Google updates Snapseed photo app for iOS w/ RAW support, new face editing tool, more

Google today has updated its Snapseed photo editing app for iOS with a handful of new features and improvements. The update bumps the app to version 2.9 and brings a new face editing tool, RAW support, and more.

First off, the update adds a new tool that will help users bring better clarity to faces in their images. Google says that this new “photogenic” tool will help users better focus on faces in images, as well as smoothen skin and add clarity to eyes.

Next up us support for RAW images. Google says Snapseed on iOS now supports RAW images from 144 camera models, so users can now do things like apply white balance adjustments, add detail, brighten shadows, and more directly to native RAW images. Because iOS currently doesn’t support RAW image files, the best way to get a file of that type into Snapsneed is to use the “send a copy” feature of Google Drive.

Snapseed adding RAW support follows Apple’s announcement that iOS 10 would bring RAW image editing support, so developers will be able to integrate the feature directly into their apps. In the meantime, Snapseed provides a way for photographers to get a head start on RAW image editing with iOS.

Additionally, today’s update to Snapseed allows users to set their preferred JPG compression rate when exporting images, while the ability to save PNG files is also now supported. Finally, Google says a variety of bug fixes and UI tweaks are also present in the update.

Snapseed is available on the App Store for free and the full change log is below.

• New Face tool: A photographic tool that helps you bring focus to faces, smoothen skin, and add clarity to eyes.
• RAW for iOS: Full, native, non-destructive RAW support for 144 camera models. Brighten up shadows, recover lost highlights, add structure and detail to the
• original RAW data, apply fine White Balance adjustments to the native RAW data and more!
• Set the preferred JPG compression rate, or even save lossless (PNG) when exporting.
• UI adjustments and bug fixes.

Our team has worked many years to profile 144 camera models so that Snapseed will read full sensor data from the RAW file. Now, changing the exposure in a RAW file in Snapseed has a comparable effect to adjusting the settings within the camera electronics: The high-resolution, full dynamic range data from the CCD or CMOS chip can now be tweaked!