16 of Asia’s top photo apps to take on Instagram

Photo credit: Philippe Put.

Since Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion, there is no question that photo apps are a very hot place to be for startups. I think they’re still ripe for disruption, Instagram has only about 400 million monthly active users. There are still hundreds of millions of untapped smartphone users out there who could easily be swiped away from Instagram. Here’s a look at the best out of Asia. (I’ve excluded popular folks like Instagram or Tuding because they weren’t built here in Asia, the latter being from Finland though mostly used in China).

But the truth is, it seems users don’t even care about filters, more than half of Instagram users don’t even use filters. I think most of the draw of Instagram has been the social network that’s built and ease of use. Some of the apps below do a good job of that, others not.

The nice thing about these photo apps, is it gives you a good idea of how each of these countries is innovating.

Camera360 (China)

(iOS, Android) – One of the most popular apps, which passed the 250 million user mark in 2014 and now claims to have 500 million users worldwide. It’s chock-full of features on top of the obvious Instagram-like ones (it’s got way more than Instagram). Users can decorate photos with stickers, edit photos, upload photos into the cloud, and even create puzzle patterns with the photos.

PaPa (China)

(iOS, Android) – An interesting concept that we’ve written about before, basically users can add sound to their photos. Japan’s Voicepic also does the same thing. It’s a cool concept but it might get steamrolled by the new wave of video apps coming to the fore.

Photo Wonder (China)

(iOS, Android) – Acquired by China’s mega search giant, Baidu, it actually allows users to see the filter before taking the picture, which is lightyears ahead of Instagram’s post-filter feature. But that’s not all; Photo Wonder also has edit and collage features, and allows users to download extra goodies like stickers and frames.

PIP Camera (China)

(iOS, Android) – This photo app departs from the traditional filter-oriented apps and has none of the usual filters you’d see in them. PIP Camera focuses on framing your photos in different things like glasses, umbrellas, and computer screens. Fun, but a bit overwhelming.

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Cameran (Japan)

(iOS, Android) – Cameran’s got an interesting take on decorations, allowing users to randomize them. Click on a flower decoration filter multiple times and you get to see different flower arrangements. It also comes from a rather famous Japanese photographer.

DecoAlbum (Japan)

(iOS, Android) – A photo app centered on women, DecoAlbum allows users to create photos with text, backgrounds, glittery virtual stickers, and more. It even allows you to assemble your photo collections into albums. It’s one of the few apps that actually prioritizes making albums.

Decopic (Japan)

(iOS, Android) – This app takes decorations to a whole new level. From adding customizable resizable decorations to hearts and stars painted across the pictures to artsy frames around your picture, Decopic is a nice app, if you’ve got time on your hands. A note on the app’s iOS and Android’s pages says that Yahoo! Japan has cancelled the app for not meeting the company’s general requirements. Support for Deco Shop ends on March 31, and the app will no longer be offered by the end of 2016 – use it while it lasts!

Line Camera (Japan)

(iOS, Android) – Since it’s released by Line, you just know this camera app is going to be feature packed. It has over 5,000 stamps, over 100 frames, over 30 different filters, 200 brushes, and more. It’s Line’s flagship photo app, and nicely integrated into the chat app. Since it piggybacks on the Line platform, there’s lots of users, but that number seems stalled for now.

Manga-Camera (Japan)

Million Moments (Japan)

Snapdish (Japan)

Cymera (South Korea)

PixaRoll (Singapore)

Fuzel Collage (Vietnam)

PicMix (Indonesia)

MeituPic (China)