The GIF-ification of the world is expanding, and Instagram is now getting in on the hypnotic looping-video action. Today it announced a new app, Boomerang, that offers its own twist on GIF-like video clips.
Boomerang, available today on iOS and Android, lets you capture a burst shot of five photos over the course of one second; then, the app stitches them together into a video that plays forward and backward. It's basically a GIF, but you have to shoot it in-app.
Boomerang is the latest in the moving-pictures frenzy: Apple introduced Live Photos on its new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus earlier this year; Facebook now lets you upload short, looping videos as a profile picture; and apps like GIPHY CAM and Phhhoto make it easy to create GIFs in a multitude of styles. If you want to share an emotion or capture a moment in time, a photo just won't do anymore. You need a GIF — or something like it.
Like Instagram's other apps Layout and Hyperlapse, Boomerang is separate from the Instagram app, and you can share your creations to Instagram or Facebook, or via text message.
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Check out the video below to learn more about how Boomerang works.
Updated 10/23 with example Boomerangs.