Ryan Haines / Android Authority
I’m always on the hunt for new camera apps. Sure, the base iPhone experience is good, and I love to whip out my Pixel for a few quick snaps, but there’s often something underwhelming about their processed perfection. In fact, I’d much rather have at least a little bit of the raw, flawed imperfection that comes with something like a film camera.
So, when I saw that Google was opening up the camera feature in its Snapseed photo editor, I knew I had to give it a try.
Do you want an Android version of Google's Snapseed camera? 58 votes Yes 86 % No 5 % I really don't care 9 %
Wait, that Snapseed?
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Yes, seriously — that Snapseed. You know, the free photo editing app that everyone used to use before Google Photos and Lightroom Mobile became as good as they are. That Snapseed.
But wait a minute, why replace my camera app if there are already so many existing photo editing options? Well, that’s the thing — I don’t like editing my photos. Call me lazy if you want, but the truth is I’ve shot with a Fujifilm camera for as long as I can remember. I love the simplicity of programming a film simulation and snapping away, knowing that my straight-out-of-camera JPEGs are all I need. So, if Snapseed can get my iPhone photos to even a fraction of that reliability, I’ll be happy.
I didn't expect an old favorite editing app to suddenly become relevant again.
With newfound hopes of an updated camera experience in mind, I headed to the App Store and downloaded Snapseed — something I never thought I’d do in 2026. I opened the app (apparently for the very first time on iOS) and immediately ran into a roadblock. I couldn’t figure out how to open the camera interface — I tapped around, opened the settings menu, and nothing. I even went back to see if there were hidden instructions in the announcement of the wider Snapseed camera rollout, and still no dice.
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