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What is a ‘Slofie’? Explaining Apple’s strangest new camera feature

The iPhone 11 is here and it’s official… the slofie is the new selfie. Which begs the question…

What is a slofie?

If you’re still taking selfies, where have you been? When Apple CEO and millennial trendsetter Tim Cook took to the stage to announce the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, he also announced 2019’s hottest new Instagram fad. Thanks to the iPhone 11’s new 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera, you can now shoot your selfies in video at an impressive 120 fps… meaning you can take slow motion selfies, or “slofies”.

While most scenes that look interesting slowed down can be shot pretty spectacularly with the iPhone’s rear camera as it is, the option to squeeze yourself into the frame is a nice addition for those who want to capture the moment and capture themselves in the moment at the same time. Apple also advertises the feature as a way to spice up your boring old still selfies:

“Even if you’re just saying cheese, waving hello or tossing your hair in the breeze. And now you can add more of everything to your selfies thanks to the new 12MP TrueDepth camera”, the company writes on its website.

Related: iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro

And Apple isn’t kidding – the slofie really does capture more of everything. If you turn your handset sideways, the iPhone 11 will automatically zoom out to fit more of your surroundings in. This means no more standing on your tiptoes and stretching out your arm or pulling out the selfie stick every time you want to take a group photo for the ‘gram.

You can also take advantage of the setting to get creative with your background, as Apple demonstrated with its official slofie trailer at the event last night.

The twenty second video shows a young woman flanked by tinfoil after roping what looks to be her kid brother into pointing a hairdryer at her face and the resulting video is… actually pretty cool. If you can look past the leaf blower-strength hair dryer and the fact that having a second person there does sort of negate from the point of a selfie, there is potential for some really unique DIY photo shoots in there.

Related: iPhone 11 Pro

Professional shots aside, the first real slofie videos have already begun rolling in and we can picture the hair-flipping slow mo TikToks already.

As far as the rear camera is concerned, The iPhone 11 will feature a wide-angle sensor and an ultra-wide-angle sensor, while the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are set to take advantage of a wide angle sensor, ultra-wide angle sensor and telephoto sensor. Both handsets support Apple’s new Night mode for improved low light snaps.

iOS 13 comes with new Portrait Lighting Control and High-Key Light Mono features in Portrait mode and the popular camera setting now also supports pets to give you even more options when it comes to portraits, whether they’re of you or your four-legged best friend.

The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max will be available from September 20 from £699, £1,049 and £1,149 respectively and will come running iOS 13 out of the box.

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