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Adobe's Experimental Project Indigo Camera App Adds AI That Critiques Your Photos

July 20, 2026 at 11:48 EDT

Media Generation
Foundation Models

Adobe has added an AI-powered photo critic to its experimental iOS camera app, Project Indigo, giving select testers automated feedback on their shots alongside a set of generative editing tools. The new capabilities, detailed by TechCrunch, lean on a large language model to assess an image the way a seasoned photographer might, weighing framing, lighting, color and emotional impact before offering concrete suggestions for how to improve the next shot.

Adobe · Project Indigo

An AI that critiques your photos — and coaches you to take better ones

Adobe's experimental iOS camera app now uses a large language model to judge framing, lighting, color and emotional impact like a seasoned photographer — then suggests how to nail the next shot.

frames combined per shot in the computational pipeline

generative tools in the new "AI playground" tab

iOS

only — free via Adobe Labs since June 2025, no Android

From editing photos → coaching photographers

CAPTURE

Shot taken in-app

→

LLM CRITIQUE

Framing · light · color · impact

→

SUGGESTIONS

Concrete tips for the next shot

The tradeoff: heavy processing drains the phone

Reviewers report roughly 1% of battery consumed per single shot — a 30-shot burst can chew through nearly a third of a charge.

~1%

1 shot

~30%

30-shot burst

WHAT WORKS

Natural tones, DSLR/mirrorless-like quality
Strong highlight control — "Gear of the Year" pick
Object removal praised as artifact-free

THE CATCH

Heat and battery drain on longer bursts
Slow processing, occasional exposure misses
Style transfer called unremarkable

Still in flux

The playground tools currently run on Google's Gemini-based "Nano Banana" model, but Adobe is weighing a switch to its own Firefly — a sign this Adobe Labs testbed is a preview, not a finished product. Led by Marc Levoy, former head of Google's Pixel camera program.

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