Google acquires Snapseed and Nik Software

Nik Software, (San Diego, CA, USA), the owners and developers of Instagram competitor, Snapseed, has been acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum.

Snapseed is one of the most sophisticated photo-editing and enhancement apps on the market, going beyond Instagram’s simple filters, rotation and tilt-shift effects to allow users to spot edit and tweak white balance, contrast and saturation. It lacks, however, Instagram’s built-in social network — Snapseed is all about photo optimization and film-like filter effects. It’s available for iPhones, iPads and as a desktop app for Mac and Windows. Snapseed’s website indicates an Android version is in the works.

Nik Software offers a range of other photo-editing software, but Snapseed is one of its core products.

Google’s acquisition of Picnik, a browser-based image-editing tool, only closed this spring. It seems likely that Google is working to bring more photo-editing tools to Google+ — as The Verge points out, Google+ already offers some basic editing tools, including the ability to crop and sharpen images and apply filters.

Perhaps the tech giant is hoping people will upload their photos first to Google+ rather than Facebook if they can edit while they upload. It’s a feasible ambition — just look at how many people filter their photos on Instagram before sharing them to Facebook.

Source: Mashable