A video by any other name is still a video. And Facebook sure loves videos.
Apple Live Photos Now Work on Facebook, Which Gives Facebook More Videos
Facebook now supports one of Apple’s new photo features.
Andreas Rentz / Getty
The latest example? The social network now supports Apple Live Photos, the new feature for the company’s iPhone 6s or 6s Plus that captures a few seconds of video (including audio) on either side of a still photo. The feature means users are taking more short videos on their phones, and now Facebook is supporting those short videos in News Feed.
The key difference here: Just like with GIFs, and unlike most videos, Live Photos will not autoplay in News Feed. That means you’ll need an extra click to see one of these in action.
Still, Facebook has been pushing video content on users for the better part of the past two years, and it’s no secret that Facebook wants those users uploading more video of their own. It’s already preparing to do this with virtual reality-like 360-degree videos, too. Supporting Apple’s Live Photos is just one more avenue to make that happen.
Apple benefits here, too. Facebook is a massive distribution platform, given its 1.5 billion users, after all, and getting its new Live Photos feature in front of more people is a great way to boost interest in the product and, more importantly, iPhones.
Facebook is testing support for Live Photos on iOS only “to a small percent of people on 6s/6s Plus” with plans to expand that test in 2016, a spokesperson said.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
