Prynt Smartphone Will Print Your Photos In Just 30 Seconds

Google was just granted a patent for a modern day Polaroid camera; Photographs that you can actually hold in your hand and not just view on a screen. The latest addition to the club is Prynt, a new iPhone and Galaxy-compatible case that attaches to your phone and transforms it into a modern-day instant camera. When the time for a selfie strikes, you can take a photo, click a button on the case, and it’ll spit out your pic in a cool 30 seconds.

On first glance, it may seem like a carbon copy of the instant cameras. But Prynt has one trick up its sleeve: It adds a layer of augmented reality to any photo it takes, so that images aren’t just printed –– they also move like the paintings and photos in Harry Potter movies whenever you point your phone’s camera at them and view them on your smartphone’s screen.

When it comes to Prynt’s hardware, the case itself weighs about the same as the average smartphone. So if you choose to carry it in a purse, or around your neck with a strap, it’ll double the weight of your load. Once you plug your phone in, it’s immediately connected. There’s a button you can take photos from with the camera which will capture a few shots in between to create an animated image. You can use the Prynt app to add filters and frames or to crop photos. Or you can just go straight to Facebook or Instagram to find a photo you like. Once you choose to print an image, you’ll see it slowly move from the screen, out of the printer on the side of the case.

There’s no need to shake it like a Polaroid picture. Prynt relies on a printing technology that only uses heat to color an image. It allows for a compact and neat system, as it requires no ink or cartridge replacements.

It does, however, need battery life. The case is able to print 20 photos on a full charge, after which you can plug it into a USB port and wait an hour until it’s fully juiced. As for the printing paper? It costs about 50 cents a sheet and the first package comes with 10 sheets. Not quite a long-term supply, but Perrot says they’ll be easy to reorder via the app. 

Prynt is available in pink, white, and blue, and will work with the iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, and 6, along with Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and S5.

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