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Adobe's Project Indigo camera app gets a generative AI suite—without Firefly

Adobe's experimental iPhone camera app adds AI photo critique, background removal, and other generative tools in a notable departure from its own Firefly models.

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What matters

  • Adobe's Project Indigo, a free experimental iPhone camera app from Adobe Labs, has been updated with a suite of generative AI tools including photo critique and background removal.
  • The new AI features do not rely on Adobe's Firefly AI models, a notable departure from the company's flagship generative AI platform.
  • The Verge reports the update includes a broader generative AI suite beyond just critique and background removal, housed in what Adobe calls an "AI Playground."
  • Project Indigo differentiates itself from Apple's native camera by combining up to 32 frames per shot for reduced noise and better highlight retention.
  • The app remains free and experimental under Adobe Labs; specific details on the AI critique feature and the models powering the suite are not fully disclosed.

Launch facts

Price:
Free
Availability:
Available now (experimental, Adobe Labs)
Platforms:
iOS

What happened

Adobe has updated Project Indigo, its free experimental iPhone camera app from Adobe Labs, with a suite of generative AI tools. The new features include AI-powered photo critique—where the app evaluates photos you've snapped—and background removal capable of handling "all kinds of backgrounds." According to The Verge, the update goes beyond those two capabilities, encompassing a broader collection of generative AI tools within what Adobe describes as an "AI Playground."

What makes this update particularly interesting is that the AI features do not rely on Adobe's own Firefly AI models. Firefly is Adobe's flagship generative AI engine, powering features across Photoshop, Illustrator, and other Creative Cloud apps. The decision to use a different AI approach for Project Indigo suggests Adobe is exploring alternative models or partnerships for its experimental mobile photography tools, though the specific models or providers behind the new features have not been disclosed in available reporting.

Project Indigo was originally launched to deliver a "more natural (SLR-like) look" for iPhone photography. It differentiates itself from Apple's native camera app by combining up to 32 frames per shot—significantly more than the standard camera pipeline—while underexposing highlights more aggressively. The result, according to a detailed review from ThruMyLens published in March 2026, is reduced noise and fewer blown-out highlights, with a quality that the reviewer described as going beyond what purely technical specifications would predict.

Why it matters

This update signals Adobe's ambition to bring generative AI closer to the moment of capture rather than confining it to post-processing tools like Photoshop. By embedding AI critique and editing directly into a camera app, Adobe is testing whether users want real-time feedback and on-device generative editing at the point of shooting.

The decision not to use Firefly is also notable. Adobe has invested heavily in Firefly as its enterprise-safe, commercially licensed generative AI platform. Building Project Indigo's AI features on a different foundation could mean Adobe is experimenting with lighter-weight or more specialized models suited to mobile constraints—or it could reflect an exploratory phase where the company hasn't yet committed to a production architecture. Either way, it's a departure from the pattern seen across Adobe's main product line.

The app remains free and housed under Adobe Labs, which means it is still treated as experimental. Features could change, expand, or disappear. But the addition of a generative AI suite suggests Adobe sees enough signal in mobile-first, AI-assisted photography to invest meaningfully in the concept.

What to watch

  • Whether Project Indigo graduates from Adobe Labs to a commercial product, which would signal validated product-market fit.
  • What AI models or providers power the new features, given the absence of Firefly.
  • How the AI critique feature actually works in practice—available reporting does not specify what the critique evaluates or how feedback is delivered.
  • Whether competing camera apps from Apple, Google, or third-party developers respond with similar AI-at-capture features.
  • Whether the broader generative AI suite includes capabilities beyond critique and background removal that haven't yet been detailed in reporting.

What to do next

Developers

Download Project Indigo and test the new AI critique, background removal, and other generative AI tools to assess latency, accuracy, and model behavior on real-world photos.

Understanding Adobe's non-Firefly AI pipeline for mobile computational photography can inform your own mobile image-processing and on-device AI architectures.

Founders

Evaluate whether AI-assisted photo coaching and generative editing at capture time represents a viable product wedge for your own consumer photography or creator tools.

Adobe validating this concept in an experimental app signals emerging demand, but also potential competition from a well-resourced incumbent.

PMs

Benchmark Project Indigo's generative AI suite against your own product's editing and capture capabilities to identify feature gaps.

Adobe is pushing generative AI closer to the capture moment, which could shift user expectations for what mobile photo apps should do out of the box.

Investors

Monitor whether Project Indigo graduates from Adobe Labs to a commercial product, and watch for disclosure of which AI models power the new features.

Free experimental apps that move to paid products can indicate validated product-market fit, and the non-Firefly approach may signal partnership or acquisition opportunities.

Operators

If your team produces visual content on iPhone, pilot Project Indigo for product or social photography to test whether AI critique and background removal reduce post-processing time.

The app's multi-frame capture and AI feedback could streamline workflows for teams shooting on mobile.

How to test

  1. 1Download and install Project Indigo on a compatible iPhone.
  2. 2Capture several photos in varying lighting conditions—bright outdoor, low-light indoor, and high-contrast scenes.
  3. 3Trigger the AI critique feature on captured photos and note the type, specificity, and quality of feedback provided.
  4. 4Use the background removal feature on photos with subjects of varying complexity (simple shapes, hair, translucent objects).
  5. 5Explore the broader AI Playground suite to identify any additional generative tools beyond critique and background removal.
  6. 6Compare output quality—noise, highlight retention, background cutout accuracy—against photos taken with Apple's native camera app.

Caveats

  • The app is experimental and features may change or be removed without notice.
  • Available reporting does not fully specify how the AI critique feature works or what additional generative tools exist in the AI Playground.
  • The AI models powering the features are not disclosed; they are confirmed not to be Adobe's Firefly models.
  • Multi-frame capture may introduce slight delays when shooting, which could affect fast-moving subjects.