Apple has agreed to buy Pixelmator, the firm that makes the well-known photo and image editing applications Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator. The Pixelmator team announced on Friday that regulatory permission is pending for the transaction.
The Lithuanian firm, founded in 2007, is primarily known for Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro— competitors to Photoshop. Popular photo editing program Photomator is made by the company. Apple keynotes have featured Pixelmator apps for years. Apple named Pixelmator Pro Mac App of the Year in 2018.
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“We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one, crafting our products with the same razor-sharp focus on design, ease of use, and performance,” Pixelmator said in a blog post.
Pixelmator’s sale to Apple is subject to regulatory approval, but the app developer said there will be “no material changes to Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time,” but customers should “stay tuned for exciting updates to come.”
Pixelmator: A Game Changer for Apple’s AI Development
As other big tech companies have done, Apple’s purchase of Pixelmator doesn’t come as a surprise. Apple’s purchase of Pixelmator may help the company improve its AI skills and add AI features to its image apps, according to experts.
Apple bought the weather app Dark Sky in 2020, and it became part of Apple’s own weather app. In the same way, Apple bought Workflow, an automation and macro app that became tools and gave users access to a huge library of pre-made tools as well as the power to make and use their own. The functions of Pixelmator will probably be built right into the Photos app.
Apple’s last large purchase was Beats in 2014 for $3.2 billion. However, it occasionally acquires smaller enterprises.
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Apple Intelligence unveiled its first features. Clean Up, an equivalent to Google’s Magic Eraser, eliminates objects from photos. In the free software upgrade, AI can summarise emails and other documents and do other writing and proofreading.
Wall Street wants to know if “Apple Intelligence” can set Apple apart from early AI leaders and can boost iPhone sales with its new AI capabilities. Apple is 2–3 years behind Google and OpenAI in AI.
Apple released July-September quarter financials last week, including the first few days the iPhone 16 was on sale, giving investors a first look at how it was doing. iPhone sales rose by six percent, indicating consumer interest in the iPhone 16 series.