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Google Debuts 'Motion Stills' App for Creating GIFs and Movies from Live Photos

Tuesday June 7, 2016 11:49 am PDT by Juli Clover

Google today announced the launch of a new app called Motion Stills, which is designed to create unique GIFs from Live Photo images captured with the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE.

According to Google, the app was built by the Google Research Team and uses the company's video stabilization technology to freeze the background into a still photo or create cinematic panoramas. Multiple clips can also be combined into a montage.

GIFs created by Motion Stills can be shared via apps like Messages or on social media networks.

googlemotionstills

We pioneered this technology by stabilizing hundreds of millions of videos and creating GIF animations from photo bursts. Our algorithm uses linear programming to compute a virtual camera path that is optimized to recast videos and bursts as if they were filmed using stabilization equipment, yielding a still background or creating cinematic pans to remove shakiness. [...]

Short videos are perfect for creating loops, so we added loop optimization to bring out the best in your captures. Our approach identifies optimal start and end points, and also discards blurry frames. As an added benefit, this fixes "pocket shots" (footage of the phone being put back into the pocket).

There are several other apps designed to create GIFs for Live Photos, so Google's offering isn't unique, but it is notable that Google is offering an iOS-only app that works with an iOS-only feature. Google says the information it learns from Motion Stills will perhaps be used to introduce new capabilities into Google Photos in the future.

Aside from making Live Photos viewable on iOS and Mac devices running the latest operating systems and implementing an API for developers to incorporate Live Photos viewing into their apps, Apple has not designed any tools that allow users to manipulate and edit their Live Photos or convert them into videos or GIFs.

Google's new Motion Stills app is available now and can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tags: Google, Live Photos, Motion Stills

Top Rated Comments

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Sefstah

43 months ago

Dont worry Apple, just let Google do it for you. Wow, unreal.

Rating: 36 Votes

JimmyHook

43 months ago

Apple makes the environment for 3rd Party apps to flourish. There is ZERO need for Apple to make an app like this. Ridiculous responses on here
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I am a huge Apple fan but likely Apple is on the path to being just another company. OS's are extremely buggy, iPad line being fragmented, who knows what new fragmenting they'll add to the iPhone line, competitors have better Apps than stock... Feels like they're turning into Microsoft. The once popular company that turned into we'll do the bare minimum thinking fans and brand reputation will always remain. That battery pack Apple made for the 6/6s with like WTF... seriously zero design or care given.

I guess this is the new Apple.

Blah blah blah...

Rating: 16 Votes

nt5672

43 months ago

My god can we have a thread with no apple bashing? Its pretty damn annoying at this point. Every damn thread is the same now.

So now apple should make every app themselves? :rolleyes:

Can we just have some Apple software releases that don't make the front page of MacRumors because of problems, and don't require weekly beta releases, and don't require pulled updates, and don't remove features, and are not targeted to people with IQs less than 90.

Rating: 11 Votes

yaxomoxay

43 months ago

Apple makes the environment for 3rd Party apps to flourish. There is ZERO need for Apple to make an app like this. Ridiculous responses on here
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Blah blah blah...

NO NO NO! and... NO!
Being able to share Live Photos with everyone else as GIFs or videos is a very basic function, so basic that it's badly needed. Are you kidding me? The fact that Live Photos (which is a neat feature) can't be shared with anyone that doesn't own an iPhone is simply crazy. This app should be part of Photos, not a 3rd party app.

Rating: 10 Votes

merkinmuffley

43 months ago

That's a no brainer app, surprised it took that long and not done by Apple already.

You can't expect Apple to do it's fancy colored watchbands at the same time they're doing something like this.

Rating: 9 Votes

yaxomoxay

43 months ago

why this is not Apple's app is mind boggling

Rating: 8 Votes

Zaft

43 months ago

My god can we have a thread with no apple bashing? Its pretty damn annoying at this point. Every damn thread is the same now.

So now apple should make every app themselves? :rolleyes:

Rating: 7 Votes

macsmurf

43 months ago

Thanks for taking us back to 1987, Google. 256 colors. Oh boy!

Also, isn't the GIF file format a licensed format? Is Google just choosing not to pay CompuServe for use of their technology? My guess is "yes", and the reason Apple didn't add a GIF option is because it's stupid technology from 1987.

Why not look it up instead of spreading misinformation? Just wondering.

Rating: 6 Votes

yaxomoxay

43 months ago

LOL....again....all you Apple bashers on a site dedicated to them and their products.....the choice is simple....go to Android or Windows.

Why? The fact that I buy apple products, that I pay for them, and that I like most of them does not preclude the possibility of complaint. Actually, I can do whatever I want (respectfully).
Is it dumb that I can make Live Photos and Apple didn't give me the possibility to share them as GIF with the world? Yes. Is it the end of the world? No.
there's nothing wrong in pointing out that your kid has all A's but one F. You want that F to be an A.

Rating: 5 Votes

macintologist

43 months ago

Instead of gifs they should be html5 videos with no audio, like how Giphy works.

Rating: 5 Votes

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