Skip to main content

App update lets you create moving artwork with Prisma’s new video capability

prisma updates ios app with video adds
Prisma / Instagram
The art photo editor Prisma can now create moving works of art — an update to the app released Thursday allows iOS users to add effects to video. Friday’s Android update does not yet include video, but now allows users to access the effects offline.

Prisma’s filters inspired by various artistic styles have given the app a large user base, using artificial intelligence to turn photos into paintings quickly and simply. Now, nine of those filters are video friendly.

The iOS update allows users to edit up to 15 seconds of video. Since the software is stored internally, users can edit their videos without an internet connection — and without using a big chunk of data. Along with editing video, the app allows users to shoot video without leaving the app. Applying the filters to videos will take a bit longer than working with single images — the iPhone 7 can do the deed in about 30 seconds, the 6S a minute, and the 6 double that.

While video compatibility for the Android version is still in the works, a new version of the app on the Google Play Store allows the app to be accessed without an internet connection. According to app developers, more than half of the available filters are available to download for use offline, a feature iOS users have enjoyed for more than a month.

The developers plan to continue adding video compatibility, extending the nine available filters for video files on iOS until all effects can be used with both stills and video. The company also said compatibility with GIFs is also in the works.

The video update is compatible with the iPhone 6 and later models while the latest Android version requires Android 4.1 and up.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
You can now move WhatsApp messages between Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Pixels
Google Pixel 6 Pro in Sorta Sunny color.

Switching between iPhones and Android phones has never been easier, with both operating systems offering tools to move your apps and as much data as you can between devices. Now, Google just made the switch even more painless as it now lets you transfer WhatsApp chats between iPhones and Pixels with a new update.

Despite SMS and iMessage's popularity in the U.S., WhatsApp remains a widely used messaging app in every other country. While the service makes moving to new phones in the same ecosystem seamless, it's often been impossible to switch between devices running on different operating systems. A switch between an iPhone 8 to an iPhone 13 might work fine, but trying to move your WhatsApp account to a Pixel 6 would mean leaving all your messages behind.

Read more
Your iPhone is about to get a whole lot better at protecting you from app tracking
The back of the iPhone 12 Pro being held by someone.

With iOS 14.5, Apple will finally release a feature that was announced with iOS 14 but still hasn't rolled out -- the ability to prevent apps from tracking your activity across other apps and websites. The feature, called App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, takes a big swing at the likes of Facebook and Google, which make their money from collecting data about users, and then using that data to advertise to customers.

The end result of taking that swing, of course, is that user privacy is much more protected. You'll have much more of a say in what data can be tracked across apps, and who can track it.

Read more
What is the Marco Polo app for Android and iOS?

If we said "Marco!" your response would likely be "Polo!" -- and who could blame you? People around the world enjoy playing the call-and-response game, but did you know it's also a video messaging app that you can use to keep in touch with your loved ones, even when you can't be together in person?

Released in 2014 by Joya Communications, Marco Polo has been dubbed a "video walkie-talkie." The app allows you to send short video messages to your friends and family and respond to them, and it works in a similar way to Snapchat. So instead of participating in long meetings like you do with Zoom or communicating on a social media platform that collects your data, you can enjoy the simple pleasure of sending quick selfie clips back and forth. You can only send videos through this application, though -- not photos.

Read more