Earlier this week, Adobe Systems Inc. released Photoshop Elements 4, but the new version was for Windows only. With no mention of a new Mac version, some speculated that the company may be phasing out the Mac product, but Adobe said on Thursday that is definitely not happening.
Adobe explained that with their professional products, a simultaneous release is important to its customers and they adjust their product teams efforts and resources according. By doing this Photoshop or Creative Suite users are able to count on being able to work collaboratively with their counterparts.
“For our professional applications like Photoshop and the entire Creative Suite, simultaneous, cross-platform releases continue to be critical,” an Adobe representative told MacCentral. “Graphics professionals often share working files across heterogeneous networks, and cross-platform releases allow them to make a smooth transition to the new version.”
Unlike professionals, consumers who typically purchase products like Photoshop Elements don’t work collaboratively, so simultaneous releases are not as important.
“This reality gives Adobe the opportunity to balance our resources differently for our consumer products, while still delivering the right products at the right time,” said Adobe’s spokesperson.
While Adobe said that its Windows version of Elements did have more sales than the Mac version, the company said they are still committed to the Macintosh community.
“We’ve seen an overwhelmingly positive response to Photoshop Elements 3.0 for the Mac and have also seen an increase in sales within this community. Our Mac customers are still very important to us,” said the Adobe spokesperson.
Adobe would not say when the Mac version would ship or what new features the product will have.