Snapchat

Apple promoting WWDC 2017 with themed Snapchat geofilters

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

With the live-streamed WWDC keynote almost upon us, Apple has now created a bespoke Snapchat geofilter to help promote this year's developers conference. The sponsored WWDC 2017-themed geofilter automatically appears for Snapchat users who find themselves near the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.

As first noted by 9to5Mac, the filter is available when sharing photos or videos with other Snapchat users. Simply choose it from the list of Snapchat filters to have Apple's official WWDC 2017 banner design applied to your item. Again, this is a filter that uses geofencing so only people attending this year's developer conference will see it in Snapchat.

The same stickers can be found in iMessage via Apple's official WWDC app, as shown above.

Snapchat is available at no charge from App Store.

Can Facebook win over the Snapchat audience with purported teen-centric Talk app?

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 2, 2017

Facebook has been adding Snapchat-like features to its mobile apps over the last several months, but new reports now point towards yet another app that could help make Facebook the go-to service for teenage users.

Not to be outdone by Instagram, Snapchat unveils custom Stories of its own

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 23, 2017

Just a few hours following Instagram's announcement regarding all-new location and hashtag-based Stories in the app's Explore tab, rival Snapchat just announced custom Stories of its own. Now there's a new way to create Stories in Snapchat 10.9 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

You can create a custom Story in a specific location or with your cherry-picked friends. “It's perfect for a trip, a birthday party or a new baby Story just for the family,” notes Snap.

Tap the Create Story icon in the top-right corner of the Stories screen to get started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohN8cv7nUmA

Song: “Sunroof” by courtship

Of course, you have the tools at your disposal to control who can add to your Story and who can view it. And by using geofencing, you can attach your Story to a specific location. Your custom Story disappears automatically if no one has contributed to it in the past 24 hours.

Aside from custom Stories, this edition of Snapchat puts your own Bitmoji selfie inside your Snapcode. To change the mood of your Bitmoji, just tap the Edit Bitmoji command.

Grab Snapchat for free on App Store.

Snapchat launches limitless snaps, new Magic Eraser & Loop tools

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2017

Snap Inc. announced yesterday that it'd added new features to its mobile Snapchat app, including limitless snaps as well as a pair of all-new creative tools in the form of the Magic Eraser and Loop features.

For starters, you can now draw with emojis. Simply tap the doodle tool to get started. If you'd like to access Snapchat's new Magic Eraser tool, tap the Scissors tool, then the Stars icon.

To let your friends view your snaps for as long as they want, use the new Loop tool for videos. With this Instagram Boomerang-like feature, you can easily decide whether your snap plays once or loops until your friend is ready to tap to the next one (the infinity option for the timer).

According to the company:

We’ve all felt the frustration of not being able to fully enjoy a snap—even after replaying it—and we wanted to give you the option of allowing the recipient to enjoy your snap as long as they’d like. After your friend finishes viewing the snap and taps to close it, it will delete as usual.

The new creative tools require Snapchat version 10.8 or later.

Snapchat for iOS available at no charge on App Store.

Snapchat launching original TV shows lasting between 3-5 minutes long

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Snap Inc. is gearing up to launch original TV shows on the service that would last between three and five minutes long. As per the Wall Street Journal today, the company has partnered with a bunch of content owners on the initiative, including NBCUniversal, Turner, A+E Networks, Discovery, BBC, ABC, ESPN, Vice Media, Vertical Networks, NFL and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Snap is aiming to air between two and three new episodes of original TV shows per day by the end of 2017. The company is looking for scripted dramas, daily news shows, horror, documentaries, animated shows and more.

Snap is also in discussions with CBS and Fox, said people familiar with the matter.

They could soon reach a deal with Scripps Networks Interactive, which owns Food Network and HGTV. According to the report, HGTV could produce offshoots of its current TV shows for Snap, including House Hunters and Chopped.

TV companies “are flocking” to create original shows for Snap because its executives “embrace certain old media values” like scarcity and promoting a select group of premium content above user-generated fare.

“I don't want to be a TV killer,” said a former News Corp. executive who works for Snap.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

To this extent, Snapchat might change some fundamental aspects of the social network in order to encourage binging and catching up with its shows, instead of sticking to its ephemeral content strategy which removed some past shows from the service after 48 hours.

For the new slate of TV shows, it's still unclear when exactly Snapchat plans to begin the launch, but users can at least expect them to begin debuting by the end of the year.

TV shows will be provided in the Stories tab of the mobile Snapchat app.

Snap has now launched an interactive audition experience akin to “The Voice” in its mobile app.

NBC's “Saturday Night Live” has already created original shows for Snapchat, like an episode pictured top of post where a couple tries to boycott all things related to Donald.

Snapchat’s augmented reality Lenses feature finally works with your iPhone’s rear camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 18, 2017

A Lens feature on Snapchat, originally introduced in September 2014, has just gotten a whole lot better because the latest update to the company's iOS app now lets you—at long last—use augmented-reality Lenses with your iPhone's rear camera. With Lenses, you can add real-time effects into your snaps, courtesy of the company's advanced face-detection technology. Before today, Lenses were only available via the front-facing camera.

Snapchat’s new tools let brands see how well geofilter ads are performing among users

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2017

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Snapchat has rolled out new tools for marketers, called Snap to Store, allowing brands to see how well geofilter ads are performing among users. They've been testing it with a handful of brands since last year, including Paramount Pictures and 7-Eleven. The firm is now looking to expand Snap to Store to a wider range of brands from the retail, fast food, movie and automobile sectors.

You can now search over a million unique Stories on Snapchat

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 31, 2017

Snapchat users can now search over one million unique Stories on the ephemeral messaging service, the company said Friday.

“We’re rolling out Stories in Search starting today in select cities and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do,” said the company.

To find a Story that might interest you, simply enter a keyword in the Snapchat for iPhone's search field to instantly see relevant Stories.

Snapchat kicks off online sales of iPhone-connected Spectacles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Spectacles, a pair of camera glasses developed and manufactured by Snapchat, are no longer exclusively distributed via the company's pop-up vending machines, called Snapbots. Today, Spectacles became available for purchase online, CNET reported Monday. Available in three vivid colors and expected to ship in 2-4 weeks, the $130 Google Glass-like accessory is now available online via spectacles.com.

In Snapchat, you can now create Snapcodes that launch websites

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 2, 2017

Snapchat's mobile application was updated on App Store this morning with a new feature that allows business accounts and individual users to create a Snapcode for any website. When you friends snap your QR code, they'll see an option to open the website inside Snapchat for iPhone. Snapcodes require Snapchat 10.1 for iOS, a free download from App Store. Oh, and Snapchat's parent company just filed for an IPO with the SEC, as per The Wall Street Journal.

Will iOS be next to mimic Snapchat?

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Everywhere you look today, large social media ventures are seemingly ripping a page out of Snapchat’s playbook. Instagram did it, Facebook’s Messenger app has done it, and we are about to witness Facebook itself clone Snapchat’s daily stories big time. As much as Apple are primarily known for their hardware, it goes without saying that this major shift in what consumers want from their applications (or: spike in perceived self-importance) will not have gone unnoticed by Apple’s software department.

Coincidentally or not, Snapchat-like features are spreading like wildfire at a time where Apple are beginning to talk more openly about the prospect of tying Augmented Reality into a future iOS version. Against the backdrop of Pokemon GO’s success with augmented camera images and Snapchat’s unrivalled popularity based on selfie filters, it is not far to seek that Apple will be looking to capitalize on such trends as well - and what better way to jump on the bandwagon than to provide built-in effects for the stock camera?

Like the sound of it or not, it has got to be a proposition almost irresistible to Apple, mainly for two reasons: the ability to deepen monetization of their in-house apps and chance to reel in a whole lot of new Gen-Y customers. Here’s why filters on iOS could happen in 2017.

Facebook is about to clone Snapchat again, this time in its mainline mobile app

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2017

Facebook didn't stop at ripping off Snapchat's Stories feature with auto-vanishing slideshows on Instagram. According to a Wednesday report from Business Insider, the social network is currently testing a similar feature in its mainline mobile app.

A company spokesperson told the publication that Facebook Stories will soon start appearing at the top of the mobile Facebook app, allowing you to tap each circle to see a friend's story.