It’s a weird one, isn’t it? Apple’s pulled big applications before – it ditched Final Cut Pro in favour of what was initially a much reduced Final Cut Pro X – but the death of its photo software Aperture is odd. Apple didn’t announce this death, they just rather let it be known.
And now they’ve just rather let a little more be known. Apple has given Ars Technica an update about what will happen next. We know that Aperture and iPhoto are dead, that they will both be replaced by a new application called Photos in OS X Yosemite. And we gathered that Photos would not be a professional tool the way Aperture was. But:
Update: When asked about what Aperture-like features users can expect from the new Photos app, an Apple representative mentioned plans for professional-grade features such as image search, editing, effects, and most notably, third-party extensibility. The representative also clarified the timeframe when Aperture development will end, along with an announcement about its other Pro app offerings receiving updates today.
If I liked Lightroom more, maybe I’d swap to it. But this makes me think that it will be worth hanging on to see what Photos is like. Afterall, just because Apple won’t update Aperture, that doesn’t mean the copy I’ve got will stop working today.
To be honest those “professional” features seem pretty basic to me. Any kind of photo app these days needs to have them at a bare minimum.
In reality, Apple hasn’t updated Aperture for years now, and that’s a problem if you’re shooting photos in RAW with any kind of newish camera. Indeed RAW capability is something else their forthcoming Photos app is going to need to deal with.
I think it’s pretty clear that they’re going to the middle ground with this. An app that will be good enough to suit the hobbyist who gets out a DSLR from time to time, but not for anyone who’s serious about photography. Otherwise they’d have raised iPhoto up to the level of Aperture.
Personally I love Lightroom. Yes, it takes some initial learning, but even using the basic panel is superb. And if you shoot in RAW, it’s essential.
Take some time to try it out. If you’ve not used it recently then it’s improved, so it’s worth giving the free trial a go. And despite the whys and wherefores of Adobe going subscription only, you can still buy Aperture outright. You can also get it as part of a “Photographer’s package” with Photoshop for about £10.50 a month (hmm – it’s $9.99 + sales tax in the US). Still pretty decent for a state of the art program.