Microsoft has just announced that it acquired Swing Technology, the company behind the iOS and Android app SWNG, enabling the capture of live photos on mobile devices.
The software giant says that both the technology and the employees currently working on Swing will all move to Microsoft's Skype team, which means that the features available in the mobile app could soon become available as part of Skype.
“The deep knowledge of the Swing team's imaging technology will help us deliver outstanding new features and capabilities to Skype”, said the corporate vice president of Microsoft for Skype, Amritansh Raghav.
“They have an impressive track record delivering exceptional user experiences and brand design around the technology they develop. I welcome the new members of the team and am excited about how Swing will bring innovation to our customers. ”
Although animated photos are something that is already part of mobile devices by default, SWNG includes a range of exclusive features, such as filters, support for self-service 3D, easy file sharing, and access to a collection of live photos that have been uploaded by other users.
Additionally, SWNG comes with iMessage on the iPhone, so users can easily send moving photos to contacts with the extension.
Microsoft has made it a hobby to acquire popular iOS and Android apps and integrate their features into its own products. The company took over Accompli, the maker of the popular email client program that used the same name, and then changed it to Outlook, as well as SwiftKey, which was and continues to be one of the top keyboard apps on mobile devices.
SWNG, however, is not yet as popular as Microsoft's previous acquisitions and at this moment, the app has a rating of only 3 out of 5 stars on the Apple Store. There are several one‑star reviews for the latest releases and users criticize the recent updates because they are especially problematic.
