Fri, 18 Oct 2013 iPhoto '13 rumours, release date, leaked images

When is the next version of Apple iPhoto for Mac coming out? We've gathered all the rumours and clues about iPhoto '13 (or iPhoto '14 etc), its release date, new features and updated design.

iPhoto is part of Apple's iLife suite of lifestyle software for the Mac. The most recent version is iLife '11, which launched near the end of 2010. When will the next iLife software be released?

(Apple has also launched versions of iPhoto for iPad and iPhone, however.)

You can read our review of iPhoto '11 for the Mac here.

iPhoto '13: release date

When is the next version of iPhoto - perhaps '13, if it launches soon - coming out? Or will we have to wait until 2014 for the next version of iPhoto?

In the very near future, it's possible we might hear about the next version of iLife and iPhoto at Apple's big press event on the 22nd October - although most industry analysts expect Apple to focus on iPad 5 and iPad mini 2, iPhoto could get a mention too.

A hint that an iPhoto update is imminent arrived in the form of new icons spotted in iOS 7's Settings menu. Both iPhoto and GarageBand icons were discovered to have recieved an iOS 7-esque makeover, and we expect Apple will want to carry this new design over to the Mac versions of the software, too. If the icons have had a redesign, it's highly likely that Apple has changed the look of the rest of the app, too.

Looking beyond that, Apple has updated its desktop iLife package every two years or less - up until now. (Versions of iLife have come out at the start of 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, then in the summer of 2007, the start of 2009 and the end of 2010.) iLife '13 and iPhoto '13 are overdue.

iMovie '13 rumours, release date | GarageBand 2013 rumours, release date

iPhoto '13: new features

There's been no official talk of the new features in the next version of iPhoto, but a little speculation. One thing that would normally be a fair bet is expanded iCloud compatibility, as Apple continues to pursue its long-term strategy away from traditional storage; but iPhoto '11 can already pull in photos from Photo Stream (and edit and delete them).

Apple is likely to hone the iCloud aspects of iPhoto, however. My colleague Jeff Carlson, writing for Macworld US, proposes a feature that would let users choose to copy Photo Stream pics into Finder, or automatically import them to iPhoto, depending on their habits.

A personal choice would be improvements to Faces, the function whereby iPhoto works out who is in each of your photos using face-recognition technology. Currently this is more of a novelty than anything else, requiring heavy user input, particularly early on, and continually picking out furniture, shafts of light etc as people.

Facial recognition tech is improving all the time, and we'd love iPhoto '13 to take almost all of this task out of our hands. But then we're optimists like that.

(On a related note Carlson wants to be able to turn off Faces and save the processing power. Astonishingly, you currently can't do this.)

Being a photo editor, iPhoto '13 should also get a bunch of new filters. That doesn't take a genius to predict.

Mac photo software reviews 

iPhoto '13: interface

In terms of interface, the next version of iPhoto is likely to continue another known trend - Apple bringing its desktop and mobile software closer together. iPhoto '13 will take visual cues from the popular iPad and iPhone versions of the software.

iOS 7's Calendar app shows how ruthlessly Apple have removed skeuomorphic elements, as well as the vibrant pastel colour scheme

Of course, with last month's launch of iOS 7, that means bright, vibrant colours and starkly minimalist typography. it also means an end to quasi-realistic skeuomorphic design - no more wooden shelves and dated-looking 'cork boards'. Hopefully. 

iPhoto '13: price

iPhoto currently costs £10.49 on the Mac App Store, so it's a fair guess that the next version of iPhoto will cost something similar. If you're happy to buy the current version of iPhoto instead of waiting for iPhoto '13, '14 or whatever, click here to buy now:

For iOS, new iPhone, iPad or iPod touch users can get the iPhoto app for free. If you got your iPhone before 18 September, though, you'll have to pay £2.99 for the app.

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See also:

iMac reviews | Mac mini reviews | Mac Pro reviews | MacBook Air reviews | MacBook Pro reviews

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