SA mobile creative startup Over launches much-awaited Android app

Cape Town-based startup Over has just launched its mobile creative app on Android following tremendous success with its iOS version. The company’s flagship app encourages smartphone photographers to express their creativity by accessing dozens of fonts, illustrations by renowned artists, and a bunch of other editing tools.

While there are both a free and a paid version available, the Over app has enjoyed more than 9-million downloads by its Apple fans.

Today, the premium Android version is available at half-price to celebrate the launch. At US$0.99 a pop (50% sale) on Google Play, the company is hoping for a massive download spike with its photo-editing app on the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

In the longer run, Over CEO Aaron Marshall says that “We are witnessing the rise of a new kind of creative, the Mobile Creative. These users are freedom junkies, they don’t want to be tied to computers, they want the freedom to make anything, everywhere, fast.”

As Ventureburn discussed previously, Over wants to build enough powerful software that a creative professional could carry out their work using only their phone. Marshall says he wants Over to be the Adobe of mobile phones. Android fits in neatly with that vision, Marshall tells Ventureburn:

“Android has massive global traction, and for many users around the world it isn’t ‘mobile first’ it’s ‘mobile only’. That excites us a lot. This kind of user is just waiting to be equipped with professional grade mobile creative tools. Unlocking human potential, especially creativity, is extremely meaningful and satisfying. We think it may be lucrative too, but that is secondary.”

The tech company has been making great strides in the startup scene both locally and abroad, having won the Ustart international competition pitch in May this year, not to mention becoming a million dollar company run by a team of six.

While initially skeptical, Marshall says the Android app development turned out to be surprisingly smooth. “Our Android version is substantially better than our iOS version. It has full resolution output, rotation of text, and a really slick store experience. The new team agonises over every crash and bug, we are 99% crash free,” he says. “Overall, I am extremely happy with the Android platform, and our South African based Android team is crushing it.”