It looks like Google will finally offer improved camera hardware on a smartphone with the upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.
Don’t get me wrong: Pixel phones have always had great cameras. But Google has used the same 12.2-megapixel IMX363 sensor since the Pixel 3. As good as Google’s software magic is, that sensor has started to show its age.
However, according to the details of XDA Developers, Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could bring a significant improvement in camera hardware. The post got an unreleased version of Google’s Camera app and details on the new Pixel camera system.
Starting with the main camera, the hardware will make a significant leap to ISOCELL GN1 by Samsung 50 megapixel sensor. The ultra-wide camera will use a 12-megapixel IMX386 sensor, while the 6 Pro’s 4x optical telephoto camera will use a 48-megapixel IMX586 sensor. The phone will reportedly support up to 20x zoom on photos and videos (except 4K where zoom is limited to 7x) and 4K / 60fps video recording.
While it’s certainly exciting hardware, it wouldn’t be a Pixel camera without corresponding software enhancements.
Pixel 6 cameras will reportedly allow manual white balance, giving photographers more control over how their images look. There is also a ‘magic eraser’ feature, which looks like it could be a tool for removing objects from an image. Android Police notes that this could be a version of the object removal promised (but never delivered) for Google Photos.
XDA highlights some other possible camera features, including a “facial blur removal” feature already confirmed by Google. It works to eliminate face blur in HDR images by capturing multiple photos with the main and ultra-wide sensors and combining the information to correct faces.
Finally, there were mentions of ‘motion blur’, ‘portrait focus’, ‘aesthetic nima’ and ‘baby mode’, which could all work as follows (based on the limited information we have so far):
- Motion Blur – The feature in development will add “creative blur effects to your photos”.
- Portrait Focus: It is not entirely clear what it is, but XDA Note that the feature is enabled in the Pixel 6 and 5a configuration files.
- Nima aesthetics: seems to be related to the existing one ‘Top shot‘feature, but it is unclear what it does.
- Baby Mode – Possibly a function intended to detect babies and capture photos of them, but unclear.
All in all, it looks like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro could have some really powerful camera hardware and software – a welcome change for the Pixel lineup. Of course, it is essential to note that these are leaks and that some of the information may be inaccurate or change in the future.
Source: XDA Developers Via: Android Police