Adobe’s beginner-friendly “Elements” photo and video editing programs have been around for over twenty years now, a good chunk of the time that Photoshop itself has been around. So what does Adobe have up its sleeve to get people to upgrade? GIFs. Yup, it’s GIFs. The meme-friendly animation format is front and center in a list of new features for Photoshop Elements 2023 and Premiere Elements 2023, on sale now on Adobe’s digital store.
Specifically, both programs now offer easy GIF export from its Moving Elements tool, which has been around for a while. This allows you to add basic animations to either static photo layers or short video clips, for Photoshop and Premiere, respectively. Artistic Effects, essentially fancy filters, can be applied to both. It might not sound like much, but given the popularity and ubiquity of GIFs, it’s odd that these user-friendly programs have been without them for so long.
Adobe
Elsewhere the programs both get faster and leaner, with a 48 percent reduction in app size and 50 percent faster launch time (up to 70 percent faster if you’re using a Mac with an M1 processor). Other enhancements include new background and pattern options, new slideshow templates, peek-through overlays for faking photo depths, and an extra 100 license-free audio tracks for use in Premiere audio tracks.
Adobe also has a new companion app in beta, which allows users to view unfinished projects and make some basic photo collages without access to a full PC. It’s available both on the web and mobile, but only in English. Note that this is not the free, web-based version of Photoshop that Adobe has been promising for a while.
Photoshop Elements 2023 and Premiere Elements 2023 are both $100, or $150 if you purchase them in the usual bundle. Unlike Adobe’s more pro-focused Creative Cloud tools, a subscription is not required.
