What’s A ‘Slofie’ And Why Is Apple Trademarking It?

Apple recently revealed the new iPhone 11 lineup at an event held on Sept. 10. During the event, Apple mentioned the term “slofie” in reference to the new iPhones’ ability to take slow-motion selfies -hence the term “slofie.”

The new iPhones’ front camera setup can record video at 120 frames per second. When this is slowed down, the result is a video that features crisp content in slow motion. An ad shown during the event revealed that the resulting “slofie” looks amusing, but The Verge doubts that this new feature will reach Animoji levels of success.

Pleased with the new word “slofie,” Apple has filed to trademark the term at the USPTO. The trademark filing reveals that Apple isn’t as concerned with how the public uses the term, as it is interested in making sure that no other company can use the term for their apps: the trademark is for “downloadable computer software for use in capturing and recording video.”

Furthermore, “the mark consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font style, size, or color.” This indicates that Apple doesn’t really concern itself with how iPhone users use the term.

Apple is simply concerned with making sure that no company will be able to use the term for slow-motion camera apps in case the new term (and feature) becomes popular. With the trademark, “slofie” remains an Apple-exclusive feature found on the new iPhones. That is, until the tech giant releases new iPhones with the feature in tow.

Despite the trademark filing, “slofie” isn’t offered as an app or feature on the new iPhones. The slow-motion feature is called “slo-mo” in the camera app, and the tech giant’s use of the term seems limited to the resulting videos captured with the slo-mo feature, not necessarily the camera app or mode used.

Netizens reacted to Apple’s use of the term in a variety of ways, one of them revealing that the term was first used by a self-titled “prototyper, animator, and designer for Lyft” named Brad Ellis in 2013. Ellis posted a slow-motion video on Instagram at the time, six years before Apple could trademark the term.