Live Photos, a feature that Apple introduced in iOS 9.1 for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, allows users to create moving images that capture the moments, including movements and sound, right before and after a 12MP photo.
Apple has opened the feature to support the sharing of Live Photos to developers, and it seems that Tumblr is the first one among all major social networks to take advantage of it with Tumblr 5.0 for iOS, which was just released.
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users that would like to share their Live Photos on Tumblr will simply have to update the app's latest version and make sure that they are signed in, with the app given permission to access the device's photos. When composing a new post with a picture, Live Photos can be shared similar to how users share standard pictures, and users can determine which images in their photo library are Live Photos through the special icon displayed over the pictures.
As users browse through Tumblr, the shared Live Photos can be determined through the same special icon, which will be displayed in the corner of the images. Users on the iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus can then use 3D Touch, meaning pressing on the images firmly, to see the image's animation and hear the picture's captured audio. For iOS devices that do not have 3D Touch features, users can tap and hold the Live Photo icon to be able to play and listen to the picture.
In addition to playing back Live Photos, Tumblr 5.0 for iOS also adds other uses for 3D Touch. Users can now use the feature on the app icon to initiate a search across Tumblr, and using 3D Touch on a Tumblr user name or avatar will show a preview of the account through a Peek and access the account through a Pop. Swiping upwards while doing a Peek will initiate a message to be sent to that Tumblr account.
Facebook has said that it is planning to update its app to support the sharing of Live Photos within the year. More social networks supporting the sharing of Live Photos will be a good thing for Apple's new picture format, as the only other options for sharing them aside from Tumblr are through iMessage, iCloud Photo Sharing and AirDrop.
