Do you rely on the Flickr app on your iOS device? Then you'll be happy to note a new update is available! In a world of photo sharing, where Instagram appears to be king, this looks like Yahoo's attempt at becoming viable competition. Yahoo wants you to rely on the Flickr app to take pictures and edit them before any other app.

With additional filters and tools to edit your photos, it is starting to feel a lot like Instagram. A welcome decision: to boot the old pricing tiers of Flickr Pro. Now, you don't pay for additional features. Instead, you pay to ditch ads or increase storage space! Sorry, Android users, there is no update for you at this time.

What's Different

There's no questions that mobile photography is what smartphone users live for (the fact that BlackBerry lacks in this department is one of the major drawbacks the company faces in fact). In order to compete, Yahoo added many new filter enhancements which make it simple to edit photos like a pro with just a tap. The goal: make the mobile photo just as good as the photo taken with a physical camera, if not better.

A great new feature is the "live" filter, which allows you to see what the filter will look like before you even take the shot. Create your own filters as well, and choose from all sorts of new tools: grids, focus lock, pinch-to-zoom, and easier to manage exposure points. Watch out, Camera+: Flickr is trying to kick you to the curb.

Similarities With Another?

Yahoo recently acquired GhostBird and promptly shut them down. It appears they have taken components from their apps and stuck them into the Flickr app. A TechCrunch article wonders if the new Flickr app was revamped specifically because of that acquisition, which took place in June of this year.

They need to race to keep up with the likes of Instagram, offering new features for their pro users. Another advancement in Flickr overall (both mobile and website): lowering the costs for its premium features. This is an effort to draw in new users. They are offering previously paid features for free, like color level adjustments, cropping, sharpening, and vignettes.

Working Its Way To The Top

The update, the seventh release since it was launched as version 2 last December, is a major move towards increasing Yahoo's ranking in the world of mobile apps.

However, there are still improvements that could be made. The live filter option is a nice addition, but the filter tabs make it difficult to see the image on the screen due to their large size. It's also tough to decipher the contrast between filters. It also lacks the nifty auto-straightening feature that Instagram recently added. You are able to straighten it manually using one of the editing tools.

Time will tell if the Flickr app can rival the likes of Instagram. One thing is certain: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is hard at work to make it so.