Prisma finally comes to Android

Thomas McMullan Read more July 8, 2016

Prisma, the psychedelic photo-editing app that uses artificial-intelligence algorithms to turn your selfies into strange artworks, has been released on Android.

The app has previously been out on iOS, leading to a barrage of Facebook profile pictures that look a bit like Edvard Munch paintings. Now you can download the app on the Google Play store.

What is Prisma? Well, do you remember those photo booths in the rundown bowling alley near the multiplex cinema? The ones that spat out pictures of you like you were an artwork – sketched like da Vinci or van Gogh? Prisma is a bit like that, except you don’t have to spend £5 or step on month-old popcorn.

The photo app has a range of editing tools – with names like “Running in the storm”, “Light summer reading” and – somewhat worryingly – “Illegal beauty”. The mechanics behind these are different than those on Instagram. Instead of overlaying a filter, the app actually scans the data of your pictures and, according to its creators, uses a “unique combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence” to edit the photos.

There have been rumours that the Russian company behind Prisma is being eyed up for acquisition, with TechCrunch noting that CEO Alexey Moiseenkov has been visiting Facebook HQ and dangling the possibility of an imminent announcement – no definite word on that front for now, though.

Whatever black magic Prisma is channeling, the results are a lot of fun. Take a picture of yourself and watch as it’s transformed into a woozy haze of colours or a piece of mock-German expressionism.

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