RealTimes is an Android app and service from the same people that brought you RealPlayer, which many have been using for decades now. RealTimes instantly and automatically creates video montages from the photos and videos on your smartphone, based on geolocation and timeline. Went to a party last week? RealTimes will automatically compile all photos and videos from the event into one montage and send you a notification when the video is ready for you to enjoy. The app also frees up storage space on your phone by backing up all of your photos and videos to the cloud, and allows you to show off these moments on Chromecast or Roku.
There’s up to 7GB of free storage from RealTimes, but there are subscriptions and premium Stories that users can purchase as well, should they wish to. With an Unlimited subscription, users can add up to three additional family members (each has their own account with shared unlimited storage and features). With the ability to create Live Albums, which automatically notify shared parties of album updates, there’s a lot to offer from RealTimes, so let’s take a look.
First off, users will need to download the RealTimes app from the Play Store, and then either log in or sign up for an account.
You can sign up for an account using a Facebook account if you want, and should you choose to use auto-backup, you’ll be given some extra storage (3GB) for free as well.
As you can see, RealTimes offers a variety of different functions. It’s already started working to back up my photos and videos.
You can choose to view the photos or videos on your device or in the cloud, like these images and videos of the new BB-8 Droid I got.
There’s a small icon next to each image, indicating which photos or videos are on your device or in the cloud. No matter where your images or videos are stored, you can play them on your device:
RealTimes can also be shared to Chromecast or similar device, as well!
I’ve only just started with RealTimes, but the more you use it, the better it becomes, offering up timelines and stories of different days and events and such.
An interesting feature I found is Live Albums. RealTimes gives you the control to create an album of your choice, and then share it with particular people. A Live Album will update users when a new photo or video has been added. You can share an album of your little one with your family, and they can sit back and watch as you add new photos and videos over time. They don’t need the app to be able to see your photos or watch your videos. RealTimes does a good job of helping those that aren’t so tech-savvy get the hang of things as well.
Sharing these albums and images with friends and family is nice and easy:
RealTimes has a lot to offer, like the ability to create a 4-minute long video montage using your photos and video clips while adding music and your own effects and so on.
RealTimes does offer several free features, but if you want to really make the most of it, then you can do so through some fairly cheap subscription plans:
RealTimes is a great Android app, and there’s clearly nothing wrong with the robust RealPlayer Cloud servers, but I can’t help wondering why someone would choose this over Google Photos? Well, that’s actually quite simple to answer: control. While RealTimes meets standards on the photos side of things, when it comes to movies, RealTimes allows users to take full control of their content and create whatever it is they want. This is something that Google Photos just doesn’t offer. RealTimes makes it nice and easy to share your memories with others while protecting your privacy, and while it could be considered a little pricey, there are few other cloud-based options out there that offer as many features for creating your own videos and stories like this.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – All of my images and videos were uploaded really quickly, and the only thing that slows this down is your own connections.
- Features (4/5) – While this does duplicate some of the functionality that Google Photos provides, RealTimes has all sorts of features on offer that you won’t find elsewhere, and it gives the control right back to you.
- Theme (4/5) – The RealTimes Android app blends in nicely, and everything is nice and easy to use, with how-to guides included as well.
- Overall (4/5) – RealTimes is well worth looking into, especially if you want to take back some more control from Google Photos.
Pros
- Offers a simple and easy way to automatically back up and organize all of your photos and videos using the cloud.
- Takes the effort out of uploading and organizing all of your photos.
- Allows users to create their own custom videos and such using music and longer times than Google Photos.
- Live Albums make it easy to keep family and friends updated without actually having to do much.
Cons
- Subscription plans could be considered a little pricey.
- Google Photos does a lot of this functionality for free.
RealTimes has a lot to offer for those that want to take better care of their own content. The Live Albums and story montages are great, and they offer users an easy way to take care of things themselves, without leaving everything up to Google Photos. Everything you could want is here, and Chromecast support is excellent, but the prices could be a little high for some.