Adobe Adds New Smudge and Sponge Tools to Photoshop for iPad

Adobe today updated its Photoshop for iPad app, introducing two tools that were previously unavailable to bring the iPad version of the app more in line with Photoshop for desktop.

adobe photoshop ipad smudge
With the new Smudge tool, Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ users can blend colors in their images, and with the Sponge tool, different areas of an image can be saturated or desaturated.

According to Adobe, the Smudge tool is able to mimic the effect of a finger running through wet paint, and it can also be used to smudge lines and blend two or more colors together. The Smudge tool can be accessed from the Adjustment tool options.

The Sponge tool can be used to enhance the vibrancy of colors in specific areas of an image, or mute the colors. As with the Smudge tool, the Sponge tool is available by tapping on the Adjustment tools icon.

Today's update also introduces options for adjusting the white balance for Camera Raw images and there are now labels for the tool icons that can be seen when you over over them.

Both tools work well with either a finger or an Apple Pencil, with Adobe recommending an ‌Apple Pencil‌ for the best results.

Photoshop for iPad is available through Adobe's Creative Cloud plans, which are priced starting at $9.99 for the Photography plan. The Photography plan includes Lightroom for desktop and mobile, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop on desktop and ‌iPad‌, and 20GB of cloud storage. A Photoshop-only subscription is also available for $20.99 per month, and that plan includes 100GB storage.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

MadGoat Avatar
40 months ago

I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
Get Affinity Photo. It's almost as full fledged as photoshop and it's a one time payment (Per platform). I bought it during black Friday, and I will be letting my adobe sub expire in Feb when it's up for renewal, because it's that good.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breather Avatar
40 months ago
I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
40 months ago
Smudge and sponge tool existed on Photoshop 3.0 in 1994.
A Mac back then was maxed out with a 200 MHz single core cpu and 128 MB of RAM and typically had a 2 GB hard drive.

The iPad is finally now getting a 27 year old editing tool that worked fine on a machine 20X less powerful.
Exciting!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1284814 Avatar
40 months ago
Afinity photo- for those that hate subscription
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
40 months ago

I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
How about $899 one of payment then you need to buy version 2023 and 2025 for new features and new camera RAW support?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cupcakes2000 Avatar
40 months ago

I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
Well it was north of 800 before so good luck with that.

On another note I’m starting to like Photoshop on the iPad. It’s becoming a decent tool.

The only issue I have with the whole ecosystem (certainly ipad wise and the new ‘model’) is that you’re forced to use the cloud. I don’t mind the cloud, but ingesting a shoot with 2500 raws is just not feasible at the moment. There should still be lightroom classic type options of working from a drive.

The sub doesn’t bother me. It’s far cheaper (at least a more manageable ongoing expense) than huge thousand quid update every few years.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)