How To Get Google Pixel 2 Camera Software On Originial Pixel

Got a Pixel? And so you've got one of the best damn cameras in all the Android state. But agree the phone: Your kickass camera can practice even more y'all realize.

Sure, it takes incredible pictures — but that's only scratching the surface of the Pixel camera advantage. Google'south bootleg phones have thoughtfully created photo-related software with all sorts of scrumptious smarts baked in. And that means they're overflowing with useful tricks and tucked-away options that are all likewise easy to overlook.

In honor of my newPixel Academy e-class — a totally free seven-day email take chances that helps yous uncover tons of side by side-level Pixel treasures — I wanted to share some of my favorite hidden Pixel camera possibilities with you, my favorite Android Constabulary pals. Check 'em out, endeavour 'em out, and then comesign up for the course to find fifty-fifty more super-practical Pixel powers.

Pull a fast one on #1: On-demand intelligence

This outset tasty trick might be my all-time favorite — and it'south the Pixel camera's inconspicuous integration of the fantabulous Google Lens service. Lens, if you lot aren't familiar, is an incredibly helpful app that lets y'all place plants and animals (for all those times you spot a suspicious-looking speckled aardvark out in the wild) and also turn printed words from the existent world into action-ready text on your phone.

That latter part is the most useful, if you lot ask me, every bit it empowers you to hold your phone up to whatever sort of concrete surface — a paper, a whiteboard, a sign, a tattoo you find uponst your arse with no recollection of where information technology came from, and so on — then, in a split second, search for any text on it, translate the text into another language, or copy the text onto your clipboard and paste it anywhere your curiously inked undercarriage desires.

Oh, and it can also scan QR codes, if you ever need to bargain with 1 of those.

As a proud Pixel owner, accessing Lens is especially piece of cake for yous: But open up up your phone's camera, get whatever it is you desire into the frame, and then press and hold your finger down onto that area of the viewfinder for a second or so. You'll run across an animated circle testify upward effectually your fingie, with all sorts of purdy colors...

So — bam:

Activating Lens in the Pixel Camera app (left); selecting text from the real earth (right)

Lens volition analyze any's in that location and nowadays you with some appropriate actions. In this example, as you tin can encounter, information technology picked out all the text on the page and offered to select information technology for copying, to let me mind to it — considering who doesn't desire to hear a lengthy pickle recipe read aloud? — or to translate it, in example I were looking to pickle en français (equally 1 does).

If I swipe up on that aforementioned panel, meanwhile, I'll meet a listing of similar images. In some cases, you'd instead go regular search results with more info nearly what you're seeing.

Pretty handy, right? And that's only detail #i.

Play tricks #2: Find the alternate shutter buttons

You know that thing when you're trying to take a picture with a single hand then yous finish upwardly doing that awkward finger-yoga routine where you try to stretch your thumb over to the shutter button while still maintaining your framing and non dropping your phone?

Aye — nosotros've all been there. And guess what? There's a meliorate way.

The adjacent time you discover yourself needing to snap a photo when the on-screen shutter button is out of attain, stop acting similar a damn contortionist and instead only tap either of the physical volume buttons on the side of your device. They'll both human activity every bit alternate shutter buttons and cause a photo to be taken anytime your Photographic camera app is open up. It'due south a valuable possibility to keep in listen — and ane that might but save you from an embarrassing manus injury.

(If yous'd rather have those buttons act as zoom controls, past the way, you can customize 'em for that purpose, as well. Just tap the downwardly-facing pointer at the elevation of the camera interface then tap the gear-shaped settings icon in the panel that pops up. Tap "Gestures" and then "Volume key action" to find and accommodate the setting.)

Fox #3: Enhance yo' face

If you're the selfie-taking sort, take annotation: Your Pixel has some helpful tools for making your face up look at least a picayune bit better. (Let'south be honest: In sure cases — non yours, of course — there'south simply so much that can be washed.)

The side by side time you're staring at your shiny melon on your screen, tap that down-facing arrow at the top of the camera interface — and golly gee willikers, wouldya look at what we accept here?

The hidden camera command menu (left); the screen all lit upwardly from "Selfie Illumination" (correct)

There, right in front end of that greasy ol' mug of yours, is a pair of options called "Selfie Illumination" and "Face Retouching" (and don't worry: Information technology'due south retouching, not just touching, and then it'due south okay to use even during pandemic times). Go alee and endeavour 'em out. I'll wait.

Then, what'd ya think? No matter how pixel-perfect your pores may exist, the "Selfie Illumination" choice is bound to help light you up and make your muzzle pop. (It basically just brightens your screen to give a little extra lite to your plus-sized noggin.) The "Face up Retouching" selection is more aggressive and actually smooths out all the theoretical imperfections on your plain already-perfect epidermis to make you await younger, fresher, and at least 78% less moose-like.

Hey, some days, every fiddling bit helps.

Trick #iv: Zoom the boom

Hither's a corking one you'd never know existed: When you zoom into a specific role of the screen whilst recording a video on your cellular telephone apparatus, the tiny Pixel genie inside your phone will actually boost the audio in that area and cutting down whatsoever background noise around information technology. Information technology's a perfect style to make sure to option up every last sound of your pregnant other clipping their nails, for instance, even while a herd of elephants tramples past.

This characteristic should be active and already engaged, and so yous shouldn't have to do anything other than zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom to finer turn your telephone into a boom (boom) microphone. If yous want to confirm that information technology's working, yous can mosey your mode back into your camera's settings and await for the aptly named "Audio zoom" toggle toward the bottom of the screen.

Pull a fast one on #5: Crop like a pro

When yous're editing a photo — whether information technology'due south a mildly erotic portrait of vii nude goats, an artistically framed image of your seventh toe, or whatever it is you lot photograph — don't forget that your Pixel telephone has a whole host of helpful editing tools only waiting to be used.

One of 'em is an intelligent cropping system that makes information technology super-simple to make any photo await just the way you desire. But you start accept to know where to observe it and how to embrace the full prepare of powers it gives you.

So try this: Snap a photograph of whatever you please (including one of those same suggestions, if you're so inclined), and so tap the circular preview of the image in the lower-right corner of the camera interface. Tap the "Edit" command at the bottom of the screen that comes upwards, then slide over on the row that says "Suggestions" until the word "Crop" is front and heart.

Got it? Good. Now, from in that location, you could only use the lines on the screen to motion the borders of your prototype around and adjust it accordingly. Merely more than oftentimes than not, that'south non gonna be the best style to do information technology.

Instead, commencement by first tapping the Dimensions icon — the somewhat-ambiguous-looking symbol direct to the left of the "Car" button (kind of a rectangle with two partial-arrows in its upper-left and lower-right corners). Then, select "Original" from the menu that comes upward. That'll permit y'all ingather your image while maintaining its original aspect ratio, which is what you'll want in gild to have the final consequence be in a standard size and properly suited for printing, sharing, or whatsoever other typical purpose.

The standard image cropping tool (left); the dimensions option interface (correct)

One time that'southward done, you tin adjust away without having to worry near your image ending upwardly in some awkward dimensions that won't work for nigh average photo objectives.

Capisce? Capisce. Don't become getting all ingather-happy on me yet, though: We've all the same got some important tricks left to comprehend.

Trick #half-dozen: Scribble to your center's content

A picture may be worth a thousand words — but, well, an inspired scribble is worth at to the lowest degree a couple hundred. And your Pixel telephone has a fantastic mode to let you observe your inner creative person and mark up whatever prototype you take with almost anything imaginable.

Don't take my word for it: Open upwardly whatever photo, either from the Photographic camera app itself or from inside Google Photos, then tap the "Edit" command at the bottom of the screen. Curlicue all the way across on the line that says "Suggestions" until information technology lands on "More." And there, you should see an almost unnoticeable little option called "Markup."

Tap that — and, ta-da: Y'all tin can now utilise a built-in pen and highlighter tool along with whatever color you similar to mark upward your prototype in any fashion you see fit. You can even add text on pinnacle of it, too — for purely professional purposes, of course. Like this:

Finding the "Markup" command (left); making your marking (correct)

Await, technically, that was for my job. Gimme a break, all right?

Trick #7: Save some infinite

Well, holy hell: We've made it to our concluding trick. But don't cry uncontrollably notwithstanding, 'cause it's a good one.

It's a way yous tin can instruct your Pixel to employ its artificial brain to dial back photo and video quality in gild to intelligently maximize whatever local space y'all've got. If you detect yourself perpetually running short on storage, it'southward just the pick y'all demand.

To check information technology out, tap that downwardly-facing arrow at the top of the camera interface one last fourth dimension, hit the gear-shaped settings icon, and select "Device storage" — then actuate the toggles next to both "Storage Saver" and "Turn off when storage is available."

The beginning of those options volition apply a medium resolution setting to both photos and videos and bring in a bunch of other space-saving tactics to brand sure your stuff doesn't take up any more than room than what'south needed. The second will activate those systems simply when your available storage is actually low and such measures are genuinely required. Between that and Photos' ain backup-and-erase system, you should never accept to stress out over a storage shortage considering of your phone'due south camera again — no matter what sorts of weird moose faces you might be photographing.

Remember: There's lots more where this came from. Come join my completely costless Pixel Academy e-course for seven total days of delightful Pixel knowledge — starting with fifty-fifty more camera and epitome magic and moving from that to out-of-the-way options for eliminating common phone annoyances, next-level tweaks for adding advanced smarts into your smartphone's screen, and oodles of other practical time-savers.

Tin can't wait to see ya at that place.

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