Tip with AI imaging apps: Wonder and Imagine

Not everyone has the patience to sign up for an AI image generation platform such as Midjourney and Dall-E. But you don’t need to register. A series of apps were created and added to markets earlier this year that work the same way: type a text and the app transforms it into an image.

Today, the top places in the Art & Design category in the app stores are Imagine (Android, iOS) on Google Play and Wonder (Android, iOS) on the App Store. In addition to requesting text-based images, the user can choose styles such as cubism, steampunk, and anime.

In both cases, the request was the same in Portuguese: an image of Cate Blanchett and composer Gustav Mahler at the Vienna Opera. One idea was inspired by the film ‘Tár’ which competed for the Oscars last Sunday night the 13th.

wonder

Wonder tries to copy an Instagram-like feed format. But its home screen is very cluttered and the ads in its free version push the user’s common sense to the limit. Also, out of about five images I searched for, only two were well understood by the platform.

The app is also forcing the user to subscribe all the time, including an option that says “free trial and plan” which takes you to the Google Play or App Store subscription screen. In fact, the ‘x’ icon that closes the screen is hidden at the top.

It doesn’t surprise me that the app appears on Google Play as the second highest grossing app in its category. Avoid.

imagine

Image created in the Imagine app (credit: Imagine)

On the other hand, Imagine is cleaner and even its ads are clearer. The funny thing is that the app makes good use of the space for brands, as it shows a video with ads (a campaign to download an app, for example) and another with a banner showing an app to download on ‘demand load’ ‘window.

The app was also more faithful to the request, allowing you to create collections of images and even use a button to enhance them. Another advantage is that the user can type up to 500 characters.

In other words, Imagine is better.

Briefing

Apps are fun to use, but if the goal is a more technical and professional use, forget it. None of the images managed to faithfully translate Mahler. But Blanchett is faithful in all images.

Also, the apps are very limited in their free versions. For example, they don’t allow image sharing in high definition, it has a watermark, a limit on image generation per day, and not all art styles are allowed. To make matters worse, their subscriptions are quite expensive:

• Wonder starts at R$18 per week;
• And imagine with R$ 30 per week.

In other words, use it and enjoy it. But don’t pay if you have to.