Apple is buying Pixelmator – The Verge

Apple has agreed to acquire Pixelmator, a popular image editing app available on Mac and iOS. Pixelmator announced the news in a post on its blog, saying it will now “have the ability to reach an even wider audience and make an even bigger impact on the lives of creative people around the world.”

No details about the deal were revealed except that it is still pending, subject to regulatory approval of Apple buying the Lithuanian company. That can be tricky, though — while Microsoft successfully swallowed up Activision Blizzard, deals that melted under regulatory pressure include Nvidia and Arm, Amazon and iRobot, and more recently, Adobe and Figma.

Pixelmator says there “will be no material changes” to any of its apps “at this time,” including Pixelmator Pro for macOS, Pixelmator for iOS, and its Photomator apps. However, the company says to “stay tuned for exciting updates to come.”

Over the years, Pixelmator Pro has become a viable and far cheaper alternative to Adobe Photoshop, as it’s available for a one-time payment of $49.99. It offers a robust suite of tools for editing and retouching photos, creating designs, drawing, and more. The app most recent update reworked its masking process and added the ability to hide an image’s background with AI.