Adobe Premiere launches on iPhone, features mobile-to-desktop editing and is free to download

Just weeks after Adobe announced that Premiere was coming to iPhone (Android software is in development) it’s finally here – and better yet, it’s free! That’s right, unless you require additional storage and / or generative AI credits, the Adobe Premiere mobile app is absolutely free to use.

The software, which supersedes the existing Adobe Premiere Rush, is designed to edit professional-grade video on the go, from short films and client work to YouTube and TikTok videos. And while it might not have the full functionality of Adobe Premiere Pro for desktop, users can create a rough edit in the app before continuing that edit using the full-fat desktop software (currently in beta).

That’s not to say that you can’t edit, export and share entirely within the app, though. The iPhone software boasts a multi-track timeline, the ability to “produce studio-quality” audio, form AI-generated content, while also providing access to millions of free multimedia assets.

As Adobe’s VP of product marketing, Mike Polner, put it: “We’re excited to bring the power of Premiere to creators’ fingertips, delivering pro-level creative control, without the pro-level complexity”.

I attended an online briefing, where Adobe senior experience designer lead, Dave Werner, performed a live demo. He said: “It feels right at home from using Premiere on the Desktop (...) all the major features and precision and control that I need, I’m finding in the app.”

During the demo, I got to see Dave put together a quick family short – and the first thing I noticed was the multi-track timeline. I’m an Adobe Rush user, but I’ve often found the timeline to be frustrating. My first impression of the Adobe Premiere mobile app timeline is that it’s much more intuitive and precise, with the ability to trim clips with frame-by-frame precision.

He also demonstrated a couple of AI-powered features. Perhaps the most useful being Enhance Speech. Dave’s example was a video clip taken on a cruise ship, where he’s speaking to the camera, but crowds of noisy people made the dialogue very difficult to hear. Enhance Speech severely reduced the background noise and made the dialogue much clearer.

Another interesting AI-audio tool is Generative Sound Effects. This enables the user to record a vocal passage, and along with a prompt, the AI software uses the timing and cadence of the recording as a blueprint in which to generate the desired sound effect.

In the demo, a ringing bell sound was created by literally speaking into the microphone, “ring-a-ring-a-ring,” then inputting the prompt “Ringing and clanging a bell”, before the software generated a selection of different bell sounds to choose from.

The final generative AI tool I got to see in action was Expand Image. Here the software expanded a 4:5 video clip to 16:9, with the generative AI seamlessly filling in the gaps. And of course, that’s not all the software is capable of, with 4K HDR editing, animated captions, instant background removal, motion effects and more. You can even generate AI-powered stickers to spice up your shorts.

Adobe quoted several content creators during its presentation, with Temi Coker stating: “I can shoot and edit anywhere. [The app] gives me the freedom to just start.” Cleo Abram added: “Premiere on iPhone feels like having a production studio in my pocket.”

Well, Adobe, I’m looking forward to downloading the software – and I’ll be sure to follow up on this article by letting you know how I get on. Until then, the Adobe Premiere mobile app is available on the App Store right now and is free to download. Upgrade plans are available for additional storage or generative AI credits.

According to the Adobe help center, Premiere Rush can no longer be downloaded, with existing downloads working until discontinuation on September 30 2026.

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