Google's New 'Motion Stills' App Makes Live Photos a Whole Lot Better

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, Google released a new app called Motion Stills, designed to turn Live Photos captured with the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE into GIFs or videos. Over the past couple of days, we spent some hands-on time with Motion Stills, and have been really impressed with the way it transforms Live Photos into a more useful, shareable medium.

Motion Stills isn't just an app that converts a Live Photo to a GIF. As seen in the video below, it uses Google's video stabilization technology to smooth out jittery images and freeze backgrounds with some impressive-looking results.

In addition to serving as a tool to convert Live Photos into GIFs and videos that can be quickly shared on social networks, Motion Stills is also useful simply as a tool to view Live Photos. In Apple's Photos app, there's no dedicated folder for Live Photos, so they can get lost among other images.

Live Photos are viewable on Apple devices running iOS 9 or later or OS X 10.11 or later, and Apple has made an API available for developers to build Live Photos support into their apps, but there are no built-in tools for editing Live Photos or converting them to other formats.

With no native tools available, Motion Stills fills a major Live Photos void. The app isn't perfect, has a few bugs, and works better with certain types of subjects, but overall, it's well worth checking out if you have a device capable of capturing Live Photos.

Motion Stills can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Google's New 'Motion Stills' App Makes Live Photos a Whole Lot Better

 

[ZacNicholson]

This is what live photos should have been.

 

[Deelron]

This is what live photos should have been.

Probably, but I'm glad to have both, on the occasional photo (for mine about 1 out of 10 roughly) the zooming in for stabilization seems overly aggressive.

 

[Tycho24]

Haha....
That guy pronounced GIF with the g sound, not the j sound.
What a casual.

 

[Shirasaki]

Good try but effect is s too straightforward. Maybe a few more transitions could be better.

 

[Glassed Silver]

Holy ****, I'm in before the Apple vs. Google wars!
*grabs popcorn*

GO!

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[jclo]

Haha....
That guy pronounced GIF with the g sound, not the j sound.
What a casual.

He's since been informed that our official MacRumors GIF pronunciation is with a "J" sound and not a hard G.

 

[Mactendo]

Apple should've built the export-to-video feature in the Photos app. As well as a dedicated folder for the live photos.

 

[Goatllama]

He's since been informed that our official <em>MacRumors</em> GIF pronunciation is with a "J" sound and not a hard G.

It's little things like this that just further enforce that MacRumors is going downhill, I need to sell my stock.......

 

[now i see it]

Yet another way for google to data mine your photos

 

[samcraig]

Yet another way for google to data mine your photos

Then don't download it...

 

[Tycho24]

He's since been informed that our official MacRumors GIF pronunciation is with a "J" sound and not a hard G.

Lol, VERY good to know! ;0)

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Cinemagraphs > this garbage

 

[macbeta]

there is only one way to say g-i-f
http://imgur.com/gallery/DzDATp9

 

[doelcm82]

I'd like the ability to save back to Live Photo format on the camera roll.

at least I think i would like that. I don't yet have Live Photos on my iPhone 6+.

 

[BigRed1]

I like it a lot, just like I really like google photos. I hate android, but I really think google's photo apps on the iPhone are better than apple's.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Been using the app a lot more than I thought. Made a creepy video of walking through hallways, fun animations of a fire truck driving by, and sending a LOT of "GIFS" by saving the video - works pretty well on Hangouts.

 

[MLVC]

But there was an app that did this way before google released it right? I can't remember the name but I used it briefly right after the 6s was released. Live GIF or something like that it was.

 

[Norbs12]

Haha....
That guy pronounced GIF with the g sound, not the j sound.
What a casual.

Jraphics.

 

[hobspain]

Cinemagraphs > this garbage

Are you serious? Not installing this app because of Google tracking everything but just tried Cinemagraphs and is utter buggy and slow junk (on an iPhone 6s)

 

[keysofanxiety]

there is only one way to say g-i-f
http://imgur.com/gallery/DzDATp9

Holy crumbs I am sobbing. That is so funny. Thank you.

 

[Dephtones]

Wish I knew how many people actually use Live Photos. I did it maybe 2-3 times in the 6+ months I've had my phone and it as probably within the first couple of days. Decent innovation but too much of a gimmick.

 

[doelcm82]

Wish I knew how many people actually use Live Photos.

Enough to get the attention of Google.

 

[Tycho24]

Jraphics.

Lol...

My understanding is that the original creator thought of his new lightweight file format vs jpg as "choosy designers choose gif"; a spin off of the peanut butter jingle.
I'd say it's only been in the last 3-4 years where there has FINALLY been a consensus & edification of the masses towards the proper pronunciation... I know I labored under the misconception of its pronunciation for years!

 

[Norbs12]

Lol...

My understanding is that the original creator thought of his new lightweight file format vs jpg as "choosy designers choose gif"; a spin off of the peanut butter jingle.
I'd say it's only been in the last 3-4 years where there has FINALLY been a consensus & edification of the masses towards the proper pronunciation... I know I labored under the misconception of its pronunciation for years!

Yeah, but just cuz the dude screwed up doesn't mean we need to live with bad english. There is a reason why JIF peanut butter was spelled with a J. So I refuse to take his version of it and continue to pronounce it correctly. =]
Happy Friday.