Apple has been granted an interesting new patent for a software application that would be used to create “synthetic group selfies”. The patent describes a method used to create group selfies with multiple participants who are not together at the time of clicking the photo, which is perfectly applicable during these times of social distancing practices.
According to the patent application, the software would prompt Apple users to take individual selfies using their own device, after which the software would automatically stitch the photo together and create group selfie. A screenshot of the patent application also shows that the final file created can be a video, photo or even a live stream.
Users will be able to keep their original and the final group version on their device, and also be given the choice to edit the group version, like for example, the position of people in the selfie. Apple does not mention whether the software will be supported just for the iPhone or will include the iPad too.
What’s more interesting is that Apple filed for this patent back in 2018, and was only granted it in June 2020. This means that Apple thought of this concept well before pandemic and could mean that they have been developing the software in the meantime. However, since it is still just a patent, we can never be sure that Apple will actually roll it out.