Google Acquires iOS Photo App Snapseed

Google Acquires iOS Photo App Snapseed Credit:Snapseed Gallery

Google now has an answer to Facebook and Instagram. Per reports, Google has acquired Nik Software, the German developer of photography app Snapseed, for an undisclosed amount. The new acquisition will now work with Google's own social networking site Google+.

According to reports, while the company develops different kinds of photography apps like Color Efex Pro and Dfine for Mac and Windows, it is believed that the iOS app Snapseed (now coming to Google) is one of the major points of the acquisition. The company is now working on an Android app.

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Snapseed is an incredibly powerful photo editing tool and integrating the Snapseed toolset into Google+ could create a free, web-based photo studio built right into the social network.

"We are pleased to announce that Google has acquired Nik Software. We've always aspired to share our passion for photography with everyone, and with Google's support we hope to be able to help many millions more people create awesome pictures," stated the Nik Software team.

Snapseed has a long way to go before it becomes the next Instagram. Sources also indicate that the section of Nik Software that worked on Snapseed (including the company's San Diego outpost), will relocate to Google headquarters in Mountain View to work directly on Google+.

"Today I'm excited to welcome +Nik Software to the Google family! We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love, and in our experience Nik does this better than anyone," wrote Google+'s Vic Gundotra on his official page.

In 2011, Snapseed won Apple's coveted iPad App Of The Year award for its inventive multitouch photo editing interface. It also boasted over 9 million users during its first year on sale.

The latest news of the acquisition has arrived after it was reported that more than 400 million people upgraded to Google+.