What Is MAX Sneaks? Your First Look at Tools That Don’t Exist Yet
Adobe’s researchers show off ideas that aren’t in any app, and some of them end up in your timeline. Here’s how it works, and where to watch the next round for free.
Ever wondered where your favorite editing tools came from? Before they were a menu item or a button, a lot of them were a demo on a stage, and nobody was sure they’d ever ship.
That stage is called Sneaks, and it’s one of the best parts of Adobe MAX.
So what is Sneaks?
Every year at Adobe MAX, Adobe’s own researchers walk on stage and demo technology that doesn’t exist in any product yet. It’s a real first look at what research is working on, shown to a live audience (and everyone watching online).
A few things to know:
- Nothing is guaranteed. Some of what you see makes it into Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, or Firefly. Some of it doesn’t.
- Your reaction counts. Adobe’s people say a lot of what ships depends on how the audience responds, in the room and online.
- It’s a competition to get on stage. Researchers pitch their ideas internally, and a jury vote decides which ones make the cut.
- You get a hint at what’s coming. Plenty of tools editors use today started as a Sneak, and the wait between the stage and the menu can run from months to a few years.
Don’t take our word for it
A great video from Josh Olufemi that recently walked through how Sneaks projects became real tools, including one that launched as a tool nobody asked for and quickly picked up a million users, and one that never shipped at all. It goes through examples across Premiere, After Effects, and Firefly, and what the creator thinks it means for editors.
If you edit for a living, it’s worth 13 minutes of your time.
Watch Sneaks this Wednesday night
This year’s Sneaks is Wednesday, November 11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. ET, hosted by Terry Crews. You don’t have to be in Miami Beach to watch. MAX Online is free, and Sneaks is part of it, so you can register and tune in from wherever you are.
Watch, then tell Adobe what you want to see ship in the products you use everyday. Your reaction is part of how these decisions get made.
Check out MAX online, including Sneaks, at max.adobe.com.
