Adobe to release free iPhone version of Premiere to rival CapCut
Adobe says the app plans to also incorporate AI.
Adobe is planning to release a completely free iPhone version of Premiere, its flagship video editing software, on September 30, 2025.
The launch positions Adobe squarely against TikTok-favourite CapCut and other lightweight editing tools, like Edits of Meta, but with the promise of bringing studio-grade editing to smartphones without the usual paywall or watermarks.
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Adobe says the application for Android is currently under development.
For years, Adobe’s mobile editing experiment, Premiere Rush, was treated as a simplified companion to its professional software. With the new Premiere app, Adobe has scrapped that compromise.
Users will now get access to multi-track timelines, unlimited layers, 4K HDR support, and precision trimming, tools that were once locked to desktop setups.
Unlike Rush, this is not an accessory app. It is Premiere, reimagined for touchscreens.
Adobe says the app plans to also incorporate AI. In fact, Adobe has folded in its Firefly AI engine, letting users generate stickers, custom visuals, captions, and even sound effects with simple text prompts.
“Imagine typing “retro VHS intro” or “crowd cheering” and instantly dropping that into your edit,” Adobe said.
Other AI perks include speech cleanup, auto-subtitles, and intelligent audio balancing, giving iPhone editors tools normally reserved for professionals behind a workstation.
Adobe insists the app is free, clean, and watermark-free.
That alone sets it apart from rivals who lock premium exports or stamp logos on free edits. The business model hinges on optional upgrades like cloud storage and additional AI credits, creating an on-ramp to Adobe’s wider Creative Cloud ecosystem.
Still, analysts note a trade-off: Adobe has a history of aggressive data collection across its products, something that could make creators worry that the promise of “free” might come with hidden costs in privacy.
However, this could be a game-changer for professional creators who shoot and edit on the go, but need full-scale polish for final delivery.
At the moment, CapCut has become a staple for short-form creators thanks to its simplicity and TikTok integration. But Adobe is betting that a growing class of creators is ready to graduate from casual edits to professional-grade storytelling, without needing a laptop.
“Adobe isn’t trying to copy CapCut, it's just that nobody has the time to open laptops in the streets these days,” Miriam Njoki, a 23 digital creator, told The Eastleigh Voice.
“They’re trying to replace it as the go-to app once creators outgrow quick templates and want finer control of their content.”
But the move also raises a big question: will creators embrace Adobe’s ecosystem over the fast, social-first tools they already use?
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