Prisma, the app that transforms mobile photos into images resembling works of art, just got a better version for iOS that will allow Apple mobile device owners to tap into the software while offline.
Prisma states that of the 16 total filters it is offering, half can be used without an internet connection, and more will join them in the future.
The app allows users to turn their own phone or tablet stored images into works of art in the style of Roy Lichtenstein or Pablo Picasso. Thanks to filtering the original image through an artificial intelligence, the visuals suffer a radical modification.
The next step is for the AI to use neural networks, a deep learning method that is deployed to decode the image into something visually coherent. Thanks to the latest update for Prisma for iOS, users can tap into this specific feature while their smartphones are offline.
Prisma Labs says the update is the first of its kind, touting that no rival counterpart has delivered such an advanced technology yet, at least not offline. The company explains that since it has managed to bring neural networks to smartphones, it is no longer mandatory for the handsets to be linked to the internet for users to turn their images into art pieces.
By allowing the deep learning system to work straight on the mobile devices, Prisma's servers will be able to run at a faster speed, which could mean the app will sport full video support sometime in the future.
Prisma estimates that the time needed for an image retouch will be shortened to 5 seconds for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, while doing the same process on an iPhone 6 will take a tad longer. The company plans to land the update on Android as soon as possible, with some reports stating that it could happen as early as next week.
As you would expect, the company has faced questions about the toll that the process will take on the battery drain. Prisma answered by noting that battery life should remain largely unchanged, as the previous method of cloud processing was pretty taxing in itself.
Prisma reports that it has registered 52 million installations of its app so far, and numbers show that up to 4 million active users tap into the software's capacity on a daily basis.
That's a huge boost compared to only 7.5 million downloads the app registered in July, and which brought it to the top of the App Store.
