X

Snapseed fine-tunes your photos (pictures)

We take a look at the popular and powerful photo enhancer Snapseed, now updated with an all-new look.

Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff is a Managing Editor for CNET, overseeing our health, fitness and wellness section. Throughout her career, she's written about mobile tech, consumer tech, business and startups for Wired, MacWorld, PCWorld, and VentureBeat.
Jaymar Cabebe Former Associate Editor
Jaymar Cabebe covers mobile apps and Windows software for CNET. While he may be a former host of the Android Atlas Weekly podcast, he doesn't hate iOS or Mac. Jaymar has worked in online media since 2007.
Sarah Mitroff
Jaymar Cabebe
snapseed-2223-001.jpg
1 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Snapseed grows up

Google's professional photo editing app Snapseed got a major update this month, adding a new look and tools. The update is available now for iOS and Android.

img0071.png
2 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Tool menu

The new tool and filter menu floats on top of the photo you're editing. Each of those sections contains many options inside to help you make precise edits.

img0072.png
3 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Gesture-based tools

Using Snapseed is all about swiping up and down, left and right. Within each tool, swipe vertically to pick which attribute you want to edit, such as brightness or saturation. Then swipe horizontally to change the intensity of the effect.

img0073.png
4 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Filter options

Snapseed comes with several filter categories, each with many options that you can fine-tune. Here are the Drama filters, and for each you can control how intense the finished look turns out.

img0081.png
5 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Lens Blur

You can create lens blur effects, adjusting the radius and shape of the area.

img0082.png
6 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Frames

The Frames filter lets you add frames around your photos, and you can adjust the thickness.

img0084.png
7 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Brush tool

A new feature added in the latest update is the Brush tool, which lets you paint effects on your photo with your finger or a stylus.

img1067.png
8 of 8 Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Stacks

For every new filter or effect you add to your photo, Snapseed creates a Stack (or layer) so you can keep track of the changes you made. You can delete or edit Stacks at any time.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos