Instagram wants to shutter pic-stitching competitors with new 'Layout' app ~ lotfi

Instagram has long been missing one feature that's caused many users to download third-party apps like Pic Stitch and PhotoCollage, and that feature is still missing today.

However! Instagram has launched its own separate app, Layout, that it hopes will take the place of all those other collage-makers.

There are lots of cool gadgets coming this year

The Layout app is currently available on iOS, with an Android version arriving "in the coming months."

It lets users stitch images together, add mirroring effects and do more detailed editing than what's available within Instagram itself. It's detailed in an Instagram blog post.

Flexibility for creativity

"People want flexibility to stretch their creativity of what's possible with photos - from mirrored landscapes to sharing multiple sequential moments together - but there hasn't been a simple way to do it, especially in a single app," an Instagram spokesperson told TechRadar today.

Unfortunately there's still no single app that can make collages and then share them to your Instagram followers. It would have been great for these features to make their way into the actual Instagram app, but the company is likely more interested in keeping its core experience simple.

For now users will have to judge for themselves whether it's worth switching to Layout and exporting to Instagram from there.