Android smartphones are brawling to be revered as the ultimate mobile phone for aspiring mobile photographers. Although having a powerful device like Sony Xperia Z1, Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom or HTC One is almost a complete meal, the course is incomplete without a trusted toolbox of apps from Google Play.

Mobile photography recently made huge strides. The right applications can get your endeavor a notch higher and help you overcome your limitations in more ways than one. Knowing your apps help you gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of what makes mobile photography works. Here is an essential guide to the top 10 best free photo editing apps for Android.

10 Photo Art Color Effects

Google Play Review: 4.1 Stars

This app allows you to create artsy photographs fast and easy. You can color the images using your fingers and apply effects from a wide selection of filters.

9 Vignette Demo

Google Play Review: 4.4 Stars

This is a free version of Vignette app. It has a total of 84 effects and 54 frames to create a wide array of photo effects. A notable feature is that you can set a photo filter prior to taking photographs with its built-in camera. Vignette also features time-lapse, digital zoom, self-timer and more.

8 Pixlr-o-matic

Google Play Review: 4.7 Stars

With this app, you can add retro filters to your photos and transform your images into cool-looking vintage photos. Editing is made easy in three easy steps by adding no more than 100 effects, 280 overlays and 200 frames.

7 Instagram

Google Play Review: 4.6 Stars

With over 130 million users of this app, you can surely share your photographs with the most creative people around the world. You can capture, customize and share photos with family and friends.

6 Fisheye Camera Live

Google Play Review: 4.1 Stars

Fisheye Camera Live creates an optical illusion similar to wide-angle lenses. This app provides a real-time preview and three different lens simulations that make composition relatively easier.

5 Split Cam Lite

Google Play Review: 4.3 Stars

Gone are the days when only Photoshop professionals can make split photographs. Split Cam Lite lets you clone your subject with its self-timer. The blender also allows you to make split picture creations even if the images are not properly aligned.

4 Be Funky

Google Play Review: 4.5 Stars

This app leaves all creative control with you. It has exclusive effects and edits that help you create unique images. You can also add texts to your photographs.

3 Photo Grid

Google Play Review: 4.6 Stars

Hailed as the "#1 Collage app on Android," and "Top1 in Photography over 11 Countries." The simple interface of this app makes it the best collage app in the market, according to CNET. The app allows you to create collage, put borders, filters and even texts in your photographs.

2 Shape'd

Google Play Review: 4.3 Stars

Shape'd allows you to edit and cut your images with geometric shapes, write and draw texts with a wide-array of cute fonts. Choose the background color of your images and rotate your image to your desired angle.

1 AfterFocus

Google Play Review: 4.6 Stars

AfterFocus is a photo editing app that lets you create DSLR-ish background blurred images by selecting a focus area. It comes with filters that let you create realistic and natural professional photographs. AfterFocus automatically recognizes the focus precisely even for subjects with complex shapes.

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