Nexus 5 camera API
Code that gives details for a new camera API for Android 4.4 Kitkat have been found, and it could make a big change to the way Nexus 5 users use their camera app.
Following on from Google’s very camera-centred commercial for the Nexus 5, it makes sense that more focus goes towards the camera software instead of any other functions on the phone, and along with the OIS sensor, the new API features should make the Nexus 5’s camera a very valuable smartphone purchase if they ever make it to Android 4.4 Kitkat.
The new camera features are currently still under development, and there’s no way of telling what API features will make it to full release, and whether others will be left in the dark. However, Android developer Josh Brown has stumbled upon new API features within the publicly released Nexus 5 code.
The code hints to a range of upcoming API features that could make the Nexus 5 a much more appealing smartphone snapper. The summary of possible API features are listed below.
● Camera RAW Format support – This will allow photos to be captured and saved in RAW format, a file format that manages to contain much more information which proves useful for photo editing. RAW files are typically much larger than compressed .JPEG or .PNG files.
● Face Detection – This is a pretty standard feature in smartphone technology nowadays and allows the camera to ‘recognize’ certain faces and will assign that face an ID for future use.
● Burst mode – Burst mode is a feature that allows users to take a series of photos in quick succession, and once again is a feature already implemented on many other smartphones from manufacturers like HTC and Samsung
Despite the Nexus 5 camera hardware not being bad, the software side is lacking anything special and it makes the stock experience look poor and unfinished in comparison to camera apps on other smartphones such as the Galaxy Note 3 or LG G2.
Hopefully these API features make it into stock Android because they could help to liven up the stock camera and it would certainly make Android 4.4 Kitkat and the Nexus 5 even more of a valuable purchase.
