AirPics Review

Developer: Yellowbek
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

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AirPics is an app that tries to carry on the Apple tradition of 'it just works' by streaming photos form iPhoto albums on Mac to the iPad. Users set up the AirPics Server, available for free, and then load up the AirPics app on the iPad. Then, albums set up on iPhoto can be browsed and displayed on the iPad.

For what it's worth, it does 'just work' – the server requires zero configuration once installed, appear right away in AirPics, and then can be displayed on the iPad. Easy as that. Albums can be updated on iPhoto and then refreshing in AirPics in order to be viewed right away. Photos can be emailed to other people directly from AirPics as well. It is all very simple, and does what it is advertised to do very well.

However, it feels like AirPics could be more feature-packed. It would be great if it could use AirPlay to beam photos to the TV easily, especially with photos that aren't in the iPad photo library already. It would be easier if all photos could be displayed, not just ones already in albums. More saving and sharing options would be a major boon. Why can't users save their photos from AirPics to the camera roll? Or why not make it easier to share to Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, or some other service? Why is emailing the only option available?

For those who want remote access to their iPhoto library, this is a great start. It does feel like more could be done with this app, though. Features like internet access to the library, similar to what Air Video provides, could make this especially handy. Or even making the app universal would make it even more useful. This is a nice simple start, but it does feel like there's more that could be done with AirPics down the road.