Instagram's Boomerang App Creates One-Second Looping Videos
When 6-second or 15-second videos feel too long, try Boomerang. Instagram has launched Boomerang, the fastest video app yet. Available on iOS and Android for free, the app shoots 5 images in 1 second. Those frames are played back at roughly double time to create a 1-second GIF-like video that plays back and forth and keeps looping.
Boomerang doesn't require an Instagram account to work and there's no sign-in, so users can start shooting as soon as they open the app. The controls couldn't be simpler: Just press a button to shoot. Boomerang videos are meant to be shared on other social networks, so after a video is shot the user sees options for uploading it to Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms. The user can also save a four-second version of the video that loops five times.
This isn't Instagram's first standalone app. The company launched Hyperlapse (for creating time-lapse videos) in 2014, and Layout (for creating combinations of multiple photos) earlier this year.
The app is similar to Apple's Live Photos feature, which creates brief GIF-like videos. According to TechCrunch, Boomerang started as a fun in-house project, created by five people. The company decided to release it when it became popular with employees.
To see Boomerang in action, watch the introductory video below.
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