Google Pixel, Pixel XL use camera software originally developed for Google Glass

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones have received a lot of compliments for their camera prowess. In fact, DxOMark called Pixel cameras as “the best smartphone cameras ever made.” With the Pixels, Google offered users with a powerful camera, something that was missing from the Nexus line of devices. Now, a new piece of information sheds light on how Google worked to make the most out of the Pixel and Pixel XL cameras.

Both smartphones feature a 12.3-megapixel rear camera (Sony IMX378 sensor) of aperture f/2.0, with electronic image stabilization (EIS) and phase-detection auto-focus. The sensor as 1.55μm large pixels to let you capture good photos in low-light conditions. The smartphones also feature an 8-megapixel (Samsung S5K4H8/Omnivision OV8856 sensor) front-facing camera for selfies and video calling.

During the Pixel and Pixel XL launch event, Google extensively talked about the special software that it has used. Now, according to The Team at X post, spotted by 9To5Mac, the software was originally developed for Google Glass. Google had made an interesting start by luring doctors, photographers and other casual users, but the search engine giant bumped into a minor issue — the size of Google Glass camera sensor. 

Google wanted to have a smartphone like camera on the Google Glass, but the smaller sized sensor resulted in poor photos. To deal with the issue, Google engineers came up with a new solution called Gcam. As there was no option to change the hardware, Google worked on the image processing software to solve the sensor issue. The lens blur feature in Google’s camera app was also developed by the Gcam team.

Gcam software is similar to high dynamic range (HDR) that captures multiple shots of the same image that is snapped consecutively and then merged together. Theoretically, the final picture offers the best of each photo that is clicked. On the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, the feature is called HDR+. The feature first debuted on Google Glass in 2013, and was then introduced on Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 smartphones.

It’s not just the Pixels camera software, the technology is making its way to other Android devices and on apps such as Google Photos and YouTube. BlackBerry’s recently launched smartphone, KEYone also includes the same Sony IMX378 sensor as the one on the Pixel and Pixel XL.

However, as the Gcam software is exclusive to Google’s Pixels, it will be interesting to see how BlackBerry has fine tuned the smartphone’s camera for better results. A camera shootout between Pixel and KEYone cameras would also give an idea on how the technology adds to high quality photos on Google’s premium smartphones. 

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