Adobe announces it will launch its Premiere video editing software on iPhone for the first time

Adobe announced Tuesday it will launch its Premiere video editing software on iPhone for the first time as the company works to compete with newer mobile editing apps.

Premiere has been a top choice among professionals and creative workers for heavy-duty video editing on desktop computers, alongside Apple Inc.’s Final Cut Pro and Blackmagic Design Pty’s DaVinci Resolve.

Until now, a complete mobile version of Premiere has not existed. Moving the software to smartphones shows how Adobe is adapting to new competition from fast-growing editing apps like CapCut, owned by ByteDance Ltd., and Edits from Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram division. These rival apps are built to help users quickly create videos for social media and feature easy-to-use designs that appeal to beginners.

The iPhone version of Premiere works like those competing apps in one key way: it’s free for basic editing and doesn’t need a paid subscription.

However, Adobe will sell credits that users need to create content using artificial intelligence. The app includes AI tools for making videos, images, stickers, and sound effects. It also has what Adobe describes as “assistive” AI features like improving speech quality, removing backgrounds, and adding captions automatically. Adobe stated it doesn’t use customer content to train its AI models.

Premiere rush gets replaced

Before this release, Adobe had offered a simplified app called Premiere Rush for Android and iOS devices that came with fewer tools and less advanced editing options. The company is stopping support for that app and replacing it with the new Premiere mobile version. Premiere Rush is also being taken down from Google Play, which means Android users won’t have an Adobe video editor available right now.

Adobe said it’s “working on bringing the power of Premiere to Android devices down the road.” Android users can register to join an upcoming test version. Adobe used the same Apple-first strategy with Photoshop earlier this year, releasing the iPhone app with an Android test version at the same time.

Desktop features still missing

The new mobile app doesn’t include all the features found in Adobe’s desktop software. When more advanced work is needed, Premiere Pro subscribers can move projects and files from their phone to their desktop computer.

The move comes as Adobe faces mounting pressure from investors, as mentioned by Cryptopolitan previously. The company recently gave a disappointing sales outlook for the quarter ending in May, forecasting revenue between $5.77 billion and $5.82 billion, falling short of the $5.8 billion analysts expected. Expected earnings per share of $4.95 to $5.00 matched analyst predictions of $5.

Adobe has integrated its Firefly AI technology into programs like Photoshop and Premiere, positioning it as a tool that assists creators instead of replacing them. This approach differs from AI-focused design platforms like Midjourney and DALL·E. Still, competitors including Canva and Runway ML have rolled out their own AI-powered design tools, challenging Adobe’s long-standing market dominance.

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