Best Photoshop Alternatives on Android
So you’ve heard the hype and downloading the Photoshop app, but it doesn’t impress you at all. Now you’re on the hunt for the best Photoshop alternatives on Android. Sure, the Photoshop app on Android is a good one, but if you are a casual user who just wants to touch up their photos, it can be kind of intimidating. On the other hand, if you are a Photoshop Pro and have been using the software on PC for years, you may find it lacking a lot of essential features. The middle-of-the-road Photoshop app on Android is kind of stranded in the middle. Thankfully, there are some great Photoshop alternatives on Android that you can download and enjoy a fairly great experience.
Note: the best Photoshop alternatives on Android were tested on a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and a Sony Xperia Z smartphone. The top 2 apps are a permanent fixture on my app drawer and are in constant usage. All of the apps worked perfectly fine on a number of different hardware I used them on and no problems were faced during the testing. You will need an active Internet connection to use most of the features provided of these apps.
1. Snapseed
This app came out of nowhere and became my go to photo editing app on Android extremely fast. It did help that Google developed it and I was curious to see what Google has done with a photo editing app. To my surprise, the app has a robust set of features.
Most of the smartphones these days come with the ability to shoot in RAW format, which captures a lot more detail than a standard compressed JPEG. This means that you can manipulate it even further, bringing out details in the shadows and producing good balance in highlights after you’ve taken the photo.
Snapsead has a very snappy user interface that allows you to manipulate photos, edit the color values and temperature, crop and modify the image and even apply amazing looking filters on. If you’re looking to make your photos look and feel better, or simply want to achieve a certain art style, then this app is great for you.
2. Pixlr
Pixlr has been around for some while now and it is still going strong. Right from the interface to the tools, everything is well polished and presented in a clear yet beautiful way. I first installed it on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and was immediately impressed of how well I was able to make my pictures look. Now, after a few years and a Galaxy S7, the results are even more impressive.
If you like double exposure shots, this app is amazing at that. If you want to remove an effect from certain part of the picture, the app has you covered at that as well. One of the best things about this Photoshop replacement app for Android is its accessibility and ease of use: the app simply feels great when in use and encourages you to experiment.
3. PicsArt Photo Studio
If you are in the market for a simple and easy to use photo editing app, then PicsArt Photo Studio is the one for you. The app has a plethora of amazing looking features that allow you to manipulate your photos with ease. There are some pretty interesting and unique effects available that can give character to your photos, but are still easy to use.
Some of my personal favorite effects are the magic effects that apply creative looking filters on your photos. If you set out to do this on Photoshop, it will take you a little while to hang on to the basics and do it manually. While this isn’t exactly precision editing, it certainly has that fun factor nailed down pretty well.
4. PhotoDirector Photo Editor App
Alright folks, this one is a hard-core photo editing app for Android and is one of the best Photoshop alternatives for Android available today. CyberLink has been making quality software for almost 2 decades now and I’ve used their programs on PCs as well, so I had my expectations really high then I installed this app on my smartphone. Suffice to say it delivers.
Sure, there are easy to apply filters available for your photos that will enhance the mood of the whole picture, but if you want total color control, this is the app you need. From curve to HSL adjustment tools to surprisingly quick tone adjustments that enhance your photos in seconds, everything is available on this app. And if you want to make a creative collage, that can be done as well.
Concluding Thoughts
With the power of great camera apps for Android combined with the best Photoshop alternatives on Android, you’ll be able to make some pretty impressive photos on the get-go. If drawing is more of your thing, then we have the best drawing apps for Android for you to check out, too. Or you can check out the best photo editor apps for Android for a little bit of different perspective on photo editing apps.
Just like always, if you have any questions about the apps included in the list or have suggestions about more apps that should have been on it, feel free to talk to us in the comments below.
