AppsHandsetsTips & Tricks

Why every phone should use the Pixel 2 Camera App

0

Since the launch of the Pixel 2, the device has been regarded as having the best smartphone camera. In side-by-side comparisons, the Pixel 2 has beat out the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, the HTC U11+, the iPhone X and even Samsung’s latest Galaxy S9.

The Pixel 2’s secret sauce lies in its HDR+ image processing which captures multiple images to produce a single shot that’s sharper, brighter and more vivid. On top of that, the Pixel 2 also use AI rather than a second sensor and lens to capture portrait-style photos with a digitally blurred background. And it can do it with both the main and front-facing cameras.

Many people buy new smartphones each year so they can have the best camera experience possible. But if you’re happy with the phone you have now, there’s a chance that you could get the Pixel 2’s camera experience on your phone simply by installing a modified version of its camera app.

All you have to do is download the APK to your device, install it and start taking pictures. You get all of the major features that Pixel 2 users have, including HDR+ and Portrait Mode support with both cameras.

Download the Google Pixel 2 camera apk

The Pixel 2’s camera app does not work on all devices. For the most part, the APK is compatible with newer Snapdragon SoCs. If you’re using a device with an Exynos, MediaTek, Kirin SoC, you’re out of luck.

IN ARTICLE AD

To assess the difference in image quality between the stock camera and the Pixel 2’s camera, I took the HTC U11+ out and shot side-by-side photos with both apps. The HTC U11+ already captures pretty good photos, but the ones captured with the Pixel 2 camera app typically turned out better. You can see the side-by-side comparisons in the video below.

In my second round of testing, I compared the HTC U11+ with the Pixel 2’s camera pp directly against the Pixel 2. Surprisingly, the images captured with HTC’s phone matched or beat the Pixel 2 in quite a few instances.

If you haven’t yet tested the Pixel 2 camera APK on your non-Google device, there’s really no reason not to. Feel free to share your experience in the comment and don’t forget to include a few before-and-after shots as well.

Nick Gray is a Phandroid blogger who also runs the High Tech Traveler on YouTube.
Subscribe for more great videos!

Nick Gray
I'm a life-long tech enthusiast who has a soft spot for HTC. After writing about tech for more than a decade, I jumped at the opportunity to take on the role of Editor in Chief at Phandroid. Please contact me at [email protected].

Huawei’s Porsche Design Mate RS packs 512GB of storage and dual-fingerprint scanners

Previous article

Carl Pei confirms OnePlus 6 will have a notch, tells us to take it or leave it

Next article

You may also like

Comments

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Apps