Adobe's new Aero app lets you create AR experiences on iPhone and iPad

Adobe Aero
Adobe Aero (Image credit: Adobe)

What you need to know

  • Adobe Aero is available in the App Store now.
  • It allows people to "deliver next-generation experiences," according to Adobe.
  • The app is free for Creative Cloud subscribers.

Adobe has taken the wraps off its new Aero app, available now for both iPhone and iPad. The app is "the first tool that allows designers to build and share immersive experiences in AR—without any coding skills."

Adobe is making a big deal about the app being built "for creatives" without them needing to know how to write code. It says that during the private beta program it invited artists to create AR worlds using the app and used their feedback to shape the app as it went. The result, theoretically, should mean that all of the main features and interface will be exactly what creatives want.

Some of the features Aero offers include:

  • Intuitive authoring – Aero doesn't require any coding – it's intuitive without sacrificing quality of the final result. Build AR experiences with a visual UI, and step-by-step instructions will take you through creating your first AR scene.
  • Animation – Use your hands and your device to place objects in space, shape their paths, and add triggers so viewers can interact with your objects.
  • Assets at your fingertips – Hundreds of free starter assets available right in the app, plus the ability to import a broad set of 2D and 3D file formats including vector graphics, Adobe Photoshop files, OBJ, FBX, Collada, glTF, and many more.
  • Easy publishing and sharing – Release your project into the world by sharing it directly on social or sending the experience to others via the Aero app.

The company seems pretty excited about what people will be able to make out of this new tool. Aero is available to download from the App Store for free. But you'll need a Creative Cloud account in order to use it.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.