Dealing with RAW files is the regular job of every professional photographer. Today, you don’t need to always rely on desktop-based app to edit RAW files. There are a bunch of RAW editors for Android and iOS to allow you edit RAW files on the go.
What if you just need to convert a RAW file to JPEG on Android without editing it first?.
To be honest, Lightroom is still the best option when it comes to RAW editor. Lightroom itself is also available for Android. If you have Lightroom CC installed on your PC, you can install Lightroom CC on Android as well to edit your RAW files from your Android device. But again, you need to be a premium member of Adobe Creative Cloud to use Lightroom CC on Android.
If you only need to convert RAW files to JPEG on Android, you can use the following alternatives.
1. Convert RAW file to JPEG on Android using Photoshop Express
In addition to Lightroom CC, Photoshop is another Adobe’s product that is also available for Android. The Android version of Photoshop is called Photoshop Express. Just like the desktop version, Photoshop Express for Android can also be used to edit RAW files. Photoshop Express for Android supports three popular RAW formats: NEF (Nikon), CR2 (Canon) and ARW (Sony).
To convert a RAW file using Photoshop Express, launch the app of Photoshop Express on your Android and open the RAW file you want to convert by tapping the arrow button on the top bar of the app.
Once the photo is open, tap the Next button on the top-right corner.
Tap the Save to Gallery button to save your photo into local gallery. Photoshop Express will convert and save your photo in a JPEG format.
You can find the converted photo on the Photoshop Express album on your Android gallery.
2. Convert RAW file to JPEG on Android using Snapseed
Snapseed is a photo editor for Android developed by Google. You can also use this tool to professionally edit your photos. Snapseed also supports RAW file so if you need to export RAW files to JPEG via your Android device, you can also use this tool. It’s just, Snapseed doesn’t support ARW (probably have not) so you won’t be able to open a RAW file taken with Sony digital camera.
To convert a RAW file using Snapseed, launch the app and tap anywhere to open a RAW file. Browse your RAW file by tapping the three-line button on the top-left corner.
Snapseed will automatically switch to develop mode as you select a RAW file. If the loading process takes too long, you can skip it by tapping the X button on the bottom-left corner.
To start exporting the image, tap the EXPORT button on the bottom-right corner, followed by the Export button.
Snapseed will export and save your photo into a JPEG file. You can find the exported photo on the Snapseed album on your Android gallery.
3. Convert RAW file to JPEG on Android using Pixlr
Another free tool that you can use to convert a RAW file to JPEG on Android is Pixlr. This app itself is better known as an online photo editor. It turns out that Pixlr is also available for Android and supports RAW file. Same as Snapseed, Pixlr also doesn’t support ARW format. You can can only open RAW file in either NEF or CR2 format.
Launch the Pixlr app on your Android and select the photos option.
Browse the RAW file you want to convert by taping the three-line icon on the top-left corner.
Once the photo is open, tap the done button on the top-right corner.
Tap the Save Image button to save your photo to gallery.
Pixlr will convert and save your photo in a JPEG format. You can find the converted photo on the Pixlr album on your Android gallery.