Vector Q by Imaengine 4+

This app is something that truly, truly showcases what you can do with an iPhone. I downloaded it so long ago, I had an iPhone 7, and even then it was outstanding- I was even a bit intimidated by it because of the quality. It was really made for art and design on a professional level. Fast forward a few iOS versions and iPhones, and it’s turned into a total powerhouse. You just can’t bust out work like this so easily- especially video media- in this style. If you didn’t have this app, you would be doing A LOT of work for this output. This is true multimedia art.


ORIGINAL REVIEW (from like 5 years ago when it was a different name): This app has been not only educational in the way that I am learning about vectorization, but it has given me hours of true artistic freedom. I carefully edit my shots, optimizing them for vector output, then import them into the app. I've made some really nice stuff. The app has always been a bit crashy and slightly buggy, but there is some major rendering going on! Highly recommend this app for digital artistic exploration. I've been using it for well over a year 👍🏻 thanks devs 🙏🏻😊

I first started using this app when it was iemagine, but I could never spell the name. ;-)

It is an amazingly powerful tool, and I have yet to find its equal. (Note: I even have access to full Photoshop and full Illustrator and unless I am missing something, this blows PS’s “image trace” out of the water in terms of flexibility.)

I know the editor and the advanced options can be a bit overwhelming for some, and I count myself initially among the “just use the presets” crowd.

But two things… First, this tool helps you SEE. It really does. I initially started using it to help me simplify shapes for my watercolors. It is amazing tool for that — think “squinting on steriods” or “way better than a red square” for seeing shapes and values.

Second, now that I have spent some time in Illustrator and understand the different selection modes there, I suddenly grokked a bunch of the tools in the editor mode of this tool, and I am so in awe that this tool exists that I had to come write a review. (e.g. Not only can you get the closed objects created for you, but you can tweak them directly from this app.)

I really love this app, and I don’t say that often. It is critical to my brainstorming and creative process.

Thank you for making it.

Then it got complicated and now it is basically unusable. I can’t save an image from ANY of the filters (I can take screenshot of it, that’s all). The editor is a hot mess. Many people, me included, can’t figure out how to use it in a productive manner. And then, today, while trying out the video option, I pressed for the camera and then tried to pause it so I could take a screenshot... well, now that’s broken too! It’s all a bright green image and in a matter of seconds a message appears saying that the path limit has been reached. Mind you, I’ve chosen no paths at all. I wasn’t even using the editor feature!

This used to be the best image editing app if you wanted to play around with vectorization or just apply unexpectedly fun filters. It had lots of options and a few of them were for premium users but there was enough for the free user to love. It was also possible to understand what you were actually doing. How the inclusion of an editor became the kiss of death and why it’s impossible to use any filter to save an image are questions best asked directly.

What happened, Mr Developer? How did a perfect and fun photo editing app became unintelligible even for people with some graphic design experience?