New app becomes popular with students
By Nicholson Baird
PHHHOTO is a new, poorly-named, form of social media that many UAHS students have recently been joining. The app stitches together five photos taken simultaneously and turns them into a GIF-like media. Phhhoto is different from Instagram because of the movement and excitement of the media, and loads faster than Vine videos.
The app was invented by Omar Elsayed, Champ Bennett, and Russell Armand under the company HyperHyper.com. PHHHOTO takes up 31.2 MB of space on your device. The app is compatible with iOS 8.0 or later in iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches, but the app is rumored to be released on Androids before 2016.
The app has two permanent filters. “Daze” is a simple effect that makes your phhhoto lighter. “Solo” is a simple black and white filter to your phhhoto. The app also features a filter that changes daily. Every week the theme of the daily filter changes. Past daily filter themes have been Ice Cream, Shapes, Autumn, and Nightmare.
The minimalist design makes the app easy to navigate, and the phhhotos usually take almost no time to load. There are seven different sections of the app to help easier navigation. The Wow page which serves as a popular page where PHHHOTO users can become better known on the app. The camera section is where you make and edit your phhhotos, it’s a simple design that is very user-friendly that features the option for a flash, timer, grid, and both cameras on your phone. Your feed is where you can see what your friends are posting. The news section is where you can see who follows you and who likes and comments on your phhhotos. There’s a search bar, where you can look for other PHHHOTO users and hashtags. The Party section, which allows you to share phhhotos, selfies, and text with the option of your party being either public or private. Lastly, there is your profile, where you can see and edit your profile picture, your posts, and who you are following/who is following you.
The app itself lends itself to the user by making the shared media simple to make and creative. Making phhhotos has proven to be a very creative process. Whether you’re capturing leaves naturally blowing in the wind or creating motion yourself to capture a phhhoto, it’s a way to get creative with how you share your life to your followers/friends. Overall, the app is a poorly-named, innovative, creative, and exciting form of social media.