Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Photography
  3. News

Google unlocks the Pixel 2’s HDR+ skills in third-party apps like Instagram

By

google pixel 2 hdr visual core v iphone 8 body
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Google Pixel 2 comes with a number of innovative camera features, but the full photo potential of the smartphone is only accessible from the native camera app — until now. Google is now activating the Pixel Visual Core on third-party apps as the February monthly update rolls out. The chip’s full activation means that apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, for starters, will be able to use the Pixel 2’s more advanced photo processing.

In October, Google made HDR+ available to third-party photography app developers via a preview of Android Oreo 8.1. The operating system update launched to consumers in December, but despite suggesting the new software would activate the enhanced photo capabilities, Google still hadn’t full flipped the switch on the Pixel Visual Core for third-party apps. The February update means that non-native apps can utilize the enhanced image quality from the Google Pixel 2 HDR+ mode. While Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp are the first to integrate the features, other apps will likely soon follow suit.

Recommended Videos

Google’s HDR+ mode has been part of Google Camera for a few years, but the Google Pixel 2 refines that program by expanding processing power. HDR is a photo technique that blends multiple images together to keep the detail in both the bright and dark areas of the image. Since HDR involves multiple images, faster hardware is necessary in order to keep HDR from slowing down the performance of the smartphone.

Related

The enhanced HDR+ on the Pixel 2 is made possible by Pixel Visual Core, a new System on Chip (SoC) circuit. It’s the first custom-made SoC by Google for a consumer product — a processor designed specifically for handling imaging data. Google says that using the Pixel Visual Core, the smartphone can process HDR+ photos five-times faster but with only a tenth of the battery drain when compared to the application processor, which third-party apps currently use for imaging. That allows the camera to use HDR+ with no shutter lag, which means the photo is actually taken when the button is pressed and not milliseconds later, a big perk when photographing moving subjects.

To ease the burden on developers with the increased complexity of the software, Google is using already-developed domain-specific languages, Halide and TensorFlow.

Once the Pixel Visual Core is switched on with the software update, third-party apps will be able to have access to that extra processing power, which means the smartphone can automatically process those HDR+ photos without slowing the smartphone down — and without using the native camera app. The change will allow third-party photography apps to enhance their own HDR capabilities by accessing the faster Pixel Core rather than the application processor.

Third-party camera apps are popular for their extra features, often offering more controls including manual exposure controls and manual focusing. Once both the Pixel 2 software is updated and third-party developers update their own software, switching to the features inside of a third-party app will longer no mean losing the automatic HDR+ processing. Google shared several sample comparison images, with the images shot the Pixel Visual Core offering both brighter shadows like in a backlit selfie, and enhanced highlights, like a sky that’s a bit bluer.

In the fall, Google said that the expansion of the HDR+ mode is just the start — Pixel Visual Core is a programmable chip and the company is already working to prepare more applications to expand the Pixel 2’s capabilities.

Updated on February 5: Added the launch of Google Pixel Core inside Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat following the final developer preview.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary K. Grigonis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
The Google Pixel Fold 2 could get a massive display upgrade
A game running on the Google Pixel Fold's open screen.

It seems Google’s next foldable phone will go big — quite literally. According to Ross Young of DSCC (which is now a part of industry analysis heavyweight Countepoint Research), the screen size of the Pixel Fold 2 will be bigger than what other leaks have suggested.

When the first set of Pixel Fold 2 leaks came out with alleged renders, they predicted a 7.9-inch inner foldable screen. Young writes in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the inner flexible panel measures 8.02 inches, which is a major bump compared to the 7.6-inch OLED panel on the first-gen Google Pixel Fold.

Read more
The Google Pixel Fold 2 just leaked. Here’s everything that’s new
Schematics of Google Pixel 2 according to leaks.

Google’s next foldable phone is going to be a screamer, and not solely for good reasons, if the latest leaks are to be believed. SmartPrix (via OnLeaks) has shared alleged renders depicting the Google Pixel Fold 2, and it looks like a mixed bag of regressive design and positive developments.
The biggest change compared to the first-gen Google Pixel Fold is a camera bump that ditches the stretched bar look on the current-gen Pixel smartphones. Instead, we now have a rectangular design with two rows of pill-shaped black outlines, hosting three camera lenses and a bunch of other sensors.
It’s a stark departure from the mainstream Pixel camera bar, and it revives a look that was last seen on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4 series phones. Looks aside, the side placement also means the phone will keep wobbling if you place it on a flat surface. I’m not exactly a fan of this approach, to be honest.

Another notable change is the side profile. The curved edges of the Pixel Fold have been flattened, a look that will also appear on the Google Pixel 9 series phones, according to leaked renders.
But if you look closely and ignore the ugly camera hump shape, the Pixel Fold 2 looks identical to the OnePlus Open in its leathery black trim. The side rails, those curved bezels, and the front camera placement are all identical.
Even the ridge seems to have been lifted straight from the OnePlus Open, down to its polished metal aesthetics. It’s not a bad thing, as the OnePlus Open is one of the best-built phones I’ve ever used, and the form factor is an absolute joy to handle.
The most progressive change happens once the phone is opened. The thick bezels are gone, and what we see on the Pixel Fold 2 renders are uniformly thin bezels on all sides, a trend that we first noticed on the foldable phones offered by Oppo.

Read more
I really hope the Google Pixel Fold 2 doesn’t look like this
A leaked hands-on photo of the Google Pixel Fold 2, showing a close-up of its camera module on the back.

This has been a busy week in terms of Google Pixel Fold 2 news. After a report about the phone's potential new processor and RAM upgrades, we now have our supposed first look at Google's second folding phone. And ... well, it sure is something.

These photos of the Pixel Fold 2 come courtesy of Android Authority, who received them from an anonymous source — the same source that claims the Pixel Fold 2 will have a Tensor G4 chip. Right off the bat, you can see that something funky is happening with the phone's camera module.

Read more