Editor's Review
Age filters had a viral run some years ago and then settled into a permanent corner of the photo app market. FaceLab is a well-established entry in that corner: hand it a portrait and it produces an older or younger version of the face, plus hair, beard, smile and style variations applied automatically.
Automation is the appeal. There is no masking and no manual retouching involved, because the app locates the face and swaps features on its own, which is exactly why it works for people with no editing experience. Output is convincing on clear, well-lit, front-facing portraits and comes apart on anything else; profile shots, sunglasses and dim rooms all confuse it.
Fifty million installs against a 3.84 average is the tell. The transformations are fun and the monetisation is aggressive, with a short free run followed by a subscription screen and ads filling the gaps. Worth an evening of experimenting rather than a permanent slot on the home screen.
Features
Automatic face detection with no manual selection required
Age progression and age reduction on portrait photos
Hair, beard and hairstyle variations
Smile and expression adjustments
Saving and sharing of edited portraits
Pros
Produces a usable result from a single tap on a decent portrait
Covers a broad range of face transformations in one app
Cons
Subscription prompts arrive early and repeat often
Ads interrupt the free experience regularly
Quality collapses on anything but a clear front-facing photo
Needs an internet connection, since the transformations are not computed on the device
