Android 15 could bring better video stabilization to third-party camera apps

In the event you don’t just like the inventory digital camera app that got here along with your Android machine, there are a number of third-party digital camera apps for Android you possibly can strive. These third-party digital camera apps typically add superior, pro-level digital camera controls and filters you gained’t discover within the inventory digital camera app. On the flip aspect, they normally lack among the primary options supplied by the OEM’s digital camera app. The answer to that is for the OEM to package deal its options into an “extension” that third-party digital camera apps can use. Android at present helps 5 various kinds of extensions, however the upcoming Android 15 replace may add help for a sixth extension known as Eyes Free videography.

Beneath the hood, each digital camera app — whether or not it’s the OEM inventory app or a third-party app — is constructed on high of Android’s Camera2 API (the Jetpack help library known as CameraX is a wrapper for Camera2). The Camera2 Extensions API gives a means for digital camera apps to entry extensions that OEMs have carried out on their units. As of Android 14, the Camera2 Extensions API helps the next 5 kinds of extensions:

1. Auto: “adjusts the extension mode in line with the present scene background”
2. Bokeh: “sharpens the foreground topic and blurs the background”
3. Face retouch: “touches up pores and skin texture, under-eye tone, and extra”
4. HDR: “widens publicity vary, leading to extra vivid photographs”
5. Evening: “brightens photographs in low-light conditions”

The supply of those 5 extensions varies extensively by machine and model. Samsung, for instance, has carried out each extension for a lot of of its units, whereas Google has solely carried out the Evening extension on its latest Pixels. Moreover, these 5 extensions can solely be used throughout previews and picture captures however not throughout video recordings.

The brand new Eyes Free videography Camera2 extension, in distinction, may very well be Android’s first Camera2 extension that’s usable throughout video seize, judging by its title. This sixth Camera2 extension “goals to lock and stabilize a given area or object of curiosity” in line with its description in AOSP. This extension lets third-party apps that use the Camera2 API (like Snapchat) make the most of this video stabilization algorithm.

Though the ISP and digital camera pipeline in most units already help primary video stabilization whatever the digital camera app used, extra superior stabilization strategies — such because the one referenced by the Eyes Free videography extension — require a little bit of effort to help. Third-party builders constructing digital camera apps that work on all totally different sorts of Android units have a tough time making a common implementation of options like night time mode, HDR, bokeh, and many others., that’s nearly as good because the inventory implementation. That’s why the Camera2 extensions API exists, to degree the taking part in discipline and provides third-party digital camera apps entry to the identical night time mode, HDR, bokeh, and many others., algorithms employed by the OEM’s inventory digital camera app. Android 15 merely extends the record of obtainable extensions to incorporate a brand new Eyes Free videography extension, which we’re hoping that OEMs will implement.

Even when OEMs don’t implement Android 15’s new Eyes Free videography extension, although, the working system may deploy a software program implementation that third-party digital camera apps can make the most of. Beneath Settings > Safety & privateness > Extra safety & privateness, there’s a brand new “permit digital camera software program extensions” toggle that “permits the default software program implementation of superior digital camera options, reminiscent of Eyes Free videography.” Whereas the Android default implementation of Eyes Free videography may not be nearly as good because the OEM’s for a given machine, it’ll nonetheless guarantee this characteristic is made obtainable to third-party digital camera apps that search for it.