Google's $149-Worth Nik Collection Photo Editing Software Now for Free
Google announced yesterday that they have decided to offer the Nik Collection desktop suite for free starting March 24 as a "long-term investment" move in "building incredible photo editing tools." The powerful photo editing suite went for a bundled product at $149 at Google but is now free for everyone 24/7. Some years back, the Nik Collection would have cost photography enthusiasts a whopping $500. Google is even offering a full refund to those who have purchased the software this year.
Photography buffs, professional or amateur, may now make use of the powerful photo editing collection with its wide range of features in seven desktop plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Apple Aperture: Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, and Dfine. The suite includes black-and-white controls, vintage camera filters, noise reduction, HDR effects, color enhancement, color correction, and sharpening. Now anyone can have the capability to retouch, sharpen, and adjust the color as well as tonality of photos like a pro without spending a fortune on software.
Google acquired Nik Software in 2012. The company had owned Snapseed, the Instagram-like photo editing app for iOS and desktop, among other photography tools useful for photographers. The price tag for the acquisition was not disclosed.
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When Google had made the move, it became evident that it had plans to use the technology on Google+, especially when then Senior Vice President-Social for Google Vic Gundotra announced it on Google+.
However, there are concerns, particularly from those who have used Nik Collection for a long time, that Google's giveaway means the software has reached its peak and users will not have anything to look forward to in terms of updates on the collection. The acquisition and subsequent price drop signaled Google's main interest in Nik software's Snapseed, especially for mobile. The desktop version had already been discontinued in 2013, before Google offered the bundled rate.
At least, those who got the software this year will have their refund, and for most users, one can't get a software of this caliber for a cheaper price.
The software can now be downloaded free for Mac or Windows at Google.
