There are many angles to the success of Camera Plus, a mobile app available on the iOS platform. First, the number of downloads: 27 million downloads till date is not a small feat. Second, it is successful in a highly cluttered category of camera apps, on the strength of some revolutionary tech-enabled features and a great user experience.
AirSnap, for example, is an innovative way of capturing photos and videos remotely using any two iOS devices running Camera Plus.
Third, it is an app created in Udupi, echoing the ‘make in India, sell everywhere’ approach. And the crown jewel: its latest version, Camera Plus 4, was recently featured by Apple among the ‘Great Apps &s; Games for iOS 8’ – the only app from India and the only camera app across the world. The app is popular in India too, currently featuring among the Top 5 paid apps on the iPhone.
The story of how Camera Plus 4, enhanced for iOS 8, came about is fascinating. At the WWDC event this year, the Global Delight (a subsidiary of Robosoft Technologies, focused on products in the audio, video, image space) team was excited with the key features of iOS 8, such as the greater control of photo capture, multipeer connectivity, handoff (which brings proximity awareness) and the new extensions.
Later, the team made a presentation to Apple on how best to use these features in Camera Plus. They had four weeks to design and implement these changes with several iterations and tests in between. Global Delight got the final version of the OS only three days prior to the submission deadline and worked 24 hours a day, till they shipped the final build to the App Store, just in time. And it has been worth it.
The app features take advantage of iOS 8 in an intuitive manner:
With multipeer connectivity and handoff features of iOS 8, users can now take photos remotely without bothering how to connect the two devices. With the extension on iOS 8, users can edit their pictures from within their camera roll without launching the app.
Camera Plus had a one-touch magic of ambient adjustments called Lumy. With explicit control of ISO and exposure in iOS 8, the picture quality at low light could be significantly increased. Focus mode is now available for video also for cinematic effects.
With Camera Plus, users could lock private photos using passwords. Touch ID authentication on iOS 8 takes this experience to a new level. Users can now unlock their photos with their thumbs. No hassle of remembering passwords.
By combining DSLR-like features and an intuitive interface to match, Camera Plus hopes to change the way people shoot with their phones. From the temple town of Udupi to the global stage, via Cupertino, it has been a fantastic ride for Camera Plus. View Case Study
