How To

How to View “Live Photos” in the Photos App on Your Mac

Live Photos are a fun feature of late model iPhones, allowing users to capture quick animated photos. But what about Mac users, can’t they enjoy Live Photos in all their animated glory too? The answer is yes!

How to Play a Live Photo in the Photos App on the Mac

1.) Make sure you have some Live Photos copied into the Photos app on your Mac computer.

2.) Open the Photos app on your Mac, and open the album you have the Live Photos in. (A Live Photo is designated with a little concentric circle and “Live”shown in the corner of the picture.)

3.) Open any Live Photo by double-clicking on it. (Although they can be played by hovering your mouse pointer over the thumbnail. But, this “how-to” is all about viewing it in its full glory!)

4.) Hover your mouse pointer over the “LIVE” icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Live Photo you just opened for viewing. The video portion will begin to play right on your Mac’s Desktop.

That was easy, now wasn’t it? Almost easier than viewing it on your iPhone, as there’s none of that 3D Touch stuff to deal with.

For more tips and tricks on how to make better use of your Mac, iOS device, Apple Watch, or Apple TV, be sure to visit the “How To” section of our website.

(Thanks to OSXDaily.com for the original tip.)

Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.