Former Google Executive Says Android Phone Cameras Are Years Behind

The former Senior Vice President of Social at Google, Vic Gundotra, openly said that he is not a big fan of Android smartphone camera phones and they are years behind the iPhone. He thinks that, according to him, the fault rests with OEMs and not because there is a problem with Android. 

In a Facebook post, Gundotra claimed that "the end of DSLR for most people has already arrived.". He said that in reference to a few pictures that he posted using his iPhone in portrait mode. He took these pictures in a restaurant, with no flash and called them "stunning."

Gundotra claims that Android is not really innovating in the field of photography as it is "Open source" and has to operate in a way that remains neutral for all manufacturers. Due to this, manufacturers are unable to innovate when it comes camera hardware, which is probably the biggest reason why Apple excels in the photography department on the iPhone.

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He further adds "Google has to implement proper APIs in Android to support the new tech and "that can take years."

"Bottom line: If you truly care about great photography, you own an iPhone. If you don't mind being a few years behind, buy an Android," wrote Gundotra.

Gundotra says that the innovation is not happening only at the hardware level but it is also "happening at the computational photography level."

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This is also the case for certain Android smartphones like the Huawei P10, OnePlus 5 and Huawei8 Pro that uses the computational photography capabilities. In lay mans terms, this means that the smartphone creates kind of a bokeh effect where close up shots defocus the background.

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Many people have argued citing DxOMark ratings of Android smartphones but we kind of feel that is not what Gundotra was talking about. He is talking about the overall experience, i.e. the lenses of the Phone's hardware and software functionality. In our opinion, the iPhone 7 Plus takes some of the best pictures on any smartphone with the Google Pixel closely behind it. Gundotra argues that it's not just about the lens quality. 

Gundotra has served as the Senior Vice President of Social Networking Services at Google but before that, he was the Vice President of Engineering for the company. He was responsible for developer evangelism, overseas applications development, and open source programs —specifically Android.

Photo: © Pexels (Main Image)

Source: Former Google Executive Says Android Phone Cameras Are Years Behind