Fly Labs acquisition likely resulting in improved Google Photos video editing

Google Photos is great for many things, but we can all agree video editing is not one of its strengths. You get some functionality, but I would say clip editing is less than basic. It is reasonable to assume this is something the Search Giant should be working on, and now we are getting indirect confirmation that they are.

Google has just acquired Fly Labs, a company known for its extensive video and photo editing apps for iOS (mostly video). Their apps include the Fly Video Editor, Clips Video Editor, Tempo Video Editor and Crop on the Fly. These have been downloaded over 3 million times over the last 18 months, so you know these apps have their following.

“Our mission at Fly Labs has always been simple: to help people make the most of their photos and videos. We make video editing apps because we believe that there’s no better way to stay connected with your memories than by engaging with them creatively.” -Fly Labs

In their announcement post, the Fly Labs team mentions they will be moving over to Mountain View to work with the Google Photos team, making it quite obvious what the acquisition is about.

“Google Photos is a home for your life’s memories, powered by Google’s machine learning and computer vision technology. It’s a perfect match for what we built at Fly Labs, and we’re looking forward to folding our technology into Google Photos.” -Fly Labs

But what about the iOS apps?!

Are you a fan of the Fly Labs apps on iOS? We have good and bad news for you. The good news is that all these apps are free as of today! It costs nothing to download it and there’s no in-app purchases included. Just head over to the App Store and get them.

The bad news is that these apps won’t be there for much longer. They will disappear from Apple’s market in 3 months. You can download the apps until then and keep them on your device after they are put down. The only downside is there won’t be further updates or support.

Wrapping up

It’s hard to say what comes next, but we can all assume some sweet video editing is coming to Google Photos. It’s definitely something we needed to wrap up the combo. The Search Giant acquired Snapseed creators Nik Software in 2012, and that made all the difference for photo editing within their services. It’s time for Google to step up their video game, and I say they are on the right path. Would you agree?