First Instagram locked down the add-filters-to-images-share-to-social-and-anxiously-await-likes market with its eponymous app, then it made the best ultra-smooth and cinematic, time-lapse-like video capturing app Hyperlapse, and now its released one of the most intuitive and elegant collage-making apps we’ve ever played with in the form of Layout from Instagram.
Layout’s got plenty of competition from the likes of Diptic and PicFrame for iOS (and Pic Collage and Photo Grid for Android). But as Instagram is wont to do, the company’s made an offering so slick that we kind of feel sorry for its rivals. Layout may be later to the party, but with Instagram’s backing it’s like showing up on the prom queen’s arm with a case of imported beer and a funnel — you’re going to be welcomed with open arms.
There’s no sign-up or linking to Facebook or other nonsense required — just download Layout, open it, select a handful of pictures (or ask it to pick out a particular face and it’ll choose them for you) and pick a collage arrangement. Then fiddle it by adjusting the size of each image, how much each is zoomed, and replace, mirror or flip any of the chosen images. Hit done and your resultant mash-up is saved to your camera roll automatically. Layout then gives you the option to share your creation to Instagram, Facebook or other platforms.
Clearly Instagram figured a collage app was a good idea given how many people use other apps to create and share them to Instagram anyway. It’s also included a feature called “Photo Booth” for generation selfie that lets you take a string of selfies as the source material for a Layout collage.
Like Hyperlapse, Layout is only available for iOS for now, but according to the post about it on Instagram’s blog, Layout “will be available for Android in the coming months”.