INSTAGRAM HAS LAUNCHED another new app called Layout which allows users to create a collage of photos before sharing them online.
Following up from Hyperlapse, which was released back in August, Layout is the company’s second spin-off app and focuses on photos instead of video. Here’s a rundown on what it’s about.
What exactly is Layout?
As mentioned above, the app allows you to create a collage featuring one or a number of images – as many as nine – and turning them into one main image. You either take photos or upload them from your camera roll.
You can take one photo and create numerous versions of it or combine a number of photos together. What size or prominence they’re given is up to you as you choose the shaping, and positioning of each photo.
Why would it release such an app?
Because creating collages is incredibly popular. A quick look at any of the app stores will present you with a large selection of apps which offer such functionality.
It confirms this in its blog post saying “from imagining mirrored landscapes to sharing multiple moments from an entire adventure, we’ve seen these kinds of visual storytelling happening on Instagram and we’re inspired by it.”
The real question is why it’s taken so long for it to release its own version, considering how long they’ve been around.
What’s so different about Instagram’s version?
Simplicity. You only have three screens to go from starting up the app to posting a collage. The first allows you to either select your photos or take some of your own through Photo Booth – which uses the front-facing camera.
You don’t have to scroll through all of your photos. Instead, you have the option to select faces (any photo that has a person in them although Instagram says it doesn’t use facial recognition to do this) and recent photos.
The app gets rid of borders entirely meaning you can experiment more with the layout and positioning of photos. This allows for some creativity as you blend photos together and is more useful when you’re using one image.
You can post it to Instagram, Facebook, SMS, Snapchat and Dropbox among others, but there’s no option to post onto Twitter. This is because it stopped its photos from displaying on tweets since it took away traffic from its app (although there is a workaround).
If you choose to share it on Instagram, you can add filters and edit the image further before you post it.
Will it be successful?
It has a lot of competition but it has a better chance than Hyperlapse for two reasons. The first is it doesn’t require an Instagram account to use – there’s no login screen for you to go through – while the second is it focuses on Instagram’s real strength: photos.
The reason why Hyperlapse wasn’t successful was because it focused on videos, an admittedly niche section of the app which is still having problems gaining traction. Layout focuses on the things that made Instagram fun in the first place and no sign up means it has a greater reach.
Also, Instagram has a significant reach - it has more than 300 million users - which will help with its popularity.
For now, it’s only available on iOS but an Android version will be available “in the coming months.”
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