Group selfies during times of social distancing might seem a distant proposition though Apple might have a solution for that. According to Patently Apple, Apple has been granted patent for what is being termed a ‘synthetic group selfie’ where you can have a group selfie with others who need not be present by your side.
It starts with you sending invites to others for a group selfie session where the other participants might be sitting at own their location. However, the special software for this will stitch together the individual selfies to make it seem all of them to be located at the same place and have been clicked in a single shot.
The patent docs further add that the images could be taken from pre-recorded or live streamed video as well. Individual users will have the option to edit the selfie as per their choice, with the option to place themselves in their preferred location within the selfie. For instance, you can place yourself at the front or center of the group and so on. You can opt to keep both the group selfie as well as the original shots as well.
All said and done, what needs to be kept in mind is that not all patent applications that have been granted make it to the real world. In fact, Apple had filed for the patent on June 2, 2018. That was well before the world ever heard of coronavirus though there is no denying such a concept is extremely relevant in today’s times.
It now remains to be seen if Apple is able to make the synthetic group selfie a reality. And if yes, how soon. That it would be a great feature addition to all iPhone devices goes without saying. Maybe it would be introduced in iPad as well. Apple fans sure will be keeping their fingers crossed.
