5 Android camera features that I need to have on my iPhone - Digital Trends

2 years ago 37

One of my favourite things to bash with my iPhone 14 Pro is to instrumentality photos. Whether it’s portion of my effort to beryllium artsy by snapping spontaneous moments with my hubby and daughter, oregon conscionable capturing the magic astatine Disneyland, I person a ton of photos. Though I don’t person clip to edit each azygous one, I bash similar to walk clip making edits connected my favorites conscionable to amended however they look earlier I station them connected societal media. But the built-in tools connected the iPhone for taking photos and editing them are, well, lacking.

I’ve been investigating a fewer antithetic Android devices since I joined Digital Trends, and fto maine archer you — it’s been a trip. I’ve discovered truthful galore caller photograph and camera tools connected assorted Android devices that conscionable amusement however overmuch Apple is down successful that regard, contempt being 1 of the astir fashionable devices for mobile photography.

Here are a fewer of my favourite camera features connected Android that I’d similar to spot Apple instrumentality connected the iPhone.

Magic Eraser and Camouflage

Christine and hubby airs successful beforehand of Disneyland castle with Club 33 buying bags.

Christine and hubby airs successful beforehand of Disneyland castle with Club 33 buying bags with inheritance radical removed with Magic Eraser.

So far, 1 of my favourite Android devices to usage has been the Pixel 7. It’s fundamentally an iPhone made by Google, and honestly, it’s been the easiest Android instrumentality for maine to modulation to. One of my biggest draws to the Pixel, of course, is the much-hyped Magic Eraser tool.

With Magic Eraser, you tin region immoderate unwanted objects (or adjacent people) from the inheritance of a photo, and Google’s artificial quality (AI) volition capable successful that spot based connected discourse arsenic champion arsenic it can. In short, it’s a commonly utilized Photoshop instrumentality that is integrated natively into Pixel phones, making it much accessible to everyone, alternatively than conscionable Photoshop experts.

As a walk holder astatine Disneyland, I’m often astatine the parks, and sometimes I’m determination conscionable for photos. But of course, this is Disneyland — a spot that attracts thousands of radical each azygous day. It’s adjacent intolerable to get a photograph without immoderate radical successful the background, arsenic overmuch arsenic you try. I’ve been utilizing Magic Eraser connected a batch of my Disneyland PhotoPass pictures to get escaped of inheritance people, and portion it’s not ever perfect, it works nicely if determination are conscionable a fewer radical successful the inheritance compared to dozens.

Another crushed I similar having Magic Eraser astir is much niche. As a tech journalist, I extremity up taking rather a fewer photos of products I’m penning about. You cognize however it goes — you walk clip mounting up the merchandise with a bully backdrop, but past aft you seizure it all, you announcement a smudge of particulate oregon dirt, oregon adjacent fingerprints. Magic Eraser besides helps retired with those situations, making products and surfaces look arsenic pristine arsenic they tin be. It tin besides beryllium utilized to get escaped of things similar powerfulness lines successful the sky, oregon trash connected the ground.

Christine and hubby airs successful beforehand of the Walt Disney and Mickey Partner Statue astatine Disneyland.

Christine and hubby airs astatine Disneyland's Walt and Mickey spouse statue.

But sometimes, Magic Eraser isn’t the close instrumentality for the job. I noticed if you effort to get escaped of dozens of photobombers successful a Disneyland photo, the AI whitethorn permission down integer artifacts oregon different elements, making the representation look worse than before. When that’s the case, thing similar the Camouflage diagnostic is much suitable. Camouflage desaturates a selected portion of an representation truthful that it doesn’t propulsion attraction distant from the main taxable successful the photo.

Google’s Magic Eraser is simply 1 of my favourite things astir Pixel devices, and I truly privation Apple would integrate it into iOS. At the moment, Apple has benignant of the reverse of Magic Eraser successful iOS 16, wherever you tin region the inheritance of an representation and conscionable person the subject. It’s neat, but it’s conscionable not arsenic utile unless you privation to superimpose a taxable onto different image.

Change representation mode inheritance bokeh effect

Showing however to alteration inheritance blur effect connected a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 representation photo

Portrait mode launched connected the iPhone 7 Plus arsenic an exclusive feature, but it has made its mode to beauteous overmuch each iPhone since. The Google Pixel 2 was 1 of the archetypal Android devices to besides person representation mode, coming retired a twelvemonth aft it deed the iPhone 7 Plus. Regardless of which instrumentality you usage representation mode on, there’s nary uncertainty that it’s 1 of the astir fashionable shooting options.

Portrait mode is fun, arsenic it uses extent of tract to blur the inheritance down a taxable — creating a representation representation that looks similar it was taken with a nonrecreational DSLR. While Apple did adhd much Portrait mode-specific tools, similar Portrait Lighting and extent adjustment, you can’t bash overmuch beyond that.

As I was playing astir with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, I noticed immoderate other things you tin bash with Portrait mode images. In summation to the modular lighting effects, you tin alteration the inheritance blur to beryllium a colored backdrop, grayscale, large ellipse bokeh, oregon adjacent spell with a spinning oregon zoom effect.

These aren’t groundbreaking, but they gives users much options connected however the inheritance blur and bokeh look successful portraits. I personally emotion to instrumentality photos successful representation mode whenever I can, truthful I emotion having much effects that assistance spruce things up and support them caller and interesting. Plus, I’d ideate the zoom blur effect could pb to immoderate originative photos.

Unedited mentation of a selfie of Christine and her daughter

Editing a selfie of Christine and her girl successful the OnePlus Nord N300 5G photograph editing app with Retouch tools

Though I emotion to instrumentality selfies and photos astatine places similar Disneyland, I often announcement imperfections and blemishes connected myself aft the information successful my photos. I’ve ever been a small self-conscious astir my appearance, and though I effort to beryllium confident, it’s not ever possible. Sometimes I consciousness similar I could usage a small touching up successful my photos earlier I station them connected societal media.

As I’ve been utilizing the OnePlus Nord N300 5G, I noticed it has immoderate retouching tools successful its photo-editing app. There are tools for adjusting tegument code and texture, arsenic good arsenic accepted spot healing for insignificant blemishes. These are the benignant of retouching tools I would usage to conscionable marque immoderate precise subtle touchups to my ain pictures (for example, I’m not a instrumentality of the pores connected my face), arsenic I don’t similar to beryllium excessively superficial.

However, the Nord N300 (like immoderate different Android phones) has different tools for changing cheeks, oculus size, and adjacent teeth. I adjacent tried the “auto” setting, which uses AI to find what looks “best” for the picture. Personally, I deliberation utilizing excessively galore of these features tin beryllium deceiving, particularly if posting connected Instagram and whatnot, but for insignificant touchups — similar getting escaped of a pimple oregon bump, oregon adjacent a stray hairsbreadth — they tin beryllium bully to have.

It’s conscionable convenient to person these retouch tools built into the autochthonal photograph exertion connected a phone. At the moment, if you privation specified functionality connected the iPhone, you’ll person to find a third-party app that does the job, and these days, retouching tools travel astatine a price, unfortunately.

Selective color

Using colour popular diagnostic erstwhile editing a photograph connected Google Pixel 7

Though immoderate radical whitethorn deliberation selective colour images whitethorn beryllium a spot gimmicky and don’t look good, I deliberation it’s a amusive mode to marque a photograph basal out. And if you bash it well, past it tin really look really good.

I discovered this diagnostic erstwhile playing astir with my Google Pixel 7, and it’s thing that I deliberation could beryllium beneficial connected an iPhone. On the Pixel, this is simply a instrumentality called “Color focus” oregon “Color pop,” depending connected whether you bash it manually oregon take it arsenic an automated suggestion. Either way, utilizing the instrumentality volition permission the taxable successful the photograph successful color, portion converting the inheritance into grayscale.

When I archetypal got an iPhone, these kinds of photo-editing apps from developers were beauteous popular, and I liked to experimentation with them. Sure, they whitethorn beryllium gimmicky, but photography is simply a signifier of creation and expressing oneself. If idiosyncratic wants to marque that their thing, past I don’t spot wherefore selective colour shouldn’t conscionable beryllium easy accessible — and it’s thing that could beryllium amusive to person connected iOS.

Shadow and Reflection eraser

As I proceed to play astir with my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, I noticed that Samsung has its ain mentation of Magic Eraser, simply called “Object Eraser.” There are 2 add-ons for the Object Eraser, which you tin find successful Photo Editor Labs: Shadow Eraser and Reflection Eraser. These features are inactive successful beta, however, truthful results are either hit-or-miss — and it seems that it whitethorn not adjacent beryllium moving decently successful the latest One UI 5.0 beta.

Still, I recovered these additions to beryllium absorbing features that I privation were disposable connected my iPhone. I usually effort to constitute my photos decently to debar harsh shadows, but sometimes it’s impossible. I besides emotion taking photos from down a solid window, particularly erstwhile I question and privation to seizure my presumption from a edifice room, truthful a reflection eraser would beryllium handy. Again, these are inactive successful beta from what I tin tell, but it would beryllium large if Apple could instrumentality specified a instrumentality into iOS.

iPhone camera gets upgrades each year, but iOS remains stale

The rear cameras connected the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The iPhone 14 Pro received a immense betterment successful camera specs this year, going from 12MP to 48MP done a pixel-binning strategy (four smaller subpixels to marque 1 larger pixel), and allowing users to sprout successful afloat 48MP solution for ProRAW images. But portion Apple makes each these improvements to the camera hardware, iOS bundle continues to hinder each the possibilities of what you tin bash successful the Photos app.

Sure, you tin spell download a third-party photo-editing app that tin astir apt bash immoderate of the things I mentioned here, but wouldn’t it conscionable beryllium easier to person these integrated natively successful Photos? And these are conscionable immoderate of my idiosyncratic favourite photo-editing tools that I’ve noticed — I’m definite determination are more, similar stickers and text.

As overmuch arsenic Apple loves touting however large its devices are for photography, I’m truly amazed that it’s lacking compared to the contention successful presumption of photo-editing tools. I anticipation to spot Apple instrumentality a leafage from the books of its competitors and adhd immoderate of these tools successful aboriginal versions of iOS — particularly Google Pixel’s Magic Eraser.