The in-browser versions use simplified features.

Adobe, developers of prominent photo and art editing software like Photoshop and Illustrator, announced today that they are developing compact, in-browser versions of the apps. The apps, currently available in beta, allow a user to upload and edit images, then save their files to cloud storage, without having to actually download either app. The beta version of Photoshop can be utilized by anyone with an active Creative Cloud subscription, while the Illustrator beta is invite-only.

Yep, you heard that right. @Photoshop is coming the to Web, so that you can access projects anywhere. 🙌 In public beta now. #AdobeMAX pic.twitter.com/d1idupdTzo

— Adobe (@Adobe) October 26, 2021

The trade-off to the browser version of the programs is that their features are more limited compared to their downloaded counterparts. Users can leave comments and annotations, view multiple layers, and make simple edits with the basic suite of tools, but anything more substantial will require the use of the actual apps.

Adobe Photoshop to be available on the web with basic tools
https://t.co/FO4H39iWhy

— IndiaTodayTech (@IndiaTodayTech) October 27, 2021

“We’re not bringing all the features on day one, but we really want to unlock all those basic edits that are just best done now in the browser with whoever you’re working with,” Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer, told The Verge.

The primary goal of making these apps available through browsers is to encourage collaborative editing, in a similar vein to Google Drive. Adobe is pairing this release with the release of a community hub on its website to make organizing work groups easier.