VSCO Cam 3.1 Brings Sync, Launch to Camera, and Search

VSCO Cam, the popular photo editing app, has released another update for Android users bringing three headline features to everyone and a few more goodies for select devices.

The first, and probably most important, new feature in 3.1 is sync. Now users can sync edited photos between devices. If I start editing a picture on my iPhone, but have to put it down before finishing up, I can finish the edits on my Moto X before sharing the picture to my Grid or Instagram. Syncing my first photo took a few seconds, but after that future syncs were almost instantaneous. Images that are syncing have a spinning animation over them from the Library view; once synced you’ll see two overlapped circles in the top right corner. 

The second new feature is the ability to set VSCO Cam to launch to the built in camera. Normally launching VSCO brings you to the main menu with the library selected, but you can now set the preference to launch right into the camera app. While I still prefer to shoot in the normal app and import, if you know you’re always going to edit is VSCO this might be a nice option so you don’t have to import your photos later.

The third new feature is the introduction of search. Now from the Grid you can search for and follow users. While it might be surprising that Search would be a feature to add in the third version of your app, it’s important to remember that VSCO Cam did not set out to create its own social network initially. With the introduction of publishing to your Journal on iOS (yes, iOS only) it appears that VSCO is building out its own network now.

VSCO Cam 3.1 also includes an improved store experience, better image quality, and stability and performance enhancements. The update also allows certain HTC devices to split the focus and exposure points when composing an image. While I still found the app to be buggy on my Moto X (I had multiple issues signing in on my account and search caused a force crash from time to time), the app may perform better on your phone. All evidence, from app performance, polish, and features, seems to indicate that VSCO is focusing most of their resources on iOS, not Android.

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