PopPic is a popular 3D camera app with a very easy capture process. It’s simple enough for children to use and has an intuitive interface. The app is designed for multiple-camera phones such as the iPhone X or higher, so it may not be an optimal choice if you have an earlier version.

Some of its standout features include a wide variety of depth effects and filters, its ease of sharing photos, and the option to add in motion. Users say the quality of the photos is quite high.

PopPic also offers a paid Pro version, which costs around $13 for a lifetime subscription or $2 on a monthly basis. The Pro version features additional effects, filters, and HD video capacity. It also allows you to share photos watermark-free.

• Cost: Free, various Pro subscription plans available
• Platform: iOS (14.0 or later)
• Rating: 4.8 stars (over 26,000 ratings)
• Where to find it: App Store

Parallax gets rave reviews for the high quality of the 3D photos taken with the app, as well as its ability to transform 2D photos into 3D. Edits also get top marks, as you can do photo-quality editing endeavors like grain adjustment and light leaks.

Parallax also offers a paid Pro version, for about $5 a month or $23 a year. The Pro version gives you access to additional filters and overlays, all capture modes, and additional effects. Plus, with the paid version, you can download photos without the watermark.

• Cost: Free, offers a paid Pro version
• Platform: iOS (13.0 or later)
• Rating: 4.7 stars (over 5,700 ratings)
• Where to find it: App Store

With Vimage 3D, you can take your photos to the next level by adding animated effects and overlays. Additionally, you can add nice effects like falling leaves, rain, steam, or elements like flying birds and grass, and select where to place them in the photo.

Despite offering a handful of animated effects and overlays, the app’s most impressive feature is that it uses AI to animate photos. For example, it can animate the sky by accurately identifying the pixels that belong to the sky and substituting them with animated ones.  Also, you have the option to edit a photo from your own gallery or pick a stock photo provided within the app.

The free version allows you to apply effects and export resulting photos, but they’ll have a watermark in the lower right corner. To avoid this and unlock more exporting features, you can try the Pro version for free for 3 days. If you like it, you can keep it by paying around $3 per month or $16 per year.

• Cost: Free, various subscriptions available
• Platform: Android (6.0 and up) and iOS (13.0 or later)
• Rating: 4.4 stars (over 183,000 ratings)
• Where to find it: Google Play, App Store

This next app allows you to take 3D photos and visualize them. The interface is very simple and easy to use, and it provides a short video tutorial that explains how to use the features and tools. Additionally, there’s a helpful guide for you to learn how to get the best out of the app.

Once you take a 3D photo, you can visualize it in different formats, such as Stereo, 3D color, 3D mono, Wiggle, and Regular. Stereo visualization is intended to be used with a virtual headset, even the simple cardboard-style one where you place your smartphone inside. 3D color requires the use of traditional red/cyan glasses.

There’s also an Expansion Pack that costs around $4 to remove ads and unlock all features, such as photo editing tools, exporting and sharing options, and using the Camera 3D Pro version.

• Cost: Free, with purchasable expansion pack
• Platform: iOS (12.0 or later)
• Rating: 3.9 stars (over 200 ratings)
• Where to find it: App Store

Although Zoetropic is more of a 3D motion app, this free and entertaining app does allow for some pretty cool 3D photos and effects as well. Zoetropic gives your photos a “cinematic effect” to which you can add music, text graphics, and filters.

Like Parallax, Zoetropic also boasts some particularly notable 3D effect tools. Another bonus is that the creators tend to be quite responsive to users’ issues and requests to improve the app. You can get a monthly or annual subscription for more effects.

• Cost: Free, various Pro subscriptions available
• Platform: Android (5.0 and up) and iOS (14.1 or later)
• Rating: 4.2 stars (over 80,000 ratings)
• Where to find it: Google Play, App Store

With an integrated 3D camera, the Loopsie app is an excellent all-around choice for those looking to explore the world of 3D photos and videos via their smartphone. Loopsie makes it easy to make and edit 3D photos and allows for full HD resolution.

Loopsie boasts an array of effects you can add to your creations, and it’s so easy to use in terms of photo and video creation that even kids and teens will have no problem with it.

• Cost: Free, ~$30 for an annual subscription
• Platform: iOS (14.0 or later)
• Rating: 4.6 stars (over 27,700 ratings)
• Where to find it: App Store

MakeIt3D is a free app that isn’t meant to be a 3D camera but rather used to create 3D photos. With this app, you’ll be turning existing photos into 3D via a stereoscopic method, which is pretty cool. MakeIt3D requires 3D glasses, which can be a fun bonus for kids and teens using the app.

It’s very easy to get the hang of it thanks to its straightforward interface. There are no Pro or upgrade versions, but you can opt to pay to unlock auto-alignment and remove all ads.

• Cost: Free, with in-app purchases
• Platform: Android (5.0 and up) and iOS (11.0 or later)
• Rating: 3.8 stars (over 12,200 ratings)
• Where to find it: Google Play, App Store

If you’re an aspiring photographer or a bit more serious about your 3D photography, you may want to check out Focos. It’s a highly ranked app that’s targeted for people who want more bells and whistles when it comes to taking and editing their 3D phone photos.

Focos features an advanced AI engine and the ability to perform a lot of professional-level photo edits, such as depth and aperture simulation. Additionally, it has many well-rated effects, such as the Bokeh, that you can apply to your photos. There’s a free version, a lifetime subscription for $13 that grants you unlimited access to all the features available, and weekly and monthly memberships for around $4 and $2, respectively.

• Cost: Free, ~$13 for lifetime unlimited access, various subscriptions available
• Platform: iOS (12.2 or later)
• Rating: 4.7 stars (over 50,900 ratings)
• Where to find it: App Store

The Phogy app allows users to produce cool 3D movement effects with their phone photos. Your photos “move” as your phone moves, and you can even use them as wallpaper! It’s an app that’s easy to use, bringing your photos to life in a couple of steps.

You can customize your moving 3D photos, and create GIFs and small files to share with friends and family. Phogy even lets users control the sensitivity to motion while taking photos.

• Cost: Free, ~$3 for Pro version
• Platform: Android (5.0 and up)
• Rating: 3.5 stars (over 38,200 ratings)
• Where to find it: Google Play

For the last couple of years, the words Artificial Intelligence (a.k.a. AI) have become very popular. In fact, you probably hear or read about them at least once a day, if not more. It may not come as a surprise then that they’re included in many apps for smart devices, including the ones mentioned in this article. AI boosts the realism that can be obtained from a photo, either by improving the process of taking the photo or video, assisting during the editing process, or both! The results can be astonishing, like the animated sky effects found in the Vimage 3D app.

However, there’s still room for improvement regarding AI-enhanced photo apps, especially because it’s an ever-evolving technology. For example, sometimes AI can’t accurately identify pixels and define boundaries. Therefore, it may not properly match overlays to the photo. This can lead to a not-so-amazing experience, frustrating the expectations of the user.

From this list, Loopsie, Vimage 3D, and Focos are examples of apps that implement an AI engine to enhance the photo editing experience. The results are impressive, and the future of AI in this field looks promising. We hope to see more AI-enhanced photo editing apps appearing in the near future!