The defining characteristic of the 2021 release was the introduction of . Housed under the Filters menu, this panel utilizes Adobe Sensei (Adobe’s AI engine) to perform complex tasks that previously took hours of manual work.
Compared with prior major releases, 22.2 was not a dramatic overhaul but rather a consolidation release: stabilizing major 2021 additions and improving day-to-day reliability. Competing tools (e.g., Affinity Photo, GIMP, and emerging AI-assisted editors) have closed some functionality gaps but generally do not match Photoshop’s comprehensive ecosystem, plugin support, and industry adoption.
: 4 GB of available space (plus extra space during installation). Minimum System Requirements (macOS)
Native support for Apple Silicon (M1) Macs, which promised a 1.5x performance boost over emulation, arrived in the subsequent v22.3 update, not v22.2. Adobe Photoshop 2021 -Version 22.2-
The automated Sky Replacement tool received algorithmic updates in 22.2 for sharper mask generation.
Version 22.2 was part of the broader Photoshop 2021 cycle, which introduced significant AI-driven "Neural Filters" and the Refine Hair
Photoshop 2021 debuted "Neural Filters," powered by Adobe Sensei AI. Version 22.2 refined these filters, offering smoother slider adjustments and more predictable AI generation. The defining characteristic of the 2021 release was
Collaborators can edit layers without flattening the image.
Users can switch between different computers without manual export/import steps.
: Applying the artistic style of one image to another using deep learning. Competing tools (e
While Content-Aware Fill has been a staple of Photoshop, Version 22.2 refined the underlying algorithms.
Despite its stability, no software is perfect. Here are the common user reports from this era:
Version 22.2 made collaboration seamless with the "Invite to Edit" feature for cloud documents (.psdc).
Version 22.2 took significant strides in making Photoshop a more collaborative tool, directly addressing the needs of modern creative teams. The most notable additions were: