Microsoft's Selfie app is now available at Google Play, ready to take snapshots for the millions of Android users out there.
Insiders, however, note that the rollout has been 11 months late after the app made an appearance at the Apple App Store last Dec. 2015.
Regardless of the reasoning for the belated Android release, Microsoft touts that all of the Selfie's features available to iOS users will also be available in its Android version.
This should please the selfie-loving crowd because the app takes self-portrait capture to another level. It integrates Microsoft's sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology to deliver unique photo-editing functionalities.
Essentially, the Selfie app works through the smartphone's front-facing camera. Users have an option to instantly beautify captured selfies through sophisticated algorithms.
The app relies on Microsoft's machine learning technology to improve image quality to produce the best possible selfie photo.
The AI behind Selfie does not only provide filters and image quality modifications but the process also intelligently considers unique factors such as the age and gender, among others so that the enhancements are better implemented.
"Backed by computer vision technology, Microsoft Selfie intelligently considers age, gender, skin tone, lighting and many other variables — all with one click," the apps Google Play description stated. "Users can transform average photos into enhanced, natural photos in seconds."
For those who are less inclined to appreciate the finer points of Selfie's technology, they can merely choose from 12 filters, which apply intelligent enhancements, along with thematic styles such as 1965 and BlueDawn.
While the filtering process is simple, Selfie also offers a more complex approach to image enhancements by way of its photo editor. Here, the application of the filters takes place in a much more customized procedure. To determine how your Selfie portrait got improved, there is an option to compare filtered image and the original photograph.
Microsoft's Selfie promotional video also shows how this work.
At this point, Selfie has a number of strong competitors in both the iOS and the Android platforms. The most popular of these include Snapchat, which is known for its filters, and Prisma. Both also come with their respective photo editing interface. Unlike these two, however, the Selfie app cannot record and edit videos. Prisma mainly uses AI technology to recreate a video footage from the ground up to transform a video into a painting or a work of art.
Selfie is available free at both Google Play Store and Apple's App Store.
