With a new interface – from which Google should remove the comic-style animations with eyes and hands… – the much loved photo editing tool for Android is back, with a new camera and lots of features to discover.

Snapseed is or was one of the most popular photo editing apps for Android. A complete and professional photo editor with pro-level tools, smart masking and more, its Android version was left dormant for a while, and as new smartphones made it to the market, the photo editing app was – mostly – forgotten. I kept using it for its ability to place text over photographs but its “compatibility” with some modern smartphone files meant that I stopped using it for photo ediing on my Samsung Galaxy S2x Ultra series.

So, I was surprised when I recently opened Snapseed and was met with a new interface and the clear signs of change. I wanted to add text to a new set of images, as I am repainting my Cherokee XJ from 1999, and I want to document the whole process for an eBook, and I ended exploring the new interface and options available. Using Snapseed felt like meeting an old friend that had been away for a while…

Now, if I was Google, I would – quickly – get rid of the childish animations that appear when you use some features in Snapseed 4.0. I really do not understand what’s their purpose and the comments online suggest many people don’t like them either. But under the hood it’s the faithful Snapseed you’ll find, in a return that started in May and had its newest update on June 18, 2026.

Snapseed 4.0 brings a redesigned user interface with, according to Google, faster editing, a new favorites bar, and streamlined tool views. The core updates include much requested non-destructive and batch editing, while the professional features include smart masking, Snapseed camera, and major updates to portrait and film. The new tools added include master color & lighting with color HSL, dehaze, halation, and bloom. 

The Snapseed Camera included is something I want to explore with time, as it comes with a series of “film emulation” styles that go from Kodak Portra and Gold to Fujifilm Superia and Pro 400H, Agfa Optima and Scala, Polaroid and Technicolor. There is a lot to explore in a camera that also has an easy “snapshot” mode and a “pro” mode for those who want to control results. 

The Snapseed Camera on my Samsung offers a series of options to control different functions and choose the focal length of the lens. On the S22 Ultra it goes from 0.6x to 10x and on the S24 Ultra it goes all the way to the 5X lens. On the Xiaomi Redmi Pro I keep using for its macro, it only shows the normal – wide – lens, not giving me access to the ultra wide-angle or the macro available when using the Xiaomi camera. Interesting… 

On the basic mode the interface gives you access, at the bottom, to the controls to adjust the optical length and activate the flash (keep it off!), and the film emulation modes. On the top right appear options to adjust the color of the camera’s interface (nice touch!) and, finally, on the left, the Pro activation button. 

When Pro mode is chosen, new icons appear on the interface, near the flash icon. ISO, speed and macro adjustments appear at the bottom, allowing users to expand control over the photo capture mode (note there is no video mode available here, this is a strict photo camera). Above the large green shutter button on the interface, you’ll find an adjustment wheel (adjust brightness of your phone if you don’t see it) that allows you to adjust the values for the different choices made above. It’s a nice touch and easier to use than some interfaces available in other camera apps. 

This introduction should give you enough reasons to explore the app, which is completely free and has no ads or popup screens suggesting you to pay for a premium version. Snapseed 4.0 is all yours, no strings attached.

The Android version also signals the end of iPhone’s exclusivity that version 3.0 introduced, June 2025, when the app was updated for iOS, unexpectedly, without a version for Android. It’s strange that Google did that, as the company is known for Android, but one only has to remember that Snapseed was, when first launched, an iPhone app, developed by Nik Software, and acquired by Google when Nik sold its collection of apps, that were later acquired by DxO Labs. Snapseed, though, was left with Google (DxO Labs may regret it now), and left dormant for quite a while, Surprisingly, when Android users imagined that it was dead and gone, it’s back to life… and it’s a welcome return. Just keep the animations away from its interface, please.