This Tiny Japanese Camera Only Captures 9-Second Videos

This is hardly the first time a company has pitched simplicity as a way to capture and relive memories. Google debuted an AI-powered camera called Clips in 2018 that could record short videos, and you didn’t even have to press a button. Just turn it on and the AI could figure out the right moments to capture, and these 7-second clips were then accessible in the phone app. Clips was discontinued nearly two years after its launch.

The time may be ripe for Kyu to step in as a private, personal social network. BeReal, the social media app that championed authenticity, has been in sharp decline since its explosive growth in 2022. The mass migration from X to Bluesky has left some people wondering where to post. And TikTok may get banned in the US in 2025.

Perhaps the intent of carrying around Kyu in your hand, the instant camera-like “limit” on how much you can capture, and the easily stitched-together edits in the app will help create memory bursts that are bite-sized but still can transport you beyond the same old scroll. Since you’ll have to be more choosy with what you capture before space runs out, you won’t have unnecessary files hogging space. And the resulting videos are mercifully short—no one wants to sit through your 10-minute travel log. You can also control whether these videos are saved in your digital library instead of the automatic nonstop backup most of us are used to with our smartphones.

Right now, the Google Photos app has “Memories” you can cycle through that show old images, but these are often random photos chosen by Google’s AI instead of a collection of memories tied to a specific event. Google recently launched a feature that employs generative artificial intelligence to create a yearly recap of your memories with AI-written captions. My 2024 recap didn’t particularly tug at my heartstrings, but maybe Kyu clips would have made more of an impact.

This is the first product from a new company, so we’ll need to see the camera in action before passing judgment. I’m hoping it can complete its promised functions successfully—a low bar for 2024. The Kyu is available for preorder globally and costs $299. There’s an optional $30 subscription in the works to, ironically, store your memories in the cloud, though Ando assures me it will also include other perks like insurance to protect the device, a repair program, and even a discount on future products.

The hardware launches in April, but if you have an iPhone, you can download the Kyu app now and start capturing 9-second videos. Just don’t call them Vines.