When the name of your software is already synonymous with image editing, can there be anything left to add or improve upon after 13 versions? Although it wasn’t altered for last year’s Creative Suite 5.5 (aside from adding support for subscription pricing), Adobe Photoshop is the main attraction in Creative Suite 6, loaded with time-saving features that make it a joy to use.

Taking UI design cues from other members of the CS6 family (notably Premiere Pro and After Effects), Photoshop now features a darker, more modern look by default, which really makes images pop off the screen. Four different shades of gray are offered in the Interface preferences, to suit most every taste.

The completely revamped Crop tool now offers nondestructive edits and lightning-fast results.

After including a 64-bit option with CS5, Adobe has made it mandatory on Mac OS X with CS6 (64-bit remains optional on Windows). This isn’t much of an issue for Mac users, since Apple rolled out the red carpet for 64-bit long ago; any system capable of running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion 10.7 will work just fine. The move to 64-bit allows for extremely welcome new features such as background save, so that saving large, layered files no longer grinds work to a halt.

Adobe has also moved the Mercury Graphics Engine previously introduced with its pro video software into Photoshop CS6, adding GPU acceleration to a new Crop tool and other processor-intensive tasks like Puppet Warp, Liquefy, and Lighting Effects Gallery. Coupled with 64-bit processing, the result is immediate feedback while editing and an overall zippier feel throughout the app.

The new Content-Aware Patch tool can remove unwanted superheroes from an image.

Speaking of the all-new Crop tool, it’s hands-down our favorite Photoshop CS6 feature. No longer do you have to select an area you’d like to crop: simply choose the Crop tool, and it’s ready to go with your last used setting. If you crop multiple images in a row to the same dimensions, Photoshop CS6 cuts them down to size with ninja-like precision and speed. Users can also choose whether or not to delete cropped pixels, since all cropping is completely nondestructive. While Crop tool settings from previous versions can be imported, Photoshop CS6 comes ready to go with a variety of presets. (All presets, workspaces, preferences, and settings can now be migrated from previous versions and even shared with other computers.)

Photoshop CS6 takes content-aware image editing to the next level with Content-Aware Move and Content-Aware Patch tools. The latter gives image editors complete control over which area of the screen will be used to patch your selection, and the former makes it so easy to seamlessly move a selection that people who do this work for a living will have to come up with excuses for all the extra coffee breaks they’ll be enjoying now.

Photoshop CS6 can turn anyone into Dr. Shrinker with new blur tools for tilt-shift effects.

A new Blur Gallery lets you easily create tilt-shift effects that have become popular in mobile apps such as Instagram. Heavy users will also appreciate Photoshop’s included Adobe Camera Raw 7 processing and improved auto corrections, letting images look better than ever with just a few clicks. Last but not least, the adaptive wide-angle feature makes short work of straightening objects shot with a fisheye or other wide-angle lens, including panoramas.

Photoshop CS6 Extended is a $300 premium over the Standard version if you’re buying it à la carte, adding 3D painting and high-end image analysis tools. While these features may not be for everyone, Adobe now includes Extended as part of Creative Cloud, the company’s $49.99 per month subscription service that includes the entire CS6 Master Collection. For novice users, Extended features are unobtrusive, so they don’t get in the way of a more traditional workflow, but the lower cost of entry with Creative Cloud now opens the extra features to users who might otherwise have shunned them--a smart move on Adobe’s part.

The new, darker user interface puts the focus more on your images and less on the tools.

Finally, if you don’t require the 3D image-editing features of Photoshop Extended but want to be able to edit video, this feature is now included with the standard version of Photoshop CS6. While it may come in handy for budget-conscious users, to us, video still feels like an awkward addition to Photoshop that’s more of a “me too” afterthought. The included Adobe Bridge CS6 has also been reworked with a streamlined UI that takes a little getting used to for longtime users.

The bottom line. Adobe Photoshop remains a formidable opponent for other publishers of image editing software 22 years after its introduction. Whether you’re retouching photos, working with complex layered creations, or simply want something more powerful than consumer-focused solutions, Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended is a must-have purchase or upgrade with the most impressive toolset since Smart Filters were introduced into Creative Suite 3 back in 2007.

Correct fisheye and other wide-angle lens distortion in just a few clicks with the new Adaptive Wide Angle feature.