Pixelmator Pro 2.0

The Pixelmator Team has released Pixelmator Pro 2.0, a major release of the image editing app that provides a more refined design, loads of new features, native support for M1-based Macs, and compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur. Pixelmator Pro 2’s entirely Metal-powered editing engine can use the unified memory architecture of Apple’s M1 chip to speed up image editing greatly, and the app’s Core ML-powered features can now use the M1’s dedicated Neural Engine for speedier machine-learning processing (up to 15x faster for ML Super Resolution).

The “Junipero” update also introduces a new Effects browser that makes it easier to find and apply effects; brings full app customization for positioning the Tools and Layers sidebars into a bespoke workspace; adds over 200 new color adjustment, effect, layer style, gradient, and shape presets; adds seven new color adjustment preset collections; enables you to zoom your images in and out quickly using the new Zoom slider in the unified toolbar; provides multiple AppleScript fixes; and fixes a bug that prevented dragging and dropping layers between documents. ($39.99 new from Pixelmator and the Mac App Store, free update, 217 MB, release notes, macOS 10.14.4+)