Moment is killing its Android camera app because there are too many different phones

Moment, the company best known for creating attachable camera lenses for smartphones, is killing the Android version of its Mobile Pro camera app. The company cited the "random compatibility" of Mobile Pro across Android's vast ecosystem of phones as a problem it couldn't overcome with its resources.

"The short story is that phone makers like to create their own flavor of Android, each with different amounts of access to select camera features," explained Moment co-founder Marc Barros. "The result has been a random compatibility list where each phone has different features in the app by phone model."

Moment Pro was released two years ago as a pro-level camera app that allows anyone to take advanced photos and edit their shots with more granular control than provided by the default camera app.

Developing a camera app for Android is tough — Because every phone on the market has a different set of lenses and functionality. Some phones may have a triple-camera module, others might have four cameras; some have low-light capturing modes, others don't. Compare that to iOS where only 2-3 phones are released each year with very similar cameras, it's much easier to ensure your app will function consistently across all the latest models. Barros added that Android phone makers weren't willing to give Moment any heads up about changes that might have impacted the app on their devices.

Another popular camera app, VSCO, has a webpage on its site dedicated to a list of features that aren't available in its Android app.

Moment Pro will still exist on Google Play, but it won't be receiving further updates.