Instagram is similar to Google Photo’s animation feature too. (Photo : Twitter)
Instagram has launched a new called Boomerang, allowing Apple iPhone owners loop their photos into one-second videos.
The online mobile photo-sharing service is competing against Snapchat, adding more fresh features such as animated selfie lenses and geofilters to stay dynamic. The app’s Product Manager John Barnett stated that they built Boomerang just for fun for their team, but the Instagram employees really liked it, so they decided to make it public to entertain the world.
Boomerang captures one-second of video (without audio) upon pressing the shutter button in the Boomerang app, and anyone can see one’s Boomerang, whether they have an iPhone or not. The video plays on a loop just like a GIF, TechCrunch reported. Boomerang has few buttons, literally only two screens.
The one-second burst of silent video is composed of five photos, playing forward and then reverses over and over in a loop. Boomerangs are automatically saved to the camera roll, but can easily be shared on Facebook, Instagram, or elsewhere since the app does not have its own feed. It does not require an Instagram account and no need to log in.
It is also very similar to Google Photo’s animation feature, which knits photos together to create little videos. Boomerang follows the strategy of Instagram’s previous standalone apps Hyperlapse (time-lapses) and Layout (collages), according to Gizmodo. If Boomerang receives success, then it could further help spice up Instagram’s five year old feed.
Barnett says the iOS version of the app looks a little better, as it does image stabilization in a way Android does not allow to keep clips from making users dizzy.
Instagram added that Boomerang is available for iOS in Apple's App Store and for Android in Google Play.
