Snapseed: Photo Editor 4+

Snapseed has been my go to editing app for close to a decade now. It’s wide range of powerful features and it’s complete lack of hidden purchases still do a lot to recommend it (the Selective Edit feature in particular is what turned me onto it in the first place) but…Having now tried this on two different phones, two different software profiles, the app hangs anytime I go to load a RAW image for development. Now, I could just go to Lightroom for this kind of thing, but the core simplicity and intuitive controls of Snapseed make it much less complicated than Lr. But, I shoot almost everything in RAW so that I can have that editing latitude, and loading an image, waiting and wondering whether I’ll be able to edit it at all have left me looking to other options. For jpeg shooters, however, this app is a marvel: It costs nothing, and is packed with wonderful features. The aforementioned Selective Edit is a great way to punch up contrast and saturation to specific areas of your images and leaving areas of first shot perfection relatively untouched. Furthermore, the preset edits like Portrait and Fine Art (black and white) are a one tap ticket to Gorgeous Town. I just wish the developers would do something about the lottery like nature of RAW development. Fix the lag, and I’ll bring back the Fifth Star, how about that?

As a Snapseed user since it was originally launched (~15 years ago?!), the new redesign is frustrating. The developers reversed the direction for edits; ie if you want to increase contrast now you swipe left when previously it’s always been swipe right. There’s no way to change this setting. The export button is in the top right corner rather than the bottom left. The top corners are arguably the least ergonomic locations to put anything due to the average reach of the thumb. The launch animation? Completely pointless. Just launch the app so I can edit! Why are edited/imported images saved on the landing page? Yes, you can delete them but only one by one. If you’re going to force these images to be stored on the app taking up more space at least allow the option for ‘delete all’.

I will acknowledge that being able to add/rearrange a few commonly used editing tools is extremely handy and hopefully we’ll see the ability to save more than 4 in a future update. Speaking of which, why not allow the option to save a ‘look’? The app has always allowed users to quickly apply the ‘last look’ to images, but it would always be nice to create/save/apply your own recipes for even quicker edits.

Really hope they allow users to change the direction of edit to match the old app. With the current layout I’m not sure where they’d relocate the export button but GD the top right corner is the worst position

I really love using this app to edit all my photos. I’m rating 4 stars, to possibly grab your attention on a few new suggestions to add into the apps editing features. First, I think adding a free form focus area in the Lens Blur instead of shapes would be AMAZING. Along with that adding the ability to not just have one focal point, but multiple focal pints, while still being able to blur out the background or things the editor doesn’t want the photo to focus on. Another new feature you should add to this app should be to have a onscreen convenient undo/redo buttons while using any tool in the app; that way the editor won’t have to continuously click in and out of the tool in order to make an alter to an edit or to fix a mistake. I realize there’s an erasing tool, but when you have much to edit and a list of other photos you plan to edit as well, it is time consuming; not to mention that many people using there fingers to edit will likely cause a mistake to worsen by using the eraser tool, which is well - another negative.
- Anyways I really do hope someone who can add these two features read my review, and will actually consider adding these two features. I guarantee it will make many people happy.

-Overall though, this photo editing app is AMAZING and I highly recommend using it!!!