Apple is acquiring the well-known image editing app Pixelmator.
What are the next steps for Pixelmator?
Apple has reached an agreement to acquire Pixelmator, a prominent image editing application available on Mac and iOS. The company developing Pixelmator announced the news through its blog, stating that the acquisition will allow them to "reach an even wider audience and have a greater impact on the lives of creatives around the world."
In its statement, Pixelmator indicated that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, although this is subject to regulatory approval. They assured that, for now, there will be no significant changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator applications. They also promised that exciting updates will be announced in the future.
Details about the terms of the agreement have not been provided, but it is known that it is pending the relevant regulations for Apple's purchase of the Lithuanian company. Such transactions can be complicated, as while Microsoft managed to acquire Activision Blizzard, other mergers have failed under regulatory pressure, such as Nvidia and Arm, Amazon and iRobot, and more recently, Adobe and Figma.
Apple, which bought the popular weather app Dark Sky in 2020 and shut it down in 2022 to integrate its technology into its own weather app, has kept other software programs like Final Cut and Logic Pro in the market, which are still available many years after their acquisition.
Over the years, Pixelmator Pro has established itself as a viable and more affordable alternative to Adobe Photoshop, with a one-time cost of $49.99. The application offers a wide range of tools for photo editing and retouching, design creation, drawing, among others. Its latest update has improved the masking process and added the capability to hide the background of an image using artificial intelligence.
