Moving forward, Creative Cloud subscribers will only have access to the two most recent version of the software according to a blog post from the company.
Explaining their decision, the company writes: “Focusing our efforts on the latest two major releases of Creative Cloud applications, which the vast majority of Adobe customers are already using, will further enable us to develop the features and functionality most requested by customers and ensure peak performance and benefits across Windows and Mac operating systems. Business customers in need of an older version of a Creative Cloud application should contact their IT Administrator to see if one is available.”
That probably really stinks for people running older systems but shouldn’t affect a lot of people.
The reason cited for the change in policy is due to the supposed “benefits” of the subscriber model, according to Adobe.
In their words, a subscription “offers numerous benefits, including frequent product updates with new features and capabilities, critical bug fixes and important security updates. We recommend all customers use the latest release of Creative Cloud for optimal performance and benefits.”
Of course, as many people are pointing out, this comes right after the company announced a price increase for its subscription fee.
At first, it was rumored to be nothing more than a test but it seems to be rolling out as a permanent price increase. You get the same app access but a marked increase in storage – 1TB to be exact. Still, the rumored price change hasn't been popular among consumers.
As we said in the last article, it's just another reminder of the bygone days where you actually owned a program instead of just subscribed to it. A simpler time to live, indeed.
What do you think? Do you use older versions of Photoshop and Lightroom?
Let us know what you think of Adobe’s changes in the comments.
Update: Someone from Adobe told us that the price increase was just a test. They sent us the following: “From time to time, we run tests on Adobe.com which cover a range of items, including plan options that may or may not be presented to all visitors to Adobe.com. Tests on Adobe.com run for limited times. In this case, the test was concluded.”
[Adobe]
27 Comments
Cost to keep on using Photoshop is to high. Therefore we have switched to Affinity Photo & Design because of price increase.
Thanks for that suggestion Helen! 🙂
I have moved to Affinity Photo.
Thank you for your comment Carl! 🙂
I smelled the rat a few years back and ditched Adobe for Capture one pro. Nothing corrupts like success. All they require is a kick to get them rolling 😂
Thank you for your comment S S Cheema! 🙂
I’ll be looking for a new alternative to Lightroom. Not going to pay Adobe ransom payments every month.
Let us know where your journey takes you! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Are there going g to be tutorials on how to use the program. I am an amateur photographer, are there different levels of the program
There are a ton of great tutorials for Adobe’s programs on YouTube – thank you for your comment Carol! 🙂
I use Lightroom almost exclusively for post-processing and it works for me. However, it forced me into a computer upgrade just to keep using it, so it’s not just the monthly cost to consider. The system requirements increase steadily, as well.
People often don’t think about that other tax as well Ethan! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Just another example of Adobe screwing the users that got them where they are. Once my subscription is over I am going elsewhere. There are plenty of choices out there that treat their user base like valued customers instead of cash cows!
Let us know where you go Tom! Thank you for your comment :).
You couldn’t see this coming?
Lightroom 6 doesn’t look so bad from this view.
Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Stinks of another money grab. I still run Lightroom 6 but will seriously look elsewhere. Any suggestions for comparable software?
I think there are a few good suggestions here in the comments, with Affinity Photo being one of them. Thank you for your comment Ralph! 🙂
QuarkXpress, that can use the new color fonts, an adobe InDesign competitor is a one time purchase. Wish they made a photo editing tool too.
Thank you for your comment RJ! 🙂
I don’t like the idea of subscription-based programs, which is why I have never moved beyond CS5.
Subscription-based business models certainly stink. Thank you for your comment Samantha! 🙂
Adobe stinks. I’ll be switching to one of the alternatives to Lightroom. Shame on Adobe.
I have moved to Paintshop Pro but still use Photoshop CS5 for some tools. I own both. No subscription ever.
Updates are great but they don’t cover the cost of the subscriptions. I’ve been on PS for years and it was affordable. PS CC, LR, AI etc.,,,,,, it’s costing me a minor fortune in monthly subscription rates. AND I’m not always able to connect to the internet (mountain states have some dead zones). No, I can’t say I’m pleased at all with subscriptions and rates. Not at all.
There are any number of very good editing apps available. I have been using photoshop Cs5 and L.R. 6 both stand alone versions. If Adobe continues to ignore their older versions, I will not hesitate to switch to alternative programs.I am not interested in subscribing to the cloud, paying for an app Ive purchased.
I am impressed with the On One company and some others that offer the stand alone option. As a heavy user of both programs I will take it day to day for now.
Thank you for your comments Don! That’s very helpful to know about! 🙂