Software
Photoshop Updates: Healing Brush for iPad, More Sky Replace Options for Desktop
August 17, 2021
Adobe just announced major feature updates to Photoshop on desktop and iPad, available starting today. Healing Brush and Magic Wand are now available on iPad, and Sky Replacement has the ability to import up to 5,000 skies at once on desktop.
Photoshop for iPad is made for touchscreen friendly tasks, yet the young app is missing several tools that seem ideal for the interface. The good news is, Adobe is catching up. Photoshop for iPad just gained the Healing Brush and Magic Wand tools. Meanwhile, the long-standing photo editor is already expanding its new Sky Replace tool.
[Read: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom 2021 New Features for Photographers]
Adobe touts the iPad and an Apple pencil as an ideal way to work with precise local edits. But, the app launched with only some of the usual Photoshop tools. With the addition of the Healing Brush, photographers can now use one of the most common retouching tools on the touchscreen interface. Adobe says that the iPad version will have the same controls, such as diffusion, blending modes, and brush angles, as the full version. The Healing Brush is grouped with the other healing tools in the toolbar and is designated by a band-aid icon.
Previously, Photoshop for iPad offered the Spot Healing Brush, which automatically selects a different part of the image to replace the spot that was removed. The new Healing Brush, like the one in the desktop version, allows photographers to choose which part of the image to sample from. The Healing Brush is often a necessity for removing more complex spots or working with a busy background, while the Spot Healing Brush works quickly for simpler spots.

Along with the Healing Brush, Photoshop for iPad now also offers the Magic Wand too. The tool selects similar pixels and is often used for selecting objects or shapes that are all one color. The tool joins the iPad app’s other selection tools like Select Subject and Select Object.
[Read: Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021: A Hands-On Review]
Adobe didn’t forget the fully-fledged Desktop Photoshop. The photo editing software just got a big update to the Sky Replace tool that was introduced last year. The tool uses A.I. to automatically mask out the sky in an image to replace with another. Now, the Sky Replacement option includes a Get More Skies link. This takes photo editors to Adobe Discover to find more skies to swap in. The update may be key for using the tool without making photos all start to look the same with the exact same sky.
The tool still includes the option to import your own skies. Sky Replace, Adobe says, can now import up to 5,000 skies into the tool all at once.

Editors will also have easier access to everything from tutorials to finding something from Photoshop’s complex menu system. The new Discover panel allows users to search for tools, menu items, workflows, and hands-on tutorials. Discover also houses quick actions, with automated tasks like blurring the background of an image.
Finally, Adobe is offering more photo editors the chance to be the first to try out new features. Photoshop Beta, coming later this month, is a separate app that offers editors the ability to try out the next update early and offer feedback. Once available, the Photoshop Beta will be in the Creative Cloud desktop app, inside the beta section.