My Experience with the Best AI Image Generators for iPhone & Android

Generative AI has revolutionized the way we relate to images. After seeing a stunning image, people used to ask: “Is it Photoshopped?” Now, they ask if it’s AI.

The power to create unbelievable images is literally at your fingertips.

Maybe you want to create a fun image to send to your friend who’s feeling down. Perhaps you want to make an avatar to use as your profile pic. Or maybe you want to use your commute time to get inspired and kick-start your next creative project.

You could use an AI image generator on your smartphone for many reasons. There are so many apps available, though, that it’s difficult to find the right one.

Many of them don’t offer the features you’re looking for, or it turns out they don’t have a free trial, but you find out only after downloading it and creating an account.

This trial and error can be time-consuming, and it may fill your smartphone with unused apps, cache, and other junk files.

So, to save you time and trouble, I set out on a quest to find the best AI image generator for iPhone and Android. Let me tell you what I found.

What is the Best AI image generator for iPhone and Android in 2024?

Gencraft

Gencraft is an AI image generator available on browser and as an app for iPhone and Android. I never used it on the web, but it was one of the top apps on the Play Store, so I decided to try it.

On launch, it requires a login with either Google or Facebook. That’s quite handy, as you don’t have to create more accounts, but maybe not everyone uses Google or Facebook. A third option to sign in with your email couldn’t hurt.

Once logged in, I was immediately attracted by the ‘Surprise Me’ option on the prompt text box. So, that’s the first thing I tried.

I liked that I could see the prompt before. This way, I could make changes or disregard it before spending any credits. I left it as it was because the surprise element was my whole point. It created two variations of the cutest dragons.

Next, I decided to type my prompt – one that I used for all the apps I tried. I found the feature ‘Enhance Prompts’ particularly useful – this helps you add more details to the prompt and get a more accurate image.

After that, I tried different styles from the many it offers. I liked the results; the quality is very good and consistent.

The app has a community where you can see other user’s creations and get inspiration from them. You can also publish your AI art. I appreciated this social aspect of the app.

I also liked the Library section where you can find your creations. This way, you can go back anytime and download any of the images you’ve generated.

Gencraft has a free version where you get five credits per day. The credits allow you to download the images without a watermark.

The Premium version not only gives you more credits (1500 per day) but also unlocks other features, such as image-to-image generation, commercial use, and larger downloads.

Premium users can also generate videos and access exclusive models like logo and tattoo generators.

All in all, I liked the app very much. The quality is consistently good and has some unique (or at least uncommon) features like the Surprise Me or Enhance Prompt.

The community is also a plus that allows you to interact with other creators, follow trends, and get inspired.

The app has many styles for you to experiment with and give free rein to your creativity. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the feature to create a custom style like the one available on the browser version.

The membership is a bit pricey if you’re not planning on using it for professional purposes. However, it offers weekly and monthly plans. So, you can activate it just for the duration of the project, in which case, it becomes more manageable.

Canva

Many of you probably know Canva as a graphic design platform. What you might not know is that it has a powerful AI image generator built into it.

I have to say that, as far as the results, this is one of my favourite apps. The AI technology behind Canva is powered by Leonardo.ai, which was acquired in mid-2024.

The images it generates are very high quality, and the variations are very different, making it easier for you to find the one you need without too many tries.

Canva AI image generator has many styles to choose from, but it’s also quite accurate in interpreting the styles you provide on the prompt. Plus, the photo-realistic images are very impressive.

It does have problems with text. Although, it has improved since I tried it as a logo generator about a month ago. So, this issue may be resolved in the near future.

One problem I did find is that, even if you type some text in a different language, it appears in English on the image. This isn’t a problem if it’s part of a design where I can type the text separately. However, it’s a big issue if I want it as part of the image – let’s say, written in icing on top of a birthday cake.

It didn’t struggle with the prompt written in another language, though. At least, this was the case with Spanish – which is what I tried.

As Canva is a graphic design tool, it’s easy to incorporate images you generate into any project. The generator offers six of the most common aspect ratios so you can use the image without modifications on most platforms.

After you’ve got the four variations of your prompt, you can continue to edit them. Simply tap on the Edit button on top of the image you want. Then, it will open in the editor, where you can use the edit tools, apply AI effects from the Magic Studio or photo effects, or use any Canva apps.

If you’re a pro user, you can also resize your project. From here, you can also save or share your image.

Even though the AI image generator is a Pro feature, you get fifty credits to try it out. Each time you send a prompt, it gives you four variations, which is 200 free images in total.

This may seem like a lot, but it’s easy to get carried away, and you’ll spend it quite quickly.

If you sign up for a Pro membership, you get 500 monthly credits. This is more than enough for the average user. However, if quantity is a concern, you may be better off with Gencraft.

While Canva may not have as many dedicated features as other AI image generators, it certainly beats their editing capabilities, offering the possibility to turn your AI art into posters, mock-ups, social media posts, and more.

You can get Canva Pro for yourself, your team, or your organization. Canva for iPhone and Android allows you to buy credits.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Photoshop is the industry standard in photo editing and it has been for most of its history. Its app, Adobe Photoshop Express, didn’t quite live up to the fame of its desktop brother for a long time.

In recent years, Adobe has put much effort into improving the app. Although it’s difficult to pack such powerful software into a light app, they’ve managed quite well.

One of the features they smartly decided to include in the mobile version is the AI image generator. As you launch the app, you get a very busy screen with shortcut icons, your gallery’s thumbnails, Quick Actions, etc.

I didn’t particularly like this, but OK. What I find very strange, though, is that you have ‘Generative Art’ and ‘Text to Image’ options next to each other. As far as I could make out, they do the same thing.

The difference is that ‘Generative Art’ directly opens the editor while ‘Text to Image’ opens a window where you type your prompt, which then launches the editor.

So, you end up in the same place, but one of them has an extra step. As if this wasn’t confusing enough, there’s also the Adobe Firefly icon – the engine behind all the generative AI tools. However, if you click on that, it will launch your browser and take you to the Firefly website. So, don’t do that.

After the awkward start, I have to say that Photoshop’s AI image generator offers stunning results, whether you’re looking for a hyper-realistic image or an artistic style like paper cut-out.

It’s also highly customizable – not just the aspect ratio. You can choose the technique, effect, material, and concept in the Style tab. Then, there’s the tab to choose color, lighting, and composition.

Each prompt generates four variations. After you’ve chosen the one you want, you can move on to the traditional and powerful photo editor.

There’s not much to criticize about the Photoshop Express AI image generator. However, the subscription plan and generative credits are somewhat confusing.

Up until now, Adobe hasn’t applied the monthly credit limit to specific users. For the rest, the number of credits depends on the membership plan. Users can still generate two images per day with certain limitations as soon as they run out of their monthly credits.

You can always check how many credits you have remaining by tapping on your Profile. To stay updated and get further information on generative credits, please check the Adobe FAQ website.

As a free user, you get five generative credits per month.

DALL-E 4

DALL-E is one of the most well-known AI image generators, having gained significant popularity as one of the first to offer a generous free trial. Today, there’s still a free version, but it has limitations.

When you download and launch DALL-E, it will ask you to do an online registration. So, you’ll be redirected to your browser to complete a four-step process. The last one asks you for your credit card details – even if it says you won’t be charged.

I’ll be honest – I closed it and was ready to move on to the next app. I never give out my credit card unless I’m buying something. So, I returned to the app to see if I needed to delete something before uninstalling it.

Guess what? I could use the free version of DALL-E without problems. So, don’t give them your credit card unless you’re subscribing to the Premium version because it’s not actually needed.

DALL-E Premium doesn’t have ads, and it’s supposed to be faster. The latter is not a problem, in my opinion, as it worked pretty fast anyway.

Also, the free version has limited art styles and models. In any case, it’s more than enough to try the technology and see if it’s right for you.

The interface is quite intuitive. You immediately see the Prompt space, which allows voice commands and has a translator. It tells you that English is preferred for higher accuracy.

Scrolling down,, you’ll find the aspect ratio, art style, and model options. Anything that’s premium is clearly marked – this is something I appreciate.

To generate the image for free, you’ll need to see an ad, which I find fair. This way, you don’t get limited credits or watermarks on your images. Each prompt only generates one image. There’s a Try New if you want another one without adjusting the prompt.

You can download it for free, and there’s an option to share it right from the app. I found the results to be very high quality even though I was using the free version.

However, the feature that I found most impressive in comparison with other generators was the image-to-image. I could use it as inspiration for a completely different image, but I could also recreate almost the same image with a variation.

In this example, I uploaded a photo and asked it for hummingbirds. So, it turned the butterflies into hummingbirds, but the rest of the image was pretty much the same – something I couldn’t achieve with others.

Let’s be clear: it’s not the same image. Unlike Photoshop’s Generative Fill, you can’t add or change an element. However, DALL-E gives the best results if you want to create something as close to the original as possible.

In conclusion, even though my first impression was off-putting, I do recommend DALL-E. However, it’s worth upgrading if you use it often because the ads can really slow you down – especially since you get only one variation at a time.

Google Gemini (Imagen 3)

Gemini is Google’s chatbot. It works with generative AI to perform different tasks such as researching a topic, helping you make plans, writing an email, etc.

It can also generate images powered by Imagen 3 – its text-to-image model. The good thing about using Gemini to generate your images is that you don’t need to download extra apps or create new accounts.

Using Gemini, you have all your generative AI needs solved with a single app, whether you use an iPhone or an Android device.

On the downside, it won’t have as many dedicated features because it’s not designed to generate photos. So, all the input needs to come from you. You won’t have art-style thumbnails to choose from, preset aspect ratios, etc.

Simply chat with Gemini and ask it to generate an image with x and y characteristics. If there’s something you want to change, just ask for it – make sure to be clear, though.

You can also use voice commands to communicate with Gemini, and attaching a photo to your prompt is possible. This way, you can tell Gemini to use the photo for inspiration.

You can also tell Gemini what it should change in the image. This way, it will create an image similar to the original but adding specific variations. Here’s what it made when I asked for the hummingbirds in the butterflies’ photo.

Once you have the generated image, you have the choice to rate it with a thumbs up or down. I think this is a useful feature, as it allows the app to improve and evolve.

Then, you can download the image or share it right from the app – nothing new about that. However, since it’s a Google app, you can also export it to Google Docs, start a draft in Gmail, or create a public link.

Given that it’s completely free and doesn’t require you to create any more accounts, I think it’s a great solution for the casual user.

CreArt

Something I really appreciated about CreArt is that you can use the app as soon as you download and launch it. There’s no need to register, log in, or anything.

The app is very straightforward and intuitive. You have the space for the text prompt (up to 300 words) and the art styles to choose from. It’s also possible to choose No-style.

If you want more custom settings, simply tap on Advanced. I like that they have this separate so the home screen is clean and easy to use.

In the Advanced tab, you’ll find the preset aspect ratios, the possibility of adding an image, and the Seed. This last one is only available for Premium users and allows you to fine-tune the same image without generating a new one.

I got to generate three images before it asked me to watch an ad to keep using it. However, if you need to generate more, you can watch the ads – like DALL-E.

The bigger deal about using the free version is that the images come with a watermark. If you decide to upgrade, you’ll unlock more styles and aspect ratios and gain access to the image upscale.

The quality of the results was very good, and they accurately matched what I described in the prompt. Unfortunately, it only generates one variation at a time.

The image-to-image wasn’t as accurate, though. However, after a few tries, it worked out.

You can change the app’s language, which is a plus. Not only does it understand or translate the prompt, but the entire interface is also translated.

Unfortunately, it still adds any text you need in the image in English just like Canva and other apps.

The free version is very good if you’re a casual user. However, watching an ad each time can be time-consuming if you use it often.

GenZArt

Another app that shines because you can immediately use it after the download is GenZArt. It doesn’t ask you to create an account or register anywhere unless you want to subscribe to the Premium version.

GenZArt has many features; as a result, the app feels less intuitive than others. Some features have names that don’t clearly describe their functions.

For example, on the text-to-image page, you can choose between ‘High Quality’, which is the traditional feature and the one I tried, and ‘Realtime’, which is a premium feature.

I’m guessing that Realtime means that the feature works like a chatbot, but I’m not sure. Especially if you want the user to upgrade to unlock that feature, a short explanation as to why it would be better or how it’s different would help.

There’s also the ‘Story Generation with Voice’ feature, where you use voice commands to create prompts that generate three variations. Unlike other apps, it allows you to choose whether to share the result as a photo or video, and post it directly to Instagram Stories or other platforms.

This feature takes considerably more time than the normal text-to-image.

Another fun feature is the Personal Avatar Creation. This lets you upload or take a selfie and create an Avatar. However, make sure you read all the privacy terms and conditions before uploading your selfie. But that’s good practice for any of the apps.

Other features sound good, but I couldn’t try them because they kept giving me an error. This was the case with the Modify feature and the Generate Music one. The server probably gets overloaded as they’re a small company.

In any case, I wanted to include it not only to support small startups looking to stand out among huge names like Google or Adobe but also because I think it has potential.

The results I got were good and quite unique. Since I used the same prompts and inspiration images to try all these AI generators, I felt the results were often too similar across all apps. This wasn’t the case with GenZArt.

The photo-realistic style still needs some work – I loved the image, but it doesn’t look like a photograph. So, try it and see if it fits your needs.

Adobe Express

I left Adobe Express until the end, not because it’s at the bottom of my rating list, but because it’s not yet available to everyone.

Adobe is slowly rolling out the Generative AI features on Adobe Express. So, this may not yet be available on your device – the app will be, but not the image generator.

To make things clear, this is a different app than Adobe Photoshop Express. Why did they use such similar names? I don’t know. They also do it with Lightroom.

This app is not a photo editor – it’s a graphic design app like Canva. You can use it to create and schedule your social media content, design logos, presentations, etc.

If you don’t have generative AI tools in Adobe Express on your iPhone or Android phone, you can try these features on its website. They are amazing.

Adobe Express has a text-to-image generator, like the ones I reviewed here. It also has a text-to-template generator, which I find extremely useful because it’s completely customizable.

Another jaw-dropping feature is the text effects. Basically, they work like an image generator but on text. Let’s say that you write the words Happy Anniversary – you can ask it to make the letters out of red roses or for your text to look like it’s dripping paint.

Unfortunately, the generative AI tools aren’t available in the free version of Adobe Express. On the plus side, you get a 30-day free trial for the Premium subscription. Premium users have unlocked assets, more significant cloud storage, brand management tools, and 250 generative credits.

At the moment, Adobe isn’t enforcing the monthly quotas to Premium users, but this might change soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AI image generator?

An AI image generator is a tool that creates images digitally using artificial intelligence. Most AI image generators work with text prompts where you describe the image you want, and it generates it for you. However, they often have an image-to-image generator, too.

Can you use AI on an iPhone?

Yes, there are plenty of AI-powered apps available for iPhones. All the AI image generators mentioned in this article are available for iPhone and Android devices.

What is the best AI image generator for iPhone and Android?

Finding the ‘best’ app is challenging because it depends on each user’s needs. Photoshop is the best if you need a photo editor, while Canva is the best for graphic design. If you’re looking for one that’s only an image generator, Gencraft is the best, but it’s expensive if you need the Premium version.