Social media platforms just keep getting better. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users can now take sharper Instagram images thanks to the new image quality improvements released by the app along with Live Photos support.
The Live Photos support enables users to upload GIFs to Instagram stories without using Boomerang. The two newly launched features were originally revealed during last year's Apple event in September.
On Jan. 5, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger announced on Twitter that the new features are now supported by the app.
If you're on an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, Instagram now supports wide color capture and display throughout the app—writing an eng blog on it soon
— Mike Krieger (@mikeyk) January 5, 2017
Improved Image Quality
The latest models of Apple's iPhone series — dubbed "the brightest, most colorful iPhone display yet" — offer the most advanced camera version, thus the need for Instagram to revamp its filters to adapt to the new camera capabilities of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new Instagram filters allow iPhone 7 users to capture photos with unprecedented details and wider color hues.
Live Photos
Users of iPhones with 3D touch technology can now upload Live Photos on Instagram Stories that are automatically converted to GIFs. Before the roll out, they use the app Google Motion Stills to create GIF out of Live Photos from iPhones.
The features are now readily available without the need of an app update, as announced by Krieger.
@JoshConstine no update needed, rolled out to almost everyone. btw on Live Photos--try importing one in Stories and 3D-Touching screen :) — Mike Krieger (@mikeyk) January 5, 2017
Upload Live Photos To Instagram Stories
To simply put, it's a faster way of uploading GIF on Instagram with a Live Photo-enabled iPhone. Users just need to take a Live Photo using a 3D touch-enabled device and upload the said photo on Instagram Stories. However, before proceeding to publish, users should press and hold the photo to convert it from Normal to GIF without using the Boomerang button.
This gave users a new way to enjoy Live Photos taken from an iPhone since the converted GIF versions can be viewed by all devices even those run by Android operating system.
Facebook was the first social media app to support for iPhone's Live Photo feature in December of 2015. However, unlike Instagram, devices without 3D touch functionality weren't able to view Live Photos published on Facebook.
