aviary

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  • Aviary's first update under Adobe brings Creative Cloud sync, free add-ons

    Back in September, Adobe snatched up Aviary to pad its mobile portfolio, and the photo-editing app has released its first major post-acquisition update. In what will come as no surprise, Aviary now syncs all of your in-app tools with Creative Cloud after you sign in with a requisite Adobe ID. What's more, those effects, stickers and more that usually require shelling out funds are free until the end of the month -- all $200 worth. Stencil overlays (another in-app purchase) and vignettes make their debut alongside adjustments for fade, highlights, shadows and tint via easy to use slider controls. Finally, the iOS version gets a revamped Draw tool that offers a more natural feel. Both that and the Android update are ready for download, and if you're looking to test drive 'em, Aviary is free via the respective app repositories.

    Billy Steele
    11.13.2014
  • Adobe buys Aviary to bring photo editing to more mobile apps

    The world of image editing has changed a lot in the past few years -- you're now about as likely to tweak a photo on your phone or tablet as you are on your PC. Adobe is clearly aware of this shift, as it just bought Aviary and its cloud-savvy image editing platform for an unspecified amount. The two firms will work together on bringing Adobe's editing tools and Creative Cloud services to more mobile apps. That photography app you just downloaded on your phone could create Photoshop-friendly pictures, for example. There's no set timetable for integrating Aviary into Adobe's software platforms, but the quick turnaround from the Behance acquisition suggests that you'll see more powerful mobile editing suites within a matter of months.

    Jon Fingas
    09.22.2014
  • Aviary for iOS appeals to tweens with blemish-removing selfie tools

    You know what veritable selfie addicts would love to get for their birthday? A fairy godmother to magically erase their flaws -- or a darn good photo editor. Aviary claims the newest version of its Photo Editor for iOS is a cross between the two. After all, it has a brand new selfie suite that people can use to edit their photos to the nines before uploading them to Facebook to be judged by their peers. This wondrous suite features a Blemish tool that can magically zap those zits into oblivion with just one tap of its virtual wand and a Blur tool to soften the lines and wrinkles of more mature selfie enthusiasts. It also has an upgraded Red Eye Remover, as well as a Teeth Whitening Tool that can instantly bleach those yellowing chompers. Other than making users look good, the updated app also comes with new one-tap enhance tools and an undo/redo option that's absolutely necessary in people's quest for selfie perfection.

    Mariella Moon
    05.01.2014
  • Aviary updates iOS app, gives developers new tools

    Aviary (free with in-app purchases) has always been an excellent iOS photo editor. On top of that, the company provides an SDK (software development kit) that allows other camera app creators to include the Aviary processing engine in their software. Both the app and SDK have received a major update today. There are more than a few apps that leverage the Aviary tools, and they are also used online at places like Photobucket and Walgreens. The company estimates that 10 billion photos were edited with its tools in the last year. Among the apps using the Aviary tools are Pic Collage, Halftone, Pic Stitch, Muzy and Tango. Revenue for these apps is partly generated by offering prints of photos. The update is of high interest to iPhone camera users, because the new tools will quickly appear in the apps listed above and more that are already in use. Some of the important improvements include 64-bit support for the newest iPhones, new photo editing tools like a text overlay feature with multiple fonts, sliders for brightness, contrast, saturation and warmth in the "Adjust" tool, support for 23 languages and more. The new app frameworks are faster, and allow a great deal of customization. These updates are already in the latest version of Aviary. iPhone photography is really exploding, with many hundreds of high quality apps that help you capture and edit your photos. When I'm out on a landscape shoot, I'm amazed to see so many people have given up point and shoot cameras for iPhones, and they often get great results. Photo software is leaping forward daily, and the Aviary updates will usher in some very welcome improvements in iOS photography.

    Mel Martin
    04.09.2014
  • Aviary pauses Windows 8 and WP8 development, focuses on iOS and Android for now

    We hope folks on WP and Windows 8 are A-OK with Aviary's apps and SDKs as they are, because the company is not currently developing its products for the platforms. An Aviary representative has revealed the news in the firm's forums, citing the "lack of general platform traction" as the reason. We reached out to CEO Tobias Peggs who confirmed that his team isn't working on Aviary's Windows tools this quarter. Apparently, the startup has chosen to focus on its iOS and Android products, following a tremendous growth in userbase on those operating systems. Not all hope is lost, however: according to Peggs, Aviary's currently gathering feedback from Windows developers who've incorporated its image editing SDK into their own apps. Their input will be taken into account when the company makes its 2014 roadmap, which means, the CEO says, "[Aviary] may well jump back in."

    Mariella Moon
    12.22.2013
  • iOS 7 app update roundup: it's a flat, flat, flat world

    Even if you don't feel like coughing up the cash for either the iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s, those eligible for an update (that's if you own an iPhone 4 or up, or an iPad 2 onward) can at least console themselves with iOS 7, which debuts today. Gone is the skeuomorphic design of the Forstall era, and in its place is a flatter interface that promises an entirely new experience for iOS devotees. As such, developers everywhere have been scrambling to get their apps redesigned to match the new mobile OS out of Cupertino. While we can't possibly cover every update, we've compiled a quick list after the break of the more substantial app revamps that have come our way.

    Nicole Lee
    09.18.2013
  • Aviary gets an iOS 7 redesign and a new shop, comes in more languages

    With the release of iOS 7 comes a parade of app refreshes, and one of the participants is Photo Editor by Aviary. Unlike past updates that only add extra features to the mix, this one includes a full interface revamp to complement the platform. Its devs also made it easier to blow money on filters and stickers in one go by collating everything you can buy in-app in the new supply shop. Add that to the fact that the app's been translated to more languages (Arabic, Turkish, Thai and Bahasa Indonesia) and now comes with a simpler sharing tool, and you'll see why it could reach new audiences and make some cash in the process. You'll automatically get Aviary's update with iOS 7, but hit the source link below if you've yet to give the app a whirl.

    Mariella Moon
    09.18.2013
  • Aviary for iOS update adds Instagram and email sharing options, extra magic

    Aviary has certainly been busy over the past couple of months, having recently overhauled its photo-editing app for Android, as well as launching on Windows Phone 8. Fortunately, the industrious company has also found time to work on its iOS app, which has just been updated to allow picture sharing via Instagram and good old-fashioned email. The sharing menu now features two new buttons that'll push the selected image into Instagram's own app, or launch Mail and add it to the body of an email. According to the update changelog, the new version also has "a bonus extra dose of magic added." We asked the folks at Aviary exactly how they implemented this exciting feature, but frustratingly, they wouldn't tell us.

    Jamie Rigg
    08.02.2013
  • Aviary lands on Windows Phone 8, paid content made free for a limited time

    Aviary has come a long way from its humble origins as a Flickr plugin -- over the last year it's graduated to a standalone app, been given a makeover and has even been ported to Windows 8. Today the popular photo-editing software lands on yet another platform: Windows Phone 8. As on iOS and Android, the app itself is free and comes with a bunch of filters and stickers. Extra packs can usually be purchased for two bucks a pop, but WP8 users can get them for free for a limited time -- not bad for a digital lizard sombrero. Follow the source link below to check out the (temporarily) gratis photo editor yourself.

    Mariella Moon
    07.15.2013
  • Aviary 3.0 for Android features new interface and photo filters

    Now that Aviary has been on its own for a year, its developers have seen it fit to give its Android app a modest overhaul. Aviary version 3.0 packs in a new interface, an improved focus tool, a beefed up color splash feature and an array of goofy stickers. The Enhance tool has also been expanded to offer three distinct options -- Hi-Def, Illuminate and Color Fix -- each tweaking your photo's sharpness, brightness and color settings, respectively. Aviary's filters went through a renovation as well, with the developers adding the erstwhile iOS-only Woodlands Effect Pack as an in-app purchase. Head on over to Google Play or click the source links below to download the app -- it was good enough for Jeff Bezos, so it might have the potential to win your photo-filter-loving heart.

    Mariella Moon
    06.20.2013
  • Aviary is a potent free photo editor for iOS

    I'm always on the lookout for another good photo editor so I can finish my images in the field and Aviary for iOS certainly qualifies. This free editor (with the usual option for in-app purchases) has the power to enhance your photos and add useful effects and frames without going overboard. Aviary has the usual things you would expect in a photo editor and it does the job without having to refer to help screens because it is intuitive to use. You can auto-enhance a photo with one tap, crop, rotate and straighten images, adjust saturation, sharpen and blur, and add text. There's a nice selection of useful frames that can be applied with one click. Aviary provides editing tools to other apps and we've reviewed some that use embedded Aviary tools. Now it's nice to see Aviary provide a robust photo editor on its own. The only thing I found missing was a really good undo function. You can click any effect or process to turn it off, but I wanted unlimited undos because it's pretty easy to perform a whole line of edits and find yourself wanting to backtrack. %Gallery-186365% As mentioned, there are a lot of in-app purchases offered. it would set you back about $15 for all of them. I don't think any of them are needed, and you can do some first-rate editing without spending an extra dime. There is a lot to like about Aviary, and I think I could use it as my basic editor for most photos. It's a universal app, and will run on any iOS hardware that has iOS 5.0. It's optimized for the iPhone 5.

    Mel Martin
    04.20.2013
  • Aviary launches photo-editing SDK for Windows 8 developers

    Thanks to a partnership with AMD and Microsoft, Aviary's Photo Editor SDK will be available to Windows 8 developers starting today. While in the long run this could mean Windows 8 will gain more photo-centric apps, this new SDK will bring the the photo service to apps running on Windows 8 notebooks and tablets immediately, and those devices running AMD processors should benefit from "higher, optimized performance," according to the company. The Aviary app has been available on iOS and Android since last summer, though its customizable SDK is also used by services such as Flickr and Twitter, which integrate the photo-editing features into their respective apps. To kick off its launch on Microsoft's most current OS, Aviary announced partnerships with Rowi, Memorylage and several other apps available for download in the Windows Store.

    Sarah Silbert
    03.18.2013
  • Tango video chat goes native on iPad, makes better use of everyone's screens

    The mobile version of Tango's video chat app has almost exclusively revolved around smartphones. It's at last going a little bigger: an update to Tango's iOS app is introducing full iPad support, expanding conversations to tablet size. Those who don't need quite that grand a canvas can still make the most of what they have through the new release. Calls now use the whole screen regardless of OS, and iPhone users can touch up any soon-to-be-shared photos in Aviary. The talkative among us just need to snag Tango's upgrade at the source link to eke a little more from their screens.

    Jon Fingas
    03.07.2013
  • Aviary photo editor arrives on the iPhone for free

    Aviary is known in software circles as an Android photo editor and a plug-in for developers who want to easily add photo editing to existing apps. Now iPhone photographers can try Aviary as a standalone app that is powerful, has nice features, and best of all, is free. The app includes one-tap photo enhancing, ability to add text to photos, sharpen and blur, crop and rotate, and adjustments for brightness, saturation and contrast. For portraits, there is red-eye removal, whiten teeth and blemish removal. There are also some fixed adjustments for things such as black and white conversion, sepia and more. There's noting groundbreaking in the Aviary package, but it has a solid mix of editing tools. One particularly good feature is that you can output your photos at full resolution, up to 12 MB, which exceeds the size of iPhone photos. You can make subtle changes or garish ones. That's up to you. One criticism of the workflow: there is no clear way to save. You save by hitting a button marked 'done' but that might confuse some users. When you press the 'done' button, the image is saved to your photo roll. There are also additional filters that can be added as an in-app purchase. I would have rather seen Aviary charge a dollar or two and provide all the features to begin with. Despite those minor shortcomings, Aviary is powerful and simple to use. I think it's worth a download if you are an avid iPhone photographer. %Gallery-158758%

    Mel Martin
    06.20.2012
  • Aviary launches photo editing application on iOS, turns Android plugin into an app

    Last we heard, Aviary was being chosen to replace the deceased Picnik as the main photo editor on Flickr, and now the startup is getting ready to launch its first iOS app and give its previous Android offering a major boost. The Jeff Bezos-backed company has just announced its entry into the application game, giving iOS and Android folks access to an array of its image editing tools -- much like Apple's iPhoto on Cupertino devices or Photoshop Express on ones powered by Google's OS. Naturally, you'll be able to do run-of-the-mill tidbits such as cropping, rotating, sharpening and blurring, which are bundled alongside others like cosmetic tools, one-tap auto enhance and "gorgeous effects." It's also worth noting Aviary was once present on Google Play as a plugin, but has now made the change to a full-on, feature-packed application. Those interested in taking the fresh app for a spin can hit either of the source links below, where a mighty free download awaits you. %Gallery-158194%

    Edgar Alvarez
    06.13.2012
  • Flickr adopting Aviary for photo edits, waves goodbye to Picnik

    With Google set to close the Picnik shop on April 19th, it was obvious that Flickr had to go out and seek a fresh replacement. Today, the Yahoo-owned service is announcing Aviary (a Jeff Bezos-backed startup) as the new photo editing tool on its site. Along with promising to be simpler and speedier than its soon-to-be deceased predecessor, Aviary brings expected features like cropping, rotating, sharpening, red-eye reduction and cosmetic whitening, just to mention a few. Of note, Aviary is written in HTML5, opening the doors to become useful on a handful of slates and handsets. Flickr is set to commence the rollout later today, though it may take a few days until you can check out the changes.

    Edgar Alvarez
    04.05.2012