Free photo editing app
Snapseed is a free photo editing app provided by Google that allows you to directly edit images taken with your phone. The features of this app rival its competitors which also providing professional-grade editing on your phone.
Features
Snapseed’s primary features involve the editing of photos and image files. The app has multiple options that are essential, including brushes, image altering, and other professional tools. These professional tools include image warping through curves, color balancing, and even RAW editing.
RAW editing lets you edit photos directly from their RAW DNG files. Snapseed then allows you to save these files, without affecting the original. You can also export them as a JPEG.
Drawbacks
Snapseed has several faults that can make it difficult to work with. Photos cannot be cropped in a 9:16 ratio, and tools for adding filters to images are lacking. The app is not too well known compared to alternatives, which makes it less likely to be improved on by Google.
Competition
Snapseed’s primary competition is Adobe and their creative cloud suite of tools, specifically Photoshop and Lightroom. Both of those apps have a single core downside that gives Snapseed an advantage, they’re not free to use.
Adobe Photoshop is a long-running and famous digital photo editing software that allows the user to edit images on the computer or on the phone through the mobile app. The program features multiple high-quality versions of the same tools provided through Snapseed. However, it’s not free, requiring a premium license to perform the majority of the tasks.
Adobe Lightroom is much the same as Adobe Photoshop in that it requires a premium license. You may not know that Adobe Lightroom is also a camera app. Lightroom allows you to edit photos immediately after taking them. However, the app itself may trigger a trial that will eventually lock you out of using the app’s features until you purchase a premium subscription.
Our take
Snapseed is, essentially, a free version of Adobe Photoshop. The app provides the same basic functions as Photoshop, without a premium subscription. It’s been marked as the best photo editing app for mobile.
Should you download it?
Yes. Snapseed provides a cost-effective method of editing photos.
