Beyond the Alphabet
Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world both inside and out of the confines of Mountain View.
When it comes to extensive photo editing and image creation, there are few that can match up to what Adobe can offer. It’s one of the most recognizable brands out there, and is worth more than Qualcomm, Sony, Spotify, and even Nintendo. Yet in 2025, it still can’t figure out how to build an application that’s actually good.
Earlier this week, the Photoshop app for Android was finally released, after it was initially released for iOS back in February. In reality, the company has been trying to figure out mobile devices since 2009, before pivoting to apps that only offered specific editing features.
Using Photoshop and Lightroom has become an essential part of my workflow, so needless to say, I was ecstatic to see it arrive on the Play Store. But then I downloaded it on the OnePlus Pad 3, and immediately wanted to bang my head against the desk.
When I launched the app, it only appeared in portrait view, which I assumed was only because I needed to sign in first. After signing into my Adobe account, the app remained in portrait mode. Okay, I said to myself, maybe I need to open an image, and then it’ll switch over into landscape mode.
Nope.
No matter what I do, the app is locked to portrait mode, and I just don’t get it. Maybe it was something to do with the OnePlus Pad 3, but that’s not the case either. After installing the app on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it’s more of the same.
This isn’t as much of an issue on foldable phones, thanks to the square-ish aspect ratio compared to many Android tablets. I knew the app was already available on the iPhone and iPad, but hadn’t actually used it on either of those devices.
So after installing it on my iPad Pro, wouldn’t ya know — it fired up in landscape orientation. Downloading a picture took forever, but I’ll chalk that up to my internet connection, which seems to fluctuate and cut out randomly.
Lastly, but certainly not least, I wanted to confirm that the portrait mode lock is not exclusive to the OnePlus Pad 3. I grabbed the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, opened the Play Store, searched for the app, and couldn’t even find it. Then I went to Adobe’s Play Store listing page, and of course, the Photoshop app was right there.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the Photoshop listing to download it, only to be met with a “This app is not compatible” message. How is it that one of the largest and most popular digital media companies releases one of the most highly anticipated apps, only for it to not be “compatible” with arguably the most popular Android tablet maker?
The reason why all of this is so frustrating is that I obviously prefer editing pictures in landscape mode. I don’t have the metrics, but I would assume that this is the case for many, if not the majority. And no, I don’t care that the app is still listed as “Beta,” because the same app has been on the iPad for almost four months, and it works as I’d expect.
It all just harkens back to a piece I wrote in April about Android users being treated as second-class citizens. Throw in the fact that Photoshop isn’t even available on Samsung’s latest tablet, and it feels even worse.
In some instances, I can forgive an app not scaling or working properly on tablets, especially if said app is made by a small team or an indie developer. But this is Adobe we’re talking about, and frankly, there’s no excuse.
It’s reached the point that I’m actually leaning towards cancelling my Creative Cloud subscription, something I’ve had for at least five years. The problem is that I’m familiar with what Adobe’s suite of apps is capable of, and I’m not really quite sure if anything out there can really match that.
But, it sure seems like it’s time for me to find out.
