Instagram Releases All New App Called Layout - But Where Does it Fit?

This week Instagram released an all new photo collage app to the masses called Layout. Similar to their last development, Hyperlapse, it's completely separate from the original photo sharing application. Though I am glad Instagram is branching out into new ventures, it feels as though this one might be a complete waste.

With over 300 million users across the world, Instagram is growing beyond its original application and building an ecosystem of photo and video manipulation tools. Layout brought a fresh look to the series, though collages was not what many were hoping to see. The currently iOS-only app breaks down basic geometric options and layouts to choose from and even adds a mirroring effect for added exploration.

Selecting through the app is fairly simple. It opens immediately to the layout options and your Camera Roll, and ;you can see your photo selection within the boxes of each layout. Then options to flip and mirror your images appear to continue your experimentation within the app.

The added addition of a self-timer is welcomed, but is already built into the iPhone's native Camera app and a majority of other applications.

Being an app created by the team at Instagram, the only export option is square. Though I personally have always loved the challenge of the square crop and all its limitations, it would be nice to see this expand eventually.

Overall, it's confusing to see Instagram building "new" apps that mimic hundreds of others that have similar features, such as Frametastic for example. Creating secondary applications with old features seems to be a step back and a move not comparable with the innovation they created in the market place for photographers sharing stories.

To see what people are creating with Layout, check out the Instagram blog. For more technical questions about the app see Instagram's Help Center.

[via The Verge]