Photoshop's future on Mac uncertain: Apple deprecates OpenGL

[rayek.elfin]

Sorry for the somewhat dramatic title, but still: today Apple announced its new MacOS version, and:

DEPRECATES OPENGL in favour of Metal.

What’s New in macOS - Apple Developer

What the heck?

This is going to seriously hurt both larger and smaller developers of any software making use of OpenGL to drive graphics. Photoshop hardware acceleration is based on and relies on OpenGL. This means that the developer team is forced in maintaining TWO wholly separate graphic APIs for Photoshop: one for Windows (OpenGL) and one for upcoming Mac systems (Metal).

It means a re-write of large parts of the Mac version. There's no way around it. Since Mac is a relatively small market, and Adobe's interest is shifting towards other markets now, it might mean the end of Adobe on Mac. Probably not, but it is still going to hurt the developers.

Not only that, but it is a blatantly clear that Apple isn't interested in the professional creators market: basically a big fat middle finger from Apple in the direction of any creative. Let alone 3d, Effects, and games developers, which rely on OpenGL for easy cross-platform development.

To make this abundantly clear: ALL important 3d software runs on OpenGL. Everything. Many major 2d apps do as well, like Photoshop. The far majority of games do.

This announcement is already having an impact in various industries as I write this.

Similar to depracating Flash, but in this case Apple is utterly and stupidly WRONG. It may be doomsday for the Apple platform and for many creatives and game devs.

Really, Apple? Really? Stupid, stupid, stupid move.

[gener7]

I know Adobe uses Metal for Premier Pro, so I would not say they are a stranger to it.

FAQ: Metal vs. OpenCL

Also reading the 10.14 link:

Apps built using OpenGL and OpenCL will continue to run in macOS 10.14, but these legacy technologies are deprecated in macOS 10.14. Games and graphics-intensive apps that use OpenGL should now adopt Metal. Similarly, apps that use OpenCL for computational tasks should now adopt Metal and Metal Performance Shaders.

Apple will provide tools for developers to migrate to Metal, Adobe included.

[D Fosse]

This is Apple in a nutshell.

"Apps will continue to run"...for now. And then - poof. This is how they operate. Whatever you have is old and obsolete, get the new thing!

Let me just remind everyone, once again, of the very significant fact that Apple is the most profitable corporation on the planet. Only Google and Facebook are even close.