Microsoft Selfie: The iPhone App Powered by Algorithms

Be honest. The camera on your cell phone is really only used for taking one of two types of photographs. You’re either taking pictures of your food (and posting it on Instagram) or you’re taking pictures of yourself (and posting it on Instagram). And if you want those iPhone self-portraits to look a little more flattering, you might want to pick up the new Microsoft Selfie app.

That’s right. The newest Microsoft app for Apple people has nothing to do with productivity or linking up to your OneDrive account. Instead, Microsoft Selfie is rather self-explanatory in what it does: capture better selfies. On the surface, it may appear similar to apps like Instagram or ones you might have dedicated for photo editing, but the “enhancements” offered therein are geared specifically toward the selfie crowd.

In addition to the usual smattering of adjustment options, you also have the power to adjust skin tone, color balance, noise reduction and lighting. You can also choose from a range of filters (no surprise there) with varying degrees of how much filter you want to apply. There’s also a “compare” option to see how the enhanced image compares to the original.

Perhaps the most useful feature of Microsoft Selfie, though, is that you can effectively get it to auto-awesome your selfie. The Microsoft algorithms account for such factors as age, gender and skin tone to determine what “enhancements” are the most appropriate. Unsurprisingly, the Selfie app is a free download from the App Store, offering an iPhone friendly version of the Lumia Selfie app for Windows phones.

Via The Verge