Google makes its Nik tools for photographers free

Google announced Thursday to make its Nik Collection free. The toolkit previously had to be paid 149 euros, but Google says they want to make it free so that everyone can use it.

Google states that they want to focus on long-term investments such as making photo-editing software for mobile devices, such as Google Photos and Snapseed. This too would have played a part in the decision to let everyone use the Nik Collection tools for PC for free.

The Nik Collection consists of Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. The tools are plug-ins that can be used in Photoshop and Lightroom, for example, to sharpen images or edit colors. Those who bought the software in 2016 will automatically receive a refund of the money they paid for it.

Not all users are equally happy with the change. The move to make the tools free has given users on camera forum Fuji X Forum the impression that this is the end of development for the plug-ins. This is partly because since the purchase of the German Nik Software by Google in 2012, there have been no major updates for the plug-ins. This creates the feeling on the forum that Google only bought Nik for Snapseed at the time.