Google acquires Nik Software – will this help Google+ take on Facebook, Instagram?

Nik Software, makers of the photo editing software Snapseed, among others, announced today that it had been acquired by Google. What this means for the Snapseed iOS app remains to be seen, but the more interesting question is: what could this mean for Google+?

On the acquisition by Google, Nik Software had this to say on their blog earlier today:

We are pleased to announce that Google has acquired Nik Software. For nearly 17 years, we’ve been guided by our motto, “photography first”, as we worked to build world class digital image editing tools. 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.

While Nik Software offers other products, all photo manipulation tools, it is likely that Google’s main target in the acquisition was Snapseed. Snapseed won the iPad App Of The Year Award in 2011, but is also available for Windows and Mac PCs, and was announced early this year for Tegra-powered Android tablets.
Though Snapseed for Android could be an important part of Google’s strategy, the technology that powers it could also allow Google+ to offer powerful photo editing features that could draw users away from Facebook and Instagram. Google+ already allows for high-resolution photo uploads, something that Instagram doesn’t do, and Facebook just recently added.
While Google+ doesn’t have the draw of Facebook or Instagram for frequent photo uploaders, Snapseed-powered editing could provide a draw for both the tech-savvy and for those who might want better quality than Instagram provides. Since we already know that Nik is working on Snapseed for Android, it’s easy to imagine that technology being integrated into the Google+ Android app.
If Google+ suddenly had Snapseed’s editing features, would that be enough to get you to switch from Facebook or Instagram? Or do you already use Google+ or Snapseed?

SOURCES The Verge Nik Software Blog

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