A few weeks ago, reports came in about Google’s plan to
update the default camera on Android and give it more relevant features found
not only in other platforms but also in other Android smartphones.
Today, the company from Mountain View has released the
revamped version of the default camera app on Android. And just like what the
reports said, the app update gains a few nifty tricks.
For starters, the camera now gets a lens-blur feature that
recreates the blurred effect seen on images captured by cameras with bigger
lenses. This functionality is achieved by allowing the camera to capture
multiple shots, each of which are used by the app’s algorithm to estimate and
calculate the depth of object for a 3D map that enables the user to zoom a particular
part of the image even when the shot has already been taken.
The app also now has a 100% viewfinder that should allow
users to see everything in the picture on the screen before the image is captured
without any dropped pixels. Taking panorama photos should also be easier and
there’s now a photo-sphere mode that can capture up to 50MP images.
The app is now available on the Google Play Store but will
only be compatible with Android 4.4. And do note that some features may not be
available for other devices.
