Adobe are the undisputed leader of the market for photo manipulation software, and they have not only continued to improve Photoshop throughout time, but they have put considerable focus on expanding their array of tools and services to reach a broader range of audience as well. While the original Photoshop did a good job at offering a powerful photo editing platform, there was also the need for something better suited for batch editing of photos with the most commonly used tools, and that’s where Lighroom came in.
And now, users have been waiting for the release of Lightroom 6, which is rumored to be a huge step forward in the design of the application. Among other things, the new version of the program is reportedly going to improve interoperability with mobile devices, as well as make the application more stable, faster, and more intuitive to use.
The interface in particular is rumored to have received a serious revision, although nothing concrete is known yet – but Adobe are generally known for making some pretty drastic changes between the versions of their major applications lately, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Lightroom got a serious revision to its interface.
Currently, it’s not officially known when the new version of the program is going to be released. There are, as can be expected, various rumors, some claiming to be straight from Adobe themselves, and many seem to be pointing at March 2015 as the most likely release date. However, these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt as usual, as earlier ones were talking about a release date in late 2014, but this didn’t end up happening.
A new release of Lightroom would definitely come at the right time if it came out in March 2015 though, as it would mark a long period of no major updates for the application. With other tools gaining prominence, Adobe would certainly benefit from a boost in popularity for the program, and if they release the update at the right time, it should give them an influx of new users and improve the market position of Lightroom.
At the same time, other tools still have a long way to go before they reach the level of quality found in Lightrom, so to some extent, it can be understandable why Adobe haven’t been in a rush to release new updates. It could be seen as a beneficial move in the long run as well, as the company would have more time to properly prepare the new update and release something truly polished, instead of a rushed release that will aggravate users.