Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 5.5, Subscription Editions

by

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

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Read Full Article • 88 comments
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Read Full Article
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Read Full Article • 137 comments
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
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two 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...
Read Full Article • 25 comments
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Read Full Article • 127 comments

Top Rated Comments

chaosbunny Avatar
chaosbunny
193 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
BlueRevolution
193 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
MacMyDay
193 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)
Read All Comments