a few days ago, and clearly Adobe is hoping that people get sufficiently hooked on the mobile version to then lay out the bucks for the desktop app or a Creative Cloud subscription.

Lightroom for iPad and Lightroom for iPhone are free (and now unlimited) downloads from iTunes.

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Comments

  1. Mega Steve (@MegaSteve) - 9 years ago

    Just downloaded onto my iPhone 6S and its started a 30-day trial. How do I get it for free?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      You can still accept the Creative Cloud trial if you choose to, you just don’t need to any more.

      • iSRS - 9 years ago

        ah, so the trial is for all the Creative Cloud has to offer. Got it. Thanks!

  2. mikezmac - 9 years ago

    For me it’s a trial, It says it on it when you open the app
    I logged in and it also sends an email saying that it’s a trial.

    Is there something to do to make it a full version for free? Don’t take offense but I’ve never known this company to give stuff away for free. I hope I’m wrong, I really like light room

  3. iSRS - 9 years ago

    If you use iCloud Photo Library, you can now use Lightroom on all your photos. This gets me thinking. I wonder if this is the way of the future. That the software becomes fully functional for free, and they will charge subscriptions for services, and the revenue from the subscriptions to those services will be enough to support the development of apps.

  4. How exactly is a time-limited app even allowed on the store?

  5. There are better apps for manipulating local photos on your iOS device. The biggest asset of LR on mobile is access to your desktop-based library and raw workflow – that feature will be missing after the 30 day trial.

  6. AJ Alfieri-Crispin - 9 years ago

    Hmmm, free Lr on my 5[s] seems to not recognize any of my raw photos in iCloud. Only the JPEGs from my phone. What you do import ignores any Photos & Photos extensions bas d the dits and reverts you tinge original.

    ACDsee is my favorite because of its light and color equalizers. Overall it is a bit buggy and slow, but it helps me get to where I want easier than anyone else without having to manipulate curves.

    And then snapseed because of everything else it can do.

  7. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    I like Enlight and Pixelmator on iOS but will def grab lightroom now…..

  8. Derek Payne (@desmondie) - 9 years ago

    Meh! Snapseed for me.

  9. Stephen Ellerington - 8 years ago

    Lightroom is great for removing the fisheye effect from GoPro photos. Worth having just for this feature for me.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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