Snapseed Update Adds New Filters, Google+ And Way Better Photo Import

By

1354798498.jpg

Snapseed, the best damn photo editor on all of iOS, has gotten an update. V1.5 adds Google+ sharing, a whole new Retrolux filter, better frames, and a new icon. Oh, and it’s now free, so if you were too cheap to download it before, go grab it now.

Snapseed’s developer Nik Software was bought by Google, but thankfully Google doesn’t seem bent on ruining things. Other than the newer, Googlier icon, and the Google+ export, nothing has been touched. Well, that’s not quite true: along with the new features, there are some very welcome tweaks.

First up, the frames. Frames sucked before, looking super cheesy. They still do, but there are some better plain options if you must frame your digital photo.

Then there’s the Retrolux filter. This brings some new complexity to the app. You still get to use Snapseed’s trademark swiping interfece, but in the pop-up Styles selector there is now a further “setting” cog that takes you to a screen for choosing scratch and light-leak styles. It’s easy, but less elegant than we’re used to.

Still, the larger, clearer thumbnails of the effects are welcome, and have also been added to the Vintage and Grunge filters.

Two other tweaks jumped out in my quick testing, both of which are in the import dialog. “Camera” and “Photo Library” have now been joined by “Paste Image” as ways to get a picture into the app. And if you choose a photo from your library, you now get a large thumbnail preview.

This last addition is great. When I process a bunch of photos for a review, I usually have to make a first-pass in the Photos app to delete the non-keepers, as the Snapseed picker was too small. Not anymore. You can preview an image and if you don’t like it, go back to the parent folder to pick another.

For me, this alone is worth the update.

Like I said, the app is now free, so go grab it. The only thing you’ll lose is your time, as you get sucked into playing with your pictures. And finally — there will be an Android version “soon.”

Source: iTunes App Store

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.