When will Elements 13 be available on the app store?

Question

Pretty self explanatory. I have credit on my iTunes account, and I figure i'd use it on photoshop elements. 12 is on the app store, but I want the newest version.
Also, will it be more expensive?

Answer 1

No, the app store sells Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor, not Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's a special version which has all the usual editor features, but nothing that would require the use of the PSE organizer.
As for the part you don't understand, every camera in the world has its own raw format, and adobe's plug-in for processing camera raw (ACR) must updated constantly to include the new information for new cameras. In the app store the only way to update is to provide an updated download, so adobe would have to roll a whole new version of PSE every time there's an ACR update (frequent). So they opted to just not update the app store version from what it is when they first post it. Apple won't allow them to have you use help>updates the way you do in a normal version.
As for mediaDatabase, there is a whole cottage industry of expanding what you can do with PSE by adding stuff to it. Most of these addons install into the Effects panel. To get them to appear you delete that file to force the database to refresh itself and find the new content. The app store version doesn't care about mediaDatabase (at least no app store version so far has done). You can delete that file and it never rebuilds and PSE just runs as it was without it, but it means you can't make new stuff appear in the effects panel or the graphics panel.
Also, adobe generally makes downloads of outdated versions available for a while (right now you can download PSE 9 and up). However, those downloads require the use of a serial number, which you don't have in the app store version (only your apple ID). When a new version of PSE gets posted in the app store the old version goes away and you're stuck if you need to install it from scratch.
On the plus side, the app store version is much tidier. Regular PSE strews stuff all over your hard drive and can't ever be copied or migrated after installation, while moving the app store version is like moving most mac programs--just drag it over to the new machine. So even if the download goes away, as long as you have an installed copy someplace you can copy it to a new machine.
EDIT Also, you pay more for the app store version usually. You can often find the boxed version on deep discount at online retailers and big box stores if you shop around.