If you don’t have an iPhone with a dual camera (or the iPhone XR), a portrait photo with a bokeh effect is not for you. Until now, because the new update for Facebook Messenger adds a mode that makes this possible with every iPhone. This is how Messenger’s portrait mode works.
Messenger adds ‘fake’ portrait mode
Taking a photo with a nice depth of field effect is only possible with the standard Camera app with the Plus models such as the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone X, iPhone XS. The iPhone XR can also take portrait photos, but only of people and not of animals or objects. Facebook has taken a good look at how Apple is also able to take a portrait photo with the single camera of the iPhone XR.
In the latest update, it adds software that collects depth information and recognizes the people in a photo, and adds a blur based on that. The iPhone XR does this in a similar way. Thanks to the new Messenger portrait mode, you can take a selfie with bokeh effect with any iPhone.
In addition to the portrait mode discovered The Verge that Boomerang videos – known from and wildly popular on Instagram – are also making the switch to Messenger. You can now also place stickers in photos and videos, using augmented reality.
The update isn’t available at the time of writing, but it will roll out gradually over the next few days. In October Messenger has already had a major update to the new Messenger 4. This makes the navigation of the app a lot simpler and more convenient.
Same trick in a new guise
Messenger isn’t the first Facebook app to offer a portrait mode for every iPhone, though. Earlier this year, the Focus function was already added to Instagram. This does, as it were, the same as the Messenger variant, although the blur in Instagram seems to be a bit more intense at first glance.
In addition, it is possible to provide a photo with a depth of field effect by editing it in Google Photos. The disadvantage of this is that this function can only be applied afterwards, and it does not work equally well on every photo. You can also share it less quickly on social media.
Read more about Facebook Messenger
- Blue check mark and inbox zero: 4 new functions for Instagram and Facebook Messenger (7-5)
- Facebook tests WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger merger despite criticism (19-4)
- Facebook wants Messenger as the default messaging app in iOS (9/25/2020)
- Securing Facebook messages with your fingerprint or face scan: this is how it works (23-7-2020)
- Facebook rolls out dark mode: this is how you activate it (6/29/2020)