Hipstamatic and the new Apple hardware

Last week, Apple announced new iPhones and a very exciting new device, the Apple Watch. Also, iOS 8 is now available for the public with many improvements in the camera-part of the OS. Given the much improved camera in the iPhone 6 it’s obvious that we wanted to know from the guys at Hipstamatic what their plans are regarding the new hardware, if we need to wait for updates when switching over to iOS 8 and how they support the new camera-related technologies inside iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Mario Estrada, VP of Special Projects at Hipstamatic was available to answer our questions.
Tilman Haerdle

iPhones

Tilman: When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus comes out - will we need to wait for an Hipstamatic update or will Hipstamatic and the other products run out of the box?

Mario: They will run just fine out of the box in a zoomed-in mode - scaled to fit the screen. The next update for each app will fully support the new resolution screens.

Tilman: Will there be major changes or will we just see bigger versions of the apps on the new iPhones?

Mario: Hipstamatic Classic is about to get a huge update (we're super excited!) - but for now it will just get bigger.

Tilman: You recently asked for some feature ideas in one of your Instagram posts. In that light, especially when it comes to the larger screen estate on the iPhone 6 Plus (which would allow for more UI elements), will there be new features in the future that target the new iPhones' higher resolution screens?

Mario: We'll take into account the resolution but the new features focus on improvements in iOS 8. Our goal is not to over-clutter the app just because there is new real estate.

Tilman: Will the now considerable differences in camera possibilities be reflected in future Hipstamatic or Oggl versions? Particularly in focus pixels, continuous autofocus, auto tone flash?

Mario: Most of this will happen without us doing anything. Those are hardware features that Apple auto-enables for all apps.

Tilman: Speaking of video: Do you consider implementing slow motion or time lapse into Cinamatic?

Mario: We're looking at all the new APIs and we have high hopes for the future of Cinamatic..

Tilman: Technology: The iPhone 6 has a dramatically faster processor than, say, the iPhone 5. Will different processor speeds affect the image quality achievable with Hipstamatic?

Mario: Not really... It will just make it faster and will allow us to add some new advanced effects but the quality shouldn't be affected.

iOS 8

Tilman: Same questions as for the iPhones: Will Hipstamatic immediately run on iOS 8? Are there any OS-specific changes inside your apps?

Mario: Hipstamatic runs great on iOS 8 but the new update will really take advantage of iOS 8, including new camera controls.

Tilman: Apart from your actively promoted apps, every new iOS version is also a challenge for the less popular apps. While Swankolab got an update not too long ago, IncrediBooth still runs in letterbox mode on my iPhone 5. Any plans here?

Mario: Our focus right now is on Hipstamatic 300. Once that is out, we'll spend some time prioritizing updates for the other apps.

Apple Watch

Tilman: Do you plan to take advantage of the possibilities the Apple Watch offers? Will we see a dedicated Hipstamatic viewer app? An Oggl timeline display app? Or even a Hipstamatic remote control?

Mario: All good possibilities but Apple hasn't announced any Watch APIs so we don't know what we'll have access to. That's still a long ways from our current timeline.

Generally speaking

Tilman: The formerly very homogenised iOS ecosystem is becoming more and more diverse. Where do you draw the line between adopting new possibilities, sometimes-radical innovations, like NFC or data from the M8 coprocessor and staying true to your initial mission of bringing the feel of analogue photography to the iPhone?

Mario: Our goal is to create the most beautiful images and take advantage of all available technologies. Cinamatic really shows our approach to video with the current tools available.

Thank you very much for your time, Mario! Can’t wait to learn more about Hipstamatic 300 when it’s ready!

The Outlook - Classic is alive and kicking!

Without interpreting too much it seems like Hipstamatic really is committed to help photographers get the best images possible in their true minimalist approach. With Hipstamatic Classic being their top priority, right now, it shows clearly that the classic app that made the company so popular among iPhoneographers is still alive and kicking.

The last updates to Cinamatic showed that they didn’t miss the growing popularity of mobile video. I guess it’s safe to say we can expect some exciting improvements on that front, too.

As Mario said I can confirm Hipstamatic and Oggl are running flawlessly on iOS 8. Looking forward to test-drive all of the Hipstamatic apps on the new iPhone 6 as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Tilman Haerdle

This post is also available in: French

Related Posts

• 

  Combo #660 (Chou DelaPoste)
  Combo #660 (Chou DelaPoste)
• 

  ‘Photographic Musings During A Pandemic’ by Erik Lieber
  ‘Photographic Musings During A Pandemic’ by Erik Lieber
• 

  ‘My Hipstamatic Year’ by Lee Atwell
  ‘My Hipstamatic Year’ by Lee Atwell
• 

  Combo #659 (Mike Ryan)
  Combo #659 (Mike Ryan)

One Comment