On April 1, Microsoft released Sprinkles on the iOS app store, and it’s free. The “fun camera app” recognizes people, animals, and things in pictures. It uses machine learning to automatically add captions, stickers, emojis, and more to your images.
The app gained popularity after Apple featured it on the ‘New apps we love’ section of the App Store. The fact that it launched on April Fools’ Day has some people skeptical about the whole thing, but it seems like it is the real deal.
Many news outlets claim Microsoft’s new app is another Snapchat copy, but there is a big difference between them. Even though Sprinkling has similar features, it has nothing to do with social media, and so far, it is just a photo editor.
Microsoft is a huge company with thousands of workers working on a vast range of ideas. On October 14, the firm introduced an image editor with smart features, and Sprinkles is probably just the evolution of the “Garage” projects.
How does Microsoft Sprinkles work?
Sprinkles lets you “make your photos fun in 2 seconds” by relying on AI tech developed by Microsoft over the years. The tech giant has released several apps that use machine learning in the past. They detect specific elements and features on images.
Apps like Microsoft Selfie and What Dog, or services like CelebsLike.me and How-Old.net make up the smarts behind Sprinkles main features. It may also have some photo enhancement components courtesy of the Microsoft Selfie app.
The new iOS application works like Snapchat or Instagram. It has an in-app camera, and after you take a picture or a selfie, it lets you choose from an assortment of options to make it unique.
Microsoft’s AI is like that guy in the office who thinks he’s funny
The difference lies in that it can do all these things automatically thanks to its digital assistant. For example, if there is a dog in the photo, the AI might add an appropriate joke to the image.
Sprinkles can detect when users take a photograph, so if someone takes a selfie on a Monday, the app can go John Oliver on the user. It also guesses people’s age based on their face and pairs them with the celebrity they look like.
Aside from that, the app lets you sprinkle your images with traditional emojis, provided by EmojiOne, and stickers and filters from Microsoft itself. There is also an in-app web search bar to look for more elements to add.
The photo editor is just that, and it does not work with video. Customers can share their pictures on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter after they finish the edition.
Microsoft promises to update the mobile app with new elements regularly, but it seems Android users will never have the chance to use it. It is a shame because it looks fun, and the way the app store classifies it makes me want to give it a try.
Source: Apple