In today’s fast-paced tech industry, where the 996 work schedule—9 am to 9 pm, six days a week—has become a norm, the concept of taking a break seems increasingly elusive. Recognizing this, product designer Laurent Del Rey, now part of Meta’s Superintelligence Lab, has developed Endless Summer, an innovative iPhone app that crafts AI-generated vacation photos featuring users in various global locales.
With Endless Summer, users can visualize themselves strolling through beach towns, gazing over European cityscapes from balconies, shopping, dining with friends, or attending social events. These images depict a relaxed and content version of the user, offering a digital escape from the daily grind.
Del Rey introduced the app on X (formerly Twitter), stating it was designed for moments when burnout hits and you need to manifest the soft life you deserve. He emphasized that this is his first solo-developed app, now available on the App Store.
The inspiration behind Endless Summer stems from Del Rey’s fondness for the summer season and the unique ambiance it brings. As the season concluded, he aimed to encapsulate that feeling through the app. He began by creating an Xcode project, iterating directly to shape the user experience.
The app features a straightforward interface with a small camera preview button at the bottom of the screen. Tapping this button generates an AI-crafted summer photo, which then appears in a camera roll-style view. Each image showcases an AI version of the user enjoying various global settings.
Behind the scenes, the app utilizes Gemini’s Nano-Banana image model to produce diverse summer-themed photos. Del Rey assures users that selfies are not stored unless the optional auto-generation mode is enabled. Additionally, users can delete their accounts with just two taps, ensuring all data is erased.
While Nano-Banana is cost-effective, generating images isn’t entirely free. After the initial six complimentary images, users encounter a paywall with the following pricing options:
– $3.99 for 30 images
– $17.99 for 150 images
– $34.99 for 300 images
An optional Room Service mode delivers two new photos each morning, depicting the user’s latest virtual summer adventures. Users can also specify their gender or let the app auto-detect it, and choose whether to save AI-generated images directly to their iPhone’s Camera Roll.
In anticipation of Halloween, Endless Summer introduced a special theme allowing users to generate photos of themselves in various costumes, assisting in costume selection for the holiday.
The app’s photos possess a vintage film aesthetic, reminiscent of casual lifestyle snapshots, evoking a mid-2000s nostalgia. This aligns with current trends in online photo sharing, where there’s a shift towards less-curated, more authentic representations of life.
In an era dominated by AI and relentless work schedules, Endless Summer offers a unique blend of technology and escapism, allowing users to momentarily step away from their routines and immerse themselves in a digitally crafted, leisurely world.
