Today’s Question: Both my iPad and iPhone now say Lightroom CC although my desktop still says Lightroom Mobile. I did not download Lightroom CC to my desktop as it is not something I will use. Has Lightroom Mobile been replaced by Lightroom CC on mobile devices and, if so, what does Lightroom Mobile even mean on my desktop?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The mobile app for iOS and Android devices that had previously been referred to as Lightroom Mobile is now referred to as Lightroom CC. However, this same Lightroom CC mobile app can be used to access images synchronized with either the new Lightroom CC desktop application or the newly renamed Lightroom Classic CC.
More Detail: As many photographers have noticed, the release of a new cloud-based photo service with the name “Lightroom CC” has created some confusion, since there was already an existing software application from Adobe called “Lightroom CC”. That confusion also extends to the version of Lightroom for mobile devices.
The latest version of Lightroom that has been around for about ten years now is now called “Lightroom Classic CC”. This is the version that most of my readers (and perhaps most photographers in general) will want to continue using, at least for the time being.
The new cloud-based photo service is now referred to as Lightroom CC, which includes a desktop application as well as a mobile app and web browser version.
Complicating things a little more, both versions of the Lightroom desktop application (Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC) can be used to synchronize photos to the cloud. In the case of Lightroom CC, all photos are synchronized automatically. Lightroom Classic CC will only synchronize photos you specifically add to a collection that has synchronization enabled.
As a result of all this, the exact same app for mobile devices can be used with either Lightroom CC or Lightroom Classic CC on the desktop. So whether you’ve decided to stick with the existing Lightroom application known as Lightroom Classic CC, or you have decided to make the switch to the new Lightroom CC, the same app for mobile devices (or the web browser version of Lightroom) can be used to access your photos from virtually anywhere.