Live Photos is one of the coolest and well-designed features of iOS version 9.0. In a nutshell, the feature enables users to shoot short videos that appear like still photos on the camera roll. The downside of this nifty feature is its sharing restrictions. The live photos can only be shared between iPhone users.
Fortunately, experts who sell electronics found a roundabout to sharing Apple Live Photos with everyone. Here are tips on how to do so.
1. Import video files from Live Photos to an Apple computer.
Apple Live Photos are three-second videos. When viewed on an iPhones camera roll, the videos appear like normal images. The easiest way to share these videos with others particularly those who are not using an iPhone is to convert the videos into animated GIFs.
To do so, you need to:
- Extract the MOV file (video) and convert it.
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac.
- Launch the Image Capture software.
- Double-click the photo in Image Capture for automatic import.
2. Import video files from Live Photos to a Windows computer.
Since youre working on two operating systems, you have to import your iPhone or iPad video files to Windows File Explorer.
- Allow the Windows computer to access the internal storage of your device.
- Look for the DCIM folder on your iOS phone or tablet.
- Search for the video with the extension .mov. This will result in a list of files that ends with the said extension.
- Look for the specific MOV file you want.
- Convert the video into GIF using a GIF-making app.
3. Share Live Photos via Giphy.
Since the Facebook timeline is yet to enable direct GIF-posting, sharing Live Photos on the social media site can be done via Giphy, an animated GIF service.
- Go to the Giphy website.
- Upload the MOV file you want to share.
- Convert the video into a GIF file.
- Choose where you want to share the file, such as on Facebook.
Alternatively, if you want to save the animated GIF file on your computer, just:
- Click Advanced.
- Download the GIF locally
The great thing about Giphy is that its not only limited to Facebook. GIFs made using this service can also be shared on Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and other social media networks.
4. Share Live Photos as an Instagram video.
Since its now possible to post videos on Instagram, sharing Live Photos is relatively easy. You
- Transfer the Live Photo video to your smartphone. You can do this via AirDrop.
- Launch Instagram.
- Choose the video you want to post. Edit and apply filters if you want to.
- Post the video.
At the moment, sharing Live Photos to everyone can be a bit of a bother. But its something that can be done. Tech experts believe that, at some point, Apple or even a third-party app developer will create an application that enables easy sharing of Live Photos on various channelswithout jumping through several hoops. But until then, these four methods can speed up the process.