Technology 11/12: Adobe integrates into ChatGPT, iPhone growth in China.

ChatGPT integrates Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat, and Express for free.

Adobe has just launched Photoshop, Acrobat, and Express applications directly within ChatGPT, allowing users to edit photos, PDFs, and design graphics simply by describing their requirements.

Users can type commands like "Adobe Photoshop, blur the background of this image" and the system will automatically perform the action. Within the same chat, you don't need to re-enter the application name to continue editing.

The Photoshop application for ChatGPT will provide a user interface with sliders for various editing requests. (Source: Adobe)

Photoshop supports editing individual parts of an image, adjusting brightness, contrast, exposure, and adding creative effects. Acrobat allows editing PDF content, compressing, converting formats, extracting tables or text, and merging multiple files together.

Adobe Express helps create and edit designs such as posters, invitations, and social media graphics. Users can change text, images, colors, and even add animations directly within ChatGPT.

For more detailed control, edited files can be opened directly within the native Adobe application to continue working.

Instagram Edits adds templates, storyboards and iOS widgets

Instagram has just updated its Edits video editing app, bringing many new tools to users. The upgrade adds templates and storyboards to help create content faster, along with the ability to add widgets to the iOS lock screen for quick access to the camera or notes.

Users can create videos using pre-made templates with music, fonts, and clip timing, and also share their own templates for the community to use. Instagram says it will soon expand to include more types of templates.

The storyboard feature allows you to turn "idea stickies" into structured video plans, supporting teleprompter, notes, and clips. Additionally, Edits lets you add public Reels from Instagram to your project for remixes or responses, with a commitment to credit the original creator.

The update also brings text customization options with additional background or border colors, along with the ability to place the Edits widget on the iPhone lock screen to quickly open the camera or add notes.

Sales of foreign-made phones in China surged in October.

According to data from the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, sales of foreign-branded phones, including Apple's iPhones, increased by 13% in October compared to the same period last year.

A woman uses her phone in an Apple store in China during the iPhone 17 launch. (Source: Reuters)

Total shipments reached over 7 million units, higher than the 6.2 million units shipped in October 2024. This indicates that demand for international brands remains strong in the Chinese market.

Meanwhile, total phone sales in China also increased by 8.7%, reaching 32.2 million units in October. This reflects a general recovery in the smartphone market, despite fierce competition from domestic manufacturers.