I’ve had my new iPhone for only 4 days now.. but I can tell you that I am quite impressed with the Live Photos feature. Initially when I saw it, I was sure it was going to feel gimmicky. Like many people, I can tell you that the emotional connection you get with a live photo is much more than a still.
In order to take a live photo with your iPhone, you use the little yellow icon at the top of the screen to toggle them on/off. I am not going to go into the HOW these work. There are plenty of sites doing that. I just wanted to share my experience with them, albeit limited.
When you take a photo, yes, you can go back and hold the screen down with 3D touch and see the animation. That is just a portion of the “magic” that you get with a Live Photo. Where I really start to see the value is in the integration with the rest of the ecosystem. When you are scrolling through the images in your camera roll, each image has a slight bit of life to them. This is subtle, but it helps me remember the moment just a touch more than before. Then, the kicker for me is the integration with the watch. When you create a photo face from a live photo, every time you pull up the watch to see the time, you get a live photo animation.
I really think Apple is on to something here. Yes, they are not the first to do this, but they have the power to make it real. I hope they open this up for everyone to create and play these photos. Still photos are an artifact based on a medium. Most of us don’t print out photos anymore, why not make them have more life. I say bring it on. I love them.