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Snapchat’s new lens lets you play tennis against Serena Williams
Wimbledon is in full swing, and thanks to Snapchat you can get in on the action by playing your very own match against tennis legend Serena Williams. Kind of. Snap and Williams have collaborated on a new interactive 3D Bitmoji Lens that lets you take on the tennis queen in an increasingly fast-paced match. Let's be honest, you're never going to beat her -- but you might be able to beat the high scores of your friends, and that's still gloat-worthy. As the tennis star herself said, "It's so fun because how often do you get to play against me?" Watch Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian Sr. foolishly believe he can match her, below.
Snapchat lets third-party apps use its AR camera, Bitmoji and more
Snap is bringing the walls of its closed gardens tumbling down, as it's opened up a rumored developer platform to let third-party creators use Snapchat features in other apps, and bring their own tools to Snapchat. Off the bat, that means you'll start to see Bitmoji in Tinder, and dynamic Postmates stickers that tell you when your order should arrive. Other apps that will use Snapchat features at the outset include Poshmark, Quip, Eventbrite, Giphy, Pandora, Bands in Town, Patreon and SoundHound, The Verge reports.
Your BFF Bitmoji stickers now work outside Snapchat on iOS (update)
If you have an iOS device, you'll soon be able to use graphics a lot more personalized than emoji when chatting with friends. For the first time ever, Friendmojis -- Bitmoji stickers that feature you and a friend -- will be available outside of Snapchat. You'll be able to access you and your friend's mini mes through the Bitmoji keyboard for iOS, though both of you should have created cartoon versions of yourselves, of course. Also, you'll have to make sure your Snapchat account is linked* with your Bitmoji app, because the options you'll find in the keyboard depends on your friend network on the ephemeral messaging service.
Facebook's Avatars sure look a lot like Snapchat's Bitmoji
Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that visual communication is replacing text, hence the arrival of Facbook Reactions in 2016, and GIF comments last year. Next on the agenda appears to be Facebook Avatars, which will let you build a personalized, illustrated version of yourself to use as a sticker in comments and Messenger.
Of course Snapchat jumped on the Star Wars Day hype
You're either cringing at everyone saying "May the 4th be with you" today or you're the one causing the cringing, but either way, Snapchat is here to help you celebrate Star Wars Day. A slew of Lenses, Stickers and Filters are available on Snapchat today to get you, your selfies and your Actionmoji all decked out in Star Wars gear.
Snap’s Bitmoji Deluxe adds more avatar personalization options
If you're an avid user of the Bitmoji keyboard, this is your lucky day. Snap announced Bitmoji Deluxe, which includes hundreds of new customizations for your Bitmoji. These include skin tone options, hair styles, hair colors, facial features, accessories and more.
Snapchat’s Multi-Snap feature is now available on Android
In July, Snapchat released a new feature that made it a lot easier for people to post longer videos. Rather than limiting videos to just 10 seconds, the app now allows users to record for up to 60 continuous seconds, with each 10-second increment posting as a separate video. That feature, however, has only been available on the iOS version of the app, but it has finally come to Android.
Snapchat's AR Lenses are the newest tool for ads
Remember Snapchat's dancing 3D hot dog? Well, you might start seeing a few more Lenses like that one because Snap is opening up its 3D World Lenses to advertisers. So far, it has partnered with Warner Bros. and Bud Light to create Lenses featuring the Blade Runner "Spinner" car and a bud light vendor.
Snapchat's new filters make your photo backgrounds look surreal
Snapchat is rolling out some new filters today that go beyond your face. Now, any time the app detects a sky in your picture, "Sky Filters" will show up in the filter carousel. They'll allow you to switch the real sky out for something entirely different including a starry night, a sunset, one with a brewing storm or a sky with rainbows. The filter options will rotate daily.
Snapchat adds 3D Bitmoji to its augmented reality features
Last year, Snapchat bought Bitstrips, the company behind those now-ubiquitous Bitmoji you see everywhere. And Snapchat has also been working on World Lenses, which use AR to apply filters and emoji to the world around you. Now, Snapchat has combined the two: Starting today, you'll be able to use Bitmoji with Snapchat's World Lens on iOS and Android.
Google's Gboard for Android gets stickers and Bitmoji
Google announced today that the latest Gboard for Android update comes with support for downloadable stickers and Bitmoji that can be used in any app that supports image pasting. Once you have the latest version of Gboard, Android users will then be able to get the Bitmoji app or download sticker packs from the Play Store. To get to the new features after you've downloaded them, just hit the emoji button on Gboard and then the sticker or Bimoji button.
Snapchat debuts 'Bitmoji' stickers for your messages
Back in March, reports surfaced that Snapchat shelled out $100 million for Bitstrips, a company that makes personalized comic strips based on your personal avatar. As you might expect, those illustrations were destined for the ephemeral messaging service and today they're making the debut. The technical term for the cartoonish chararcters is actually Bitmoji, and to make yours, you'll need to download an app by the same name.
Evaporating Bitmoji cost Snapchat around $100 million
SnapChat is buying Bitstrips, the company behind those weird (and depending on your Facebook News Feed) sometimes offensive personalized avatar comic strips. Fortune reports that the deal between Bitstrips and the ephemeral messaging company is somewhere around a $100 million purchase in cash and stock. How the avatar-minded outfit will fit in with Snapchat's temporary nature is anyone's guess at this point, but given the latter's big push into face-morphing tech and emoji for its evaporating stories that's probably a good bet.