When Apple announced the new iPhone 6s today, they revealed a new feature that sounds like it’s straight out of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
In the Harry Potter books we’ve always watched in awe as portraits and photos throughout the Wizarding World come to life. This is a feature replicated in Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World lands, and it’s mighty impressive to view in person.
Thanks to “Live Photos” on iPhone 6s, now your own photos can come to life too.
Live Photos works by capturing a couple of seconds of video before and after you take a photo. Live Photos are automatically saved to your phone, and all photos receive the Live Photo treatment unless you decide to turn it off using a button right next to the flash on/off switch.
You can play back your Live Photos by firmly pressing on any of your regular photos using the iPhone 6s’ 3D Touch feature. These Live Photos can also be placed on your iPhone or iPad’s lock screen, or on your Apple Watch’s face. Check out a few demos below.
“Live Photos add a new element of wonder to your still photos with motion and sound,” writes Apple. “Relive moments of joy, surprise, and excitement simply by pressing a Live Photo.”
One could argue that Live Photos are glorified GIFs, but Apple’s new feature is much cooler for one simple reason: Live Photo makes all your photos come to life without any extra work on your part; no matter when you take a photo, a Live Photo will also exist. Thankfully, Apple claims they’ve optimized this feature so these magical photos don’t take up much space.
Live Photos will be viewable on all Apple devices, and Apple says Facebook will support them by the end of 2015.
The new iPhone will be available for pre-order beginning this Saturday. The phone will hit store shelves on September 25.
Now Apple needs to sell us an iPhoto Frame so we can hang all these Live Photos on our walls.