Apple has announced the acquisition of Pixelmator, a well-known developer of image editing software for iOS and macOS, which was established in 2007 in Lithuania. Pixelmator is recognized for its high-quality, design-focused apps like Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro, which have provided a strong alternative to Adobe Photoshop. The company also developed Photomator, a photo editing app that integrates advanced AI-powered tools, making it a popular choice for Apple users.
Over the years, Apple has highlighted Pixelmator’s products in its own marketing, recognizing the company’s contributions to the Apple ecosystem. In 2018, Apple awarded Pixelmator Pro the title of Mac App of the Year, commending its embrace of Apple’s machine learning and artificial intelligence tools, which enhance capabilities like object removal and automatic color adjustments. Pixelmator has leveraged Apple’s Core ML technology to make photo editing more accessible and powerful, resonating with Apple’s emphasis on user-friendly, high-performance design.
In a blog post, Pixelmator expressed its admiration for Apple, noting that Apple has been an inspiration since the company’s inception. “We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one, crafting our products with the same razor-sharp focus on design, ease of use, and performance,” the company stated. Although neither Apple nor Pixelmator disclosed the transaction amount, this acquisition aligns with Apple’s strategy of acquiring companies with specialized expertise that enhances its ecosystem.
While Apple doesn’t acquire as many large companies as other tech giants, it selectively acquires companies with unique products or talent that can be integrated into Apple’s own software offerings. Pixelmator announced that no immediate changes will be made to its app lineup, meaning that Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator will remain available and continue to operate as before.
Apple’s acquisition of Pixelmator comes shortly after the release of Apple Intelligence, a new suite of features designed to enhance user experience through AI, including photo editing tools like Clean Up, which enables users to remove unwanted elements from images. This acquisition is expected to strengthen Apple’s capabilities in AI-powered image editing.
In the past, Apple has made similar strategic acquisitions of successful third-party apps that had received recognition in Apple’s own product launches and award events. For instance, Apple acquired Dark Sky in 2020, later integrating its weather forecasting features into the default iOS weather app. Another example is Workflow, an automation tool purchased in 2017 that evolved into Shortcuts, providing a foundation for Siri’s advanced functionality.
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