Support our independent tech coverage. Chrome Unboxed is written by real people, for real people—not search algorithms. Join Chrome Unboxed Plus for just $2 a month to get an ad-free experience, access to our private Discord, and more. Learn more about membership here.
START FREE TRIAL (MONTHLY)START FREE TRIAL (ANNUAL)
Pixlr is known to many people for various reasons. Whether it is Pixlr, Pixlr Express, the discontinued Pixlr Touch Up, or Pixlr-O-Matic, many people across many use-cases found themeselves using Pixlr products.
Then came the death of Flash, and it seemed the browser versions of these applications would simply die alongside it.
Autodesk, who previously owned Pixlr, didn’t seem too keen on figuring out a way to continue the product line in lieu of Flash’s demise, so we all just assumed that Pixlr was on its way out.
Enter 123RF
In a bit of good news for Pixlr fans, 123RF has swooped in and bought the Pixlr family. What they intend to do with the software is yet to be seen, but it stands to reason that they – being a stock photography company – would want to attempt to compete with the likes of Adobe.
Granted, Adobe has a choke-hold on the graphic industry, so I don’t see the acquisition of Pixlr changing that. However, if 123RF has a vested interest in seeing the Pixlr app suite become a major player and competition to Adobe, we should expect to see some serious development introduced into Pixlr’s somewhat-aged approach to web-based apps.
There’s no way to tell the future here, but I can say that this future is much less bleak than the one Pixlr was staring down just a few months ago. Though I myself am only a minimal user, I was still saddened that the online tool was likely going to die. This gives me hope that Pixlr may be around for a while, yet.
Source: Android Police
