It’s been six years since Fujifilm debuted its first ‘hybrid’ solution that was part voice recorder, printer, and instant camera — the Instax mini LiPlay — and now it’s gearing up for a sequel. The Instax mini LiPlay+ keeps all the bits that made the first stand out, with the new model adding a second, front-facing lens to improve your selfie game.
The Instax mini LiPlay+ retains a similar design to the original, though with a significant upgrade to USB-C charging (are you listening, Toby?). The 3in LCD returns to help users edit, sift through, and choose their favourite shots before committing them to some expensive film. It’s also handy for framing up those selfie shots.
Snap a forever selfie
Like the original, owners use the new app to record short, three-second audio clips on the device that can then be attached to shots, supposedly making for more concrete memories when a simple picture won’t cut it. These can be slapped onto a printed image in the form of a QR code and played back at will.
It’s still a printer at heart, so it’ll handle the printing of any images not taken by the camera itself, again through the use of the new dedicated LiPlay+ app. Users have a choice of Rich or Natural colour modes, with the power to add frames, stickers, and other effects. Users can even combine their regular rear and front-facing shooter shots. Don’t get your hopes up for a more capable camera. The mini LiPlay+ employs two 5MP shooters here.
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The device is expected to go on sale as soon as 30 October, and will be available in two colours — Sand Beige or Midnight Blue — for $235 (∼R4,100). We reached out to Fujifilm South Africa to determine when we could expect the device locally, but unfortunately, the company had no news to add at the time of writing.
On a similar, but technically unrelated note, Fujifilm announced the addition of the ‘Instax Air Studio’ and ‘Click to Collage’ features to its Instax mini Link for Nintendo Switch app. Essentially, that all boils down to Instax mini Link 3 and Nintendo Switch (1 or 2) owners gaining the ability to print out their in-game screenshots in a heartbeat. It wouldn’t have taken much more effort for owners to pull this off themselves, but still… It’s fun.
