Adobe Fresco iPad Drawing App Now Available

Adobe today announced the availability of its much-anticipated iPad drawing app, Fresco, which supports the Apple Pencil and uses AI (dubbed Sensei) to recreate realistic painting and drawing experiences.

PCMag published a preview of Fresco based on a pre-release version last month, and we found the app's interface "so clean and intuitive that even a novice could have a fulfilling experience using Fresco.," while the app's watercolor and oil Live Brushes "look, feel, and behave like the real deal."

Upcoming Fresco features include perspective drawing, symmetry drawing, clipping masks, shapes, lines, color themes, and palettes—all things Adobe has extensive experience with in its other programs.

Interested iPad creative types can start for free by downloading Fresco from the App Store. Free users get 2GB of cloud storage and a limited selection of brushes. They can only export at iPad screen resolution; no high-resolution file exports.

For that and more, the app is included with Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions (starting at $52.99 per month) or as a single app subscription for $9.99 per month. It's also included with a $9.99-per-month Photoshop-only plan. New Fresco users get six months free with a subscription.

The app requires iOS version 12.4 or later, running on the following iPad models: iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad (5th and 6th generation), or iPad mini (5th generation).

For more on what Fresco can do in oil, watercolor, Photoshop brushes, and vector brushes, check out Adobe's blog post.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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