Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 5.5, Subscription Editions

012916 adobe

Adobe has introduced Creative Suite 5.5 with substantial upgrades to InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. Also included is a new SDK for Photoshop CS5. This release is new strategy for Adobe which targets mid-cycle releases every 12 months and major releases every 24 months.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product line (see separate releases), enabling designers and developers to target popular and emerging smartphone and tablet platforms, as the revolution in mobile communications fundamentally changes the way content is distributed and consumed. Substantive advances to HTML5, Flash authoring, digital publishing and video tools as well as new capabilities that kick-start the integration of tablets into creative workflows, anchor the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product family.

Alongside Creative Suite 5.5, Adobe has also introduced a subscription model for companies who wish to stay up to date with Creative Suite releases. For example, Adobe Photoshop can be used for $35/month, Adobe Design Premium CS5.5 for US$95 per month, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection for US$129 per month. MobileBeat explains further:

For one thing, as an alternative to the traditionally-priced version of Creative Suite, Adobe customers can now purchase CS5.5 through a subscription model. Those subscriptions arent exactly cheap (Photoshop costs $35 per month, while the full suite costs $129 per month), and this isnt a full-on embrace of the online software model either. Subscription customers still buy the software in a box they just pay for the license one month at a time.

Dave Burkett, vice president and general manager of Adobe Creative Suite, explains that many freelancers coming on and off a project would enjoy the flexibility a month to month plan offers. Macworld details the different pricing options which include discounts for year-long commitments.

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 will begin shipping in the next 30 days. A full listing of new features are detailed on Adobe's website.

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

chaosbunny Avatar
194 months ago
All this moral discussion about stealing a 1500,- bucks suite of software is pretty ridiculous if you put it into a relation to the billions of dollars/euros stolen from our tax money by the private central banks.

If a corporation steals billions that's ok, but if someone pirates a single piece of software that's theft.

The same rules should apply to everyone.

Btw, I have only legit software on my computer.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BlueRevolution Avatar
194 months ago
So, the way it is now, you buy Photoshop for around $650 and after 18 months you can upgrade for $190. Total: $840 for 36 months, plus you still have your software to use for as long as you want if you choose not to upgrade anymore...

So, $35 x 36 months = $1260 and after the 36 months finnish, you have nothing... :confused:

I don't see a big advantage here, unless you only use photoshop in a few projects a year... I don't know anyone who does that, tho...

The big advantage here isn't for you. ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacMyDay Avatar
194 months ago
If you run a business, like I do, then you would actually appreciate what they've done. To hire a new designer involves having enough work in the first place, which costs money. You then need to pay recruitment fees (anything from £500 - £5k depending who you use), buy them a new Mac (around £1500+ for a decent iMac), load it with software (around £2k) and then hope the candidate is as good as they interviewed. You're taking all of the risk and hoping that the work continues regularly enough to cover their salary and all of the expenses you just paid out on, when in SMEs it can vanish as quickly as it arrived. So after spending maybe as much as £8k before the member of staff has even started and you've bought their software, to be able to pay £85/m for the software instead of £1700 in one hit is a much needed relief.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)