That AI Polaroid trend is cool and all, but this mini photo printer turns my smartphone into a real instant camera, no AI required

The launch of Google Gemini’s latest photo editing capabilities, codenamed Nano Bananas, has sparked a number of trends, from the AI action figure to generating time travel images of your younger self alongside your current self. One of the AI’s trendy capabilities? The ability to generate a Polaroid-like image.

But turning a smartphone snapshot into something that looks like instant film isn’t something that’s only newly possible with advancements in AI image generators. One of my favorite affordable photo accessories is actually a mobile printer that converts digital photographs into real instant film, not ink on paper, but real instant film that I can watch develop just as if the image was spit out of a camera.

My portable photo printer of choice is the Instax Mini Link 3, a compact printer that has earned a spot among my favorite tech accessories because it turns photos from my smartphone or digital camera into real instant film, not Zink or ink on paper.

Instax’s line of Instax printers uses Bluetooth to receive images from a smartphone. The printer then exposes that image on real film, then spits out that instant photo. Just like with an instant camera, you get to watch the image slowly appear on the once white surface as the photo chemicals embedded in the instant film work their magic.

Because it uses real instant film, the Instax printer has some of the same quirks as instant photography, including wacky yet retro colors. There are some quirks that are from the camera, not the film, like that forced flash look and soft focus, so it doesn’t quite feel as retro as an actual instant film camera, but mobile photo printers tend to be more affordable than some of the cameras, and you can have both a digital image and a physical print.

The instant film printer that I use is the Instax Mini Link 3, which spits out credit-card-sized prints. If you want a bit larger print, Instax also has the Square Link and Wide Link printers.

Polaroid has its own take on turning smartphone photos into real instant film, too. The Polaroid Lab works a bit differently – it doesn’t use Bluetooth, but instead snaps a photo of the image on your phone screen. That also makes it a bit larger, but it spits out authentic Polaroids with that iconic square format.

Can AI generate an image that looks like instant film? Sometimes, yes. But most of the charm of instant film comes with being able to actually hold the print in your hands, watch it develop, and see the colors and imperfections that come from a real photochemical process. An AI-generated image on a screen can’t replicate that physical print to hold in your hands.

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