Adobe Adds New Smudge and Sponge Tools to Photoshop for iPad - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Adobe Adds New Smudge and Sponge Tools to Photoshop for iPad

Adobe today updated its Photoshop for iPad app, introducing two tools that were previously unavailable to bring the iPad version of the app more in line with Photoshop for desktop.

adobe photoshop ipad smudge
With the new Smudge tool, Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ users can blend colors in their images, and with the Sponge tool, different areas of an image can be saturated or desaturated.

According to Adobe, the Smudge tool is able to mimic the effect of a finger running through wet paint, and it can also be used to smudge lines and blend two or more colors together. The Smudge tool can be accessed from the Adjustment tool options.

The Sponge tool can be used to enhance the vibrancy of colors in specific areas of an image, or mute the colors. As with the Smudge tool, the Sponge tool is available by tapping on the Adjustment tools icon.

Today's update also introduces options for adjusting the white balance for Camera Raw images and there are now labels for the tool icons that can be seen when you over over them.

Both tools work well with either a finger or an Apple Pencil, with Adobe recommending an ‌Apple Pencil‌ for the best results.

Photoshop for iPad is available through Adobe's Creative Cloud plans, which are priced starting at $9.99 for the Photography plan. The Photography plan includes Lightroom for desktop and mobile, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop on desktop and ‌iPad‌, and 20GB of cloud storage. A Photoshop-only subscription is also available for $20.99 per month, and that plan includes 100GB storage.

Popular Stories

iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Thursday July 2, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
If you pay for certain iCloud+ storage plans beyond the 5GB that Apple offers for free, you will receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. A summary of the two new iCloud+ perks on iOS 27:Increased daily usage limits for some new Apple Intelligence features, including image generation in the revamped Image Playground app. HomeKit Secure Video cameras receive generated video...
iPhone 4 on Black Feature

Apple Facing One of Its Worst Leaks Since the iPhone 4

Thursday July 2, 2026 9:53 am PDT by
Apple supplier Tata Electronics recently suffered a cyberattack that resulted in thousands of confidential files being published on the dark web, and this reportedly included some photos and documents related to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. We have elected not to share any of the leaked photos in this story due to the illegal nature in which they were obtained, but they can easily be found...
American Express Gold Apple Pay Feature

American Express Announces New Apple Pay Feature

Tuesday June 30, 2026 10:27 am PDT by
American Express today announced that you can now redeem Membership Rewards points when checking out with Apple Pay on the web and in apps on the iPhone and iPad. When checking out with Apple Pay on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, tap on your eligible American Express card (Platinum, Gold, Green, and others) and select the Membership Rewards points option. You can use points to cover all or...

Top Rated Comments

59 months ago
Smudge and sponge tool existed on Photoshop 3.0 in 1994.
A Mac back then was maxed out with a 200 MHz single core cpu and 128 MB of RAM and typically had a 2 GB hard drive.

The iPad is finally now getting a 27 year old editing tool that worked fine on a machine 20X less powerful.
Exciting!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MadGoat Avatar
60 months ago

I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
Get Affinity Photo. It's almost as full fledged as photoshop and it's a one time payment (Per platform). I bought it during black Friday, and I will be letting my adobe sub expire in Feb when it's up for renewal, because it's that good.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breather Avatar
60 months ago
I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1284814 Avatar
60 months ago
Afinity photo- for those that hate subscription
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
60 months ago

I hate Adobe’s subscription plan for Photoshop. Would actually think about buying it if it was a one of lump sum of maybe 30-50 bucks.
How about $899 one of payment then you need to buy version 2023 and 2025 for new features and new camera RAW support?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
james2538 Avatar
59 months ago
They're just now adding smudge? I feel like that's one of the quintessential photoshop tools.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)