Adobe Express on Chromebooks — Are Your Students Actually Logging In Properly?

 Adobe Express on Chromebooks — Are Your Students Actually Logging In Properly?

If your school has Chromebooks and you are using Adobe Express, there is a question worth asking your IT admin this week. Are your students logging in seamlessly, or are they hitting a wall asking for an email verification code they can never actually receive?

I have been speaking with a number of schools recently and this comes up a lot. Teachers set up their Adobe Classrooms, share the class code with students, and then nothing works quite right. Students can't join, or they get stuck in an email verification loop, or everyone ends up sharing one account just to get anything done. If this sounds familiar, the issue is almost certainly how Adobe Express has been deployed, not anything the teacher has done wrong.

The root cause

When Adobe Express doesn't recognise a student as a properly provisioned user, it falls back to email verification to confirm who they are. For primary school students, or any students who don't have individual email access, that's a dead end. The shared account workaround that schools end up using causes its own headaches — projects getting mixed up, syncing problems, and no way for a teacher to see which student did what.

The fix — Google App Licensing

Adobe and Google have built a proper solution for exactly this scenario. It's called Google App Licensing, and for Chromebook schools it's the right way to deploy Adobe Express.

The way it works is straightforward. Your IT admin sets up Adobe Express licenses through the Google Admin Console rather than purely through the Adobe Admin Console. Once it's configured correctly, students simply open their Chromebook, click the Adobe Express icon, and they are signed straight in using their existing Google school login. No codes. No email verification. No friction. The Chromebook already knows who the student is, and Adobe just trusts that.

The key things the IT admin needs to check are that Google SSO is configured in the Adobe Admin Console, and that auto-account creation is switched on in the directory settings. Without that second setting enabled, Adobe doesn't automatically create an account for students on first login, which is what triggers the whole verification loop.

Once it's working, each student has their own individual Adobe Express account tied to their school Google login. Their projects are theirs, they can join Classrooms properly using the class code their teacher shares, and teachers can actually see individual student work and progress.

It's free and it's already available

Worth emphasising — this isn't an add-on you pay for. Adobe Express for K-12 is free, and Google App Licensing is part of that. Schools that already have Adobe Express set up through the Adobe Admin Console can still move to Google App Licensing without losing their existing setup. Nothing changes from the user's perspective, it just works properly.

What to do next

If you are a teacher and this sounds like your situation, the conversation to have is with your IT admin rather than trying to fix it yourself. Point them at Adobe's Google App Licensing deployment guide and ask them specifically to check whether Google SSO and auto-account creation are both enabled in the Adobe Admin Console.

If you are an IT admin reading this and you want a hand working through the setup, feel free to get in touch. It's a relatively quick fix once you know what to look for, and it makes a significant difference to how usable Adobe Express actually is in the classroom day to day.

Adobe Express Add-ins are Coming on 23rd March — Here's What You Need to Know

 If you are an IT admin in a school, college, or business that uses Adobe Express, there is a date you need to have in your diary right now. On 23rd March 2026, Adobe is enabling the K-12 Add-on Collection for Adobe Express, which means a whole set of third-party add-ins are going to become available to your users automatically.

Let's take a look at what that means in practice, and crucially, what you can do if you don't want all of them showing up in your environment.

So What Are Adobe Express Add-ins?

Add-ins in Adobe Express are essentially integrations with third-party services that sit right inside the Express editor. Think of them a bit like browser extensions, but baked into your creative workflow. Things like QR code generators, stock image libraries, video tools, background removers from third-party providers, and productivity connectors.

For a lot of users these are genuinely useful. A teacher building a classroom poster can pull in resources from connected services without leaving Express. A student working on a project can access additional creative tools in one place. The concept is solid.

But the key thing to understand is that from 23rd March, these add-ins will be enabled for users in your organisation by default. That means unless you take action in the Adobe Admin Console, your users will see and have access to all of them from day one.

Why Would an Organisation Want to Disable Them?

There are a few legitimate reasons why you might want to control what add-ins are available.

Data governance is the big one. Some add-ins connect to external services, and if you are in an education environment particularly around K-12, you need to be confident about what third-party services your students can interact with. Not all add-ins will have been assessed against your organisation's data protection policies.

There is also the distraction factor. If you are deploying Adobe Express in a structured learning environment, having a full marketplace of third-party tools available is not always ideal. You want students focused on the task, not exploring every available add-in.

Finally, some organisations simply want a controlled, consistent experience across all users. Keeping the toolset standardised makes support easier and reduces the risk of users accidentally connecting accounts or sharing content through unapproved channels.

How Do You Manage Add-ins in the Adobe Admin Console?

This is where it gets practical. Adobe gives admins control over add-ins through the Admin Console, and the process is relatively straightforward once you know where to look.

Head into your Adobe Admin Console at adminconsole.adobe.com and sign in with your admin credentials.

From there, navigate to Products and select Adobe Express. You will see the option to manage your Product Profiles. Click into the relevant profile for your users and look for the Add-ins or Integrations section.

From here you have a couple of options. You can disable add-ins entirely, which means no third-party add-ins will be visible to users in that profile at all. Or you can take a more surgical approach and block specific add-ins while leaving others available. This is the better option for most organisations because it lets you whitelist the tools you are happy with while blocking anything you have not reviewed.

Adobe has also introduced the ability to set a default deny policy, meaning only add-ins you have explicitly approved will be accessible. For schools and colleges dealing with safeguarding obligations, this is probably the right approach.

My Recommendation

If you have Adobe Express deployed in a K-12 or FE environment, do not wait until 23rd March to think about this. Get into your Admin Console now, review the add-ins that will be enabled, and make a decision about your policy before the date arrives.

At a minimum, I would suggest switching to a default deny approach for student-facing product profiles and then selectively enabling any add-ins you have reviewed and are comfortable with. That way you are in control from day one rather than scrambling to disable things after the fact.

The good news is that Adobe has built these controls in for exactly this reason. The tools are there, it just requires a bit of admin prep time before the switch gets flipped on the 23rd.

Got questions about managing your Adobe Express deployment? Drop a comment below or get in touch.

Nano Banana 2 is Now in Adobe Firefly — and It's a Big Deal

If you've been following the wild ride that is AI image generation over the last year or so, you'll already know the name Nano Banana. Yes, it really is called that. And yes, it really is as impressive as it sounds ridiculous. Google's Gemini-powered image model made quite the splash when it first landed in Adobe Firefly, and now the next generation — Nano Banana 2, running on Gemini 3.1 — is here and available right inside Firefly today.

Let's take a look at what's new, what it can actually do, and why I think this matters for anyone working creatively with Adobe tools.

Wait — What Even Is Nano Banana?

Good question. Nano Banana is the slightly bonkers internal codename for Google's Gemini image generation model. When Adobe integrated partner AI models into Firefly back in 2025 bringing in the likes of OpenAI, FLUX, Runway and others alongside its own Firefly models Google's offering got labelled Nano Banana in the Firefly interface, and the name stuck. The first version, based on Gemini 2.5 Flash, became hugely popular with creators almost immediately.

Adobe reported that users created 5 billion images with the original Nano Banana in just two months. That's not a typo. 5 billion. So it's fair to say there was quite a bit of anticipation for what version 2 would bring to the table.

So What's New in Nano Banana 2?

Built on Gemini 3.1, Nano Banana 2 is a step up in pretty much every area. Here's what stands out:

• Crystal clear text in images. If you've ever tried to get an AI to generate a poster and ended up with complete gibberish where the words should be, you'll understand why this is a breakthrough. Nano Banana 2 can now produce sharp, well-integrated text directly inside generated images — useful for mockups, posters, product shots, you name it.

• Targeted edits with simple prompts. You can now use conversational text prompts to fix specific parts of an image without touching the rest of it. Got a great shot but the lighting on one side is off? Just describe the change and let Nano Banana 2 sort it. This alone changes how you'd use the tool day to day.

• Better reflections, textures and complex lighting. Glass, water, depth of field — these are areas where the first Nano Banana struggled a bit. Version 2 handles them noticeably better.

• Factually grounded image generation. By tapping into Google Search's knowledge base, Nano Banana 2 can generate accurate maps, diagrams, and real-world visuals — not just artistic interpretations.

• Text localisation. It can now translate text within images — genuinely useful if you're producing assets for international audiences and need a French or German version of an advert without recreating the whole thing from scratch.

Get creative with Adobe Firefly & Nano Banana 2 has never been easier

Where Can You Use It in Firefly?

Nano Banana 2 is available across several areas of the Firefly platform. In the main Firefly app, you'll find it in the Text to Image module — just select Gemini 3.1 (with Nano Banana 2) from the model picker and you're away. It's also available in Firefly Boards, Adobe's AI-powered collaborative moodboarding space, where creative teams can brainstorm and develop campaign concepts together.

In Photoshop, Nano Banana 2 powers Generative Fill, giving you a fast, prompt-based way to make targeted edits directly in your existing workflow. The key advantage here is that you get Google's model capabilities without ever leaving the Adobe environment — no juggling between tabs, no separate subscriptions.

You can also upload up to six reference images in Firefly and prompt Nano Banana 2 to merge and refine elements from them — handy for building consistent visual identities or campaign assets.

Nano Banana 2 vs Adobe's Own Firefly Models — Which Do You Use?

This is worth addressing, because it comes up a lot. Adobe's own Firefly Image Model 5 is commercially safe — trained on licensed content, meaning you can use the output in client work without worrying about IP issues. That's a big deal in a professional context.

Nano Banana 2, on the other hand, excels at text in images, advanced editing, character consistency across multiple images, and factual accuracy. It's not a replacement for Firefly's own models — it's a complement to them. Adobe's whole strategy here is about giving you the right tool for the right task, all in one place. And that philosophy is starting to really make sense in practice.

Think of it this way: use Firefly Image Model 5 for commercially safe production assets, and reach for Nano Banana 2 when you need stronger results on portraits, complex edits, or text-heavy visuals. Test them both on the same project and see which fits.

How to Get Started

Getting going with Nano Banana 2 in Firefly is straightforward:

• Head to firefly.adobe.com and open the Generate Image module.

• Click the Model dropdown and select Gemini 3.1 (with Nano Banana 2).

• Upload an existing image or write a prompt to generate a starting point.

• Use the prompt bar to describe your edits conversationally and refine from there.

For Photoshop users, Generative Fill is the place to find it — make a selection, open the Firefly model picker, and choose Nano Banana 2 from the partner models list.

Final Thoughts

The arrival of Nano Banana 2 in Adobe Firefly is another strong step in Adobe's strategy of bringing the best available AI models into a single creative platform. Rather than forcing creators to choose between the Adobe ecosystem and the latest generation of AI models, you now get both — and the integration is genuinely seamless.

For anyone already working in Firefly or Photoshop, this is a meaningful upgrade. The improvements to text in images and targeted edits alone make it worth exploring, and the fact it sits alongside Adobe's own commercially safe models gives you real creative flexibility without the workflow headaches.

Head into Firefly today and give it a go. And yes — you are allowed to chuckle at the name.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

The Apple MacBook Neo - the device that opens the door to Apple for many

Well tomorrow is the 11th March 2026 and that means you can go into to an Apple store and but yourself a MacBook for £599.00.   The MacBook Neo is officially available tomorrow, which I think will truly open the Apple eco system to more people. 

A Mac for Everyone, Finally

Starting at £599 in the UK — the MacBook Neo is the most affordable laptop Apple has ever sold. Let that sink in for a moment. For years, the cheapest way into the Mac line-up was a £999 laptop. Apple has essentially cut that price nearly in half, and the result is a machine that I find genuinely impressive for what it delivers at this price point.

Even the wallpaper spells out MAC (if you look closely)

With its beautiful and durable aluminium design, stunning Liquid Retina display, Apple silicon-powered performance, and all-day battery life, this doesn't feel like a budget device. It feels like a proper Mac — because it is one.

Lets not get away from the fact that this device is not a replacement for the MacBook Air, or the MacBook Pro, it has landed in its own market - affordable.  

There will be a lot of people out there who have a iPhone but don't have aa Mac and that is really around price. MacBook Neo is now an entry point in the eco-system, and ideal compliment to the iPhone of course, but a first step on the ladder to the Air and Pro eventually.

Ideal for web browsing, office work and day to day tasks I see this being super popular with students ( which by the way becomes a £499 device with student discount) for university.

Not Just a Cheaper MacBook Air — Something Entirely Different

A lot of the reviewer on YouTube have compared it directly to the MacBook Air, and it really is not the same.

Here's where things get really interesting, and why I think the MacBook Neo deserves to be seen as its own category rather than just a stripped-back Air or a baby Pro.

The major factor that separates it from Apple's other MacBooks, aside from its lower price, is that it runs on Apple's A18 Pro processor — a chip similar to the one that powers the iPhone 16 Pro. It's the first time Apple has used one of its mobile chips to power a laptop. This is a genuinely novel engineering decision, and it matters more than it might seem on paper.

Unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, which run on Apple's M-series chips, the Neo uses the Apple A18 Pro. This gives it a distinct identity in the lineup — it isn't a MacBook Air with features removed, it's a fundamentally different kind of Mac, built from a different silicon foundation and aimed at a different audience entirely. Apple's own SVP of hardware engineering described it as "totally new" and built "from the ground up."

The design language reflects this too. It comes in four eye-catching colours — Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo — each with a colour-coordinated keyboard to complete the look. This is a more expressive, personality-driven aesthetic than you get from the understated MacBook Air or the serious, professional MacBook Pro. It feels intentional — this machine is meant to stand out and turn heads.

The Ecosystem Gateway Apple Has Been Missing

What excites me most about the MacBook Neo isn't just the specs — it's what it represents strategically, and what it means for people who are curious about Mac but have never been able to justify the price.

The iPhone is Apple's biggest money maker, but its Mac computers are critical for ensuring iPhone and Apple Watch users remain steeped within Apple's ecosystem of products and services. The MacBook Neo is the bridge that's been missing. There are millions of iPhone users out there who love their handset but have always defaulted to a Windows laptop or Chromebook simply because Macs felt out of reach financially.

That changes now. And once someone is in — once they experience iPhone Mirroring, the ability to copy something on iPhone and paste it on Mac, answer FaceTime calls from their laptop, and send texts with Messages — the ecosystem magic kicks in. That's when Apple's flywheel starts spinning, and it's hard to stop.

Analysts expect the new MacBook to be popular among college students and young adults that may not have as much disposable income, and it could boost Apple's presence in the classroom where Chromebooks are typically more prominent. That's a whole generation of potential long-term Apple customers being introduced to the Mac experience for the first time.

Impressive Performance for the Price

Don't let the accessible price fool you — this machine has real capability under the hood. Apple said the device can run artificial intelligence tasks up to three times faster than comparable PC laptops. The 16-core Neural Engine in the A18 Pro chip fully supports Apple Intelligence features, including AI writing tools and smart photo editing.

With up to 16 hours of battery life, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, Spatial Audio, and the full macOS experience, this is a machine that punches well above its weight. It's not trying to replace the Air or Pro — it's doing something different and arguably more important: getting more people through the door.

Final Thoughts

The MacBook Neo is Apple doing something it rarely does — meeting people where they are, rather than asking them to come up to Apple's price point. I'm genuinely impressed by the ambition here. It's a well-made, thoughtfully designed, capable computer that happens to start at $599. And for the millions of iPhone users who've always been curious about Mac but never taken the leap, this might just be the moment they do.

Welcome to the family.

Windows 11 in 2026: A Rocky Start for Quality Control

 Windows 11 in 2026: A Rocky Start for Quality Control

As a Windows 11 user you may have noticed that 2026 has not been plain sailing. In fact it's largely picked up where 2025 left off.

January kicked off with what many are calling the "January Crisis". Update KB5074109 stacked new errors onto existing ones from late 2025. The most severe was the UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error, which triggered a wave of Black Screens of Death (BSOD). 

This primarily hit devices that had previously rolled back from the December 2025 update; the January patch tried to fix low-level components on systems already in an improper state, essentially bricking the boot process.

Even the "lucky" users who could still boot faced a frustrating bug with Outlook Classic. The app would get stuck as a "zombie" background process, failing to open—a bug that particularly plagued those with large PST files or POP accounts

February’s Mixed Bag (KB5077181)

Roll on February with KB5077181, and while this solved the boot issues for most, it did indeed bring its own set of problems for users, including gaming stutter, where a gaming PC would rhythmically micro-freeze every second or so. 

Also some devices would simply lose all recognition about Bluetooth or Wi-Fi hardware existing, however a "full power reset" could bring the hardware back (sometime).

Lastly, the update would often fail to install!

So if you have been affected by any of the update issue, below is the latest recommendations:

Issue                        Status                Recommendation

Boot Loops	Resolved (mostly)	Updating to KB5077181
Gaming Stutter	Ongoing	Disable Full screen optimizations in game properties
Bluetooth Missing	Ongoing	Shutdown the device, an un plug the power wait for at least 30 seconds and power back on
Outlook Classic freezing	Resolved	Fixed in KB5077181

Closing Thoughts

While enthusiasts might enjoy the "challenge" of a buggy update, it’s a massive burden for those managing schools or businesses. Microsoft needs to prioritize quality control over flashy AI features; at the end of the day, we just need our PCs to work