How to have Live Photos on Android: all the available options
Android as such does not offer a similar function and they are already the different manufacturers who offer similar solutions but with different names. Samsung with Moving Photos, Xiaomi with Live Shot or Pixels are a good example. And if not, you can always resort to third-party applications.
Moving photos in manufacturers
They are few, but some manufacturers integrate or have integrated into their camera applications an option to take moving photos to which each one has given their own name. Google with the Pixel and before with the Nexus 6P, or Samsung and Xiaomi are good examples.
Moving photos on Pixels
In the case of having a Pixel you are in luck because Google introduces the function “Photos in motion”. Just go to the Google Camera application and then in “Movement”. Once done, we can identify it if the icon with the play symbol appears at the top.
We can choose the blur effect that we are going to use. Swiping up the photo information panel opens and, if there is movement, you can see all the frames and choose the one that convinces you the most or even create a long exposure effect.
On Samsung and Xiaomi
For some Samsung models, the option appears “Animated photo”. It does not appear in all models or not at least in Android 11 and allows you to record a few seconds before pressing the shutter. It is the same function as Live Shot in Xiaomi, although in these two cases it must be clarified that does not appear in all versions of your customization layers.
Apps on Google Play Store
Another option goes through use third party apps and in this sense in Google Play Store we have different possibilities. Paid and free applications to choose the one that best suits our needs
Motion Stills
We started with Google’s own application such as Motion Stills. It is very easy to use. Just pull the trigger and the camera app will record a short video of 5 seconds that we can then see in the gallery and apply effects that allow us to mute the video, create a loop or fast-forward the image.
Camera MX – Photo Video Camera3.4.202
Another alternative is the CameraMX app. A free app that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and that thanks to the Live Shot mode allows the user to record a video clip of up to 8 seconds.
Camera MX also offers access to its own gallery in which to check the result and also from it you can share the photos taken with other applications in the form of a video in MP4 format.
Camera MX – Photo Video Camera3.4.202
Phogy 3D Camera
It is not exactly an animated photo in the style of Live Photos, but Phogy 3D Camera offers something curious. Instead of creating a small video clip, with this application we create a kind of 3D image using the mobile’s sensors and moving the mobile around the object.
The application will save those photos and join them to show you the result in a kind of 3D that changes with the tilt of the mobile. The result can be shared as MP4 video.
Phogy, 3D Camera1.4
GIF Me!
GIF Me! It is another of the alternatives that we find to take photos in motion and as its name indicates, it focuses on make it easy to create animated GIFs from small recorded video clips.
GIF Me! takes care of recording what happens for a few seconds, but instead of video it does so by shooting a succession of photos for a few seconds that are then joined into a Animated GIF with a duration of 0.71 seconds. Then we can make it a loop, increase the speed or share it in other applications in GIF and MP4 format.
Gif Me! Camera1.61
Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker
It’s not exactly a Live Photo, but Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker allows for a similar result. It is an application that focuses on facilitate the creation of animated photos with which to later create a stop motion.
You can apply settings that affect focus, white balance, exposure lock, ghost overlay, frame rate, or timers and share the result with other applications.
Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker
2.6.0.3600
GifCam
Another application that interprets Live Photos in its own way is GifCam. Allows you to take photos either in burst mode or manually one by one, with a maximum of 60 frames. The objective of this application is to facilitate the creation of animated GIFs, in the true GIF Me style.
Once the animation is done we can apply a series of filters to customize and share the result in GIF format on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter and in messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram.