Apple’s new Instagram account fools you into thinking the iPhone camera is special

Apple doesn't exactly endeavor much in social media, but that's been changing of late. After a false start with Twitter, now the company is launching an Instagram account (@apple). Naturally, it's meant to show off photos from the iPhone.

Apple being Apple, the account is already growing at an impressive pace. It managed to build up 40K followers in about 40 minutes, and as of writing is sitting at a cool 80K. At that pace, it will likely hit one million followers within the next couple of days.

The account appears to primarily be an extension of Apple's 'Shot on iPhone' campaign which you've probably seen in billboards and TV ads. This time, however, Apple is being a bit more interactive. Rather than simply finding photos online or hiring pro photographers, Apple is asking you to submit your own photos by tagging them with #ShotOniPhone

In other words, it's basically a way for the company to fool people into thinking there's anything particularly exceptional about the iPhone's camera. That hasn't been the case in years.

I mean, don't get me wrong; iPhone's camera is very good. The Apple revolutionized mobile photography and the iPhone 7 certainly hits the "good enough" mark for most people. But Apple the campaign is about suggesting the iPhone's photos are somehow special relative to the competition, which they're not (despite what an ex-Google VP may think).

If anything, the iPhone noticeably lags behind the Google Pixel, Galaxy S8, LG G6 and maybe other Android phones too. I've seen that in both my own use and numerous blind tests. Even the camera's fancy depth effect was pioneered by Huawei – and arguably done better too.

Point is, as always, the quality of a photo depends more on the person behind the camera.

But hey, Apple's marketing team has to make money. There's nothing wrong with the company showing off its camera tech, and the campaign is a nice way to help iPhone photographers reach a wider audience.

Just don't be fooled into thinking the iPhone's camera is all that special. Maybe the iPhone 8 will change my mind.

Apple on Instagram

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Source: Apple's new Instagram account fools you into thinking the iPhone camera is special

Alleged final images of Moto X4 suggests dual camera, AI integration

The Moto X4 will apparently have a "smart camera" feature as well, along with a metal and glass design.

Prolific leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks) has posted a photo of the upcoming Moto X4 smartphone. Blass claims that this is "indeed" the final design for the device, and that information he received earlier had been inaccurate. The image shows a phone with dual cameras, metal and glass build (3D glass mind you) and IP68 certification. The device apparently has a "smart camera" too and AI integration. 

This suggests something like Samsung's implementation for Bixby on the Galaxy S8. However, Motorola usually used Android in its stock form, so Google Assistant should be the AI of choice here. That probably means Lenovo and Motorola have designed a new camera app to be used on the smartphone, adding some smart algorithms to it.

Blass' render shows only the top part of the device, but the design seems quite similar to Motorola's current devices. You can see the round and slightly bulging camera module, and what seems like a metallic back.

The Moto X4 is expected to have a 5.2 inch display and Android 7.1.1 Nougat, along with 12MP and 8MP camera sensors on the back. The device is said to sport a 16MP front camera, and at least 64GB of storage space. Motorola chipset of choice here is apparently the new Snapdragon 630 from Qualcomm.

Digit NewsDesk  news@digit.in

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Source: Alleged final images of Moto X4 suggests dual camera, AI integration

Gionee A1 Lite with 20MP Selfie Camera to Launch in India for Rs. 14,999

Gionee has unveiled the all-new A-series at the MWC 2017 by announcing the Gionee A1 and A1 Plus smartphones. While the Gionee A1 was launched in India in March, the Gionee A1 Plus with dual camera setup was made available just two weeks ago. Now, the company is getting ready to launch the Gionee A1 Lite smartphone next week in India. According to our exclusive source, the device will be sold via offline stores across the country and comes with a price tag of Rs. 14,999. Last month, the company also announced a price cut of Rs. 3,500 on the Gionee A1 bringing the final price to Rs. 16,500.

Except for the upgraded 20MP selfie camera, the Gionee A1 packs better hardware than the A1 Lite at a slightly higher price. The Gionee A1 Lite sports a 5.3-inch IPS display with HD (1280 x 720 pixels) resolution and comes protected by a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 glass on top. It is powered by a 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz and comes coupled with Mali-T720 GPU. There is 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage that can be expandable up to 256GB via a MicroSD card slot. The circular fingerprint sensor can be spotted on the rear of the device.

In the camera department, it sports a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash. For selfies, there is a 20MP front facing camera with wide-angle lens and the same f/2.0 aperture. As seen on the earlier launched Gionee A1 and A1 Plus, the new A1 Lite also sports the front-facing LED flash for capturing better selfies in low light conditions. The device is backed by a 4,000mAh non-removable battery that should easily give a day long battery life. It supports dual SIM dual standby and offers VoLTE for faster data speeds and HD voice calls. It measures 150.5 x 74.4 x 8.0 mm and weighs 161.3 grams.

It runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with the customized Amigo 4.0 UI on top. The device features three capacitive navigation buttons for multitasking, home, and back (from left to right). Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, 3.5mm Audio port, and a MicroUSB 2.0 port. It even features IR blaster to control the home appliances like TV and AC. The power button and volume rocker are placed on the right edge, while the SIM card slot can be found on the left edge. Stay tuned on Phone Radar for more details about the upcoming Gionee A1 Lite.

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Source: Gionee A1 Lite with 20MP Selfie Camera to Launch in India for Rs. 14,999

iPhone 8 Camera Upgrades Will Allow You to Take Super Hi-Def Selfies

The iPhone 8 rumor mill has been in overdrive ahead of Apple's highly anticipated, yet still unconfirmed release of its newest phone. Since this year marks the 10-year anniversary of Apple's first iteration of the iPhone, which changed history forever, many believe the iPhone 8 will come with a plethora of fancy new features. A recent leak—which, by the way, Apple has only itself to blame—revealed a ton of juicy details about the new phone. Now that everyone has had time to pore over the unofficially official details, it's clear that one of the most exciting revelations from the leak is the prospect of improved camera and video quality. 

As BGR reports, the iPhone 8 camera will be upgraded to support 4K video and shoot 60 frames per second on both the front- and rear-facing cameras. Currently, the iPhone 7 can shoot in 4K, but only from the rear-facing camera and at 30 frames per second. Meanwhile, the front-facing selfie camera shoots at a measley 1080p. So, start getting ready for more high-definition selfies.

But keep in mind that the iPhone can only reveal so much. If you were really hoping to enjoy all of that 4K video magic through your mobile screen, reel it in. Apparently, the camera and video quality upgrade won't exactly be detectable on your phone; the difference will be most easily detected on big screens. 

In addition, the iPhone will also include lossless compression, meaning you'll be able to shoot more photos and videos without having to worry about it taking up all your storage.

Source: iPhone 8 Camera Upgrades Will Allow You to Take Super Hi-Def Selfies

The iPhone camera may soon use 'SmartCam' AI to adjust to different scenes on the fly

Apple's Photos app and other gallery solutions have used AI (artificial intelligence) technology for years now to identify objects and scenes for image sorting, searching and categorization. But according to information that was found in the source code of the Apple HomePod firmware the same technology might soon be implemented in the iPhone Camera app, and be used in real time (instead of post-capture) to optimize camera settings such as exposure, white balance and HDR for specific scenes.

The new feature is called "SmartCam," and takes the widely used face detection technology to a new level. The code—which was discovered as part of a firmware leak for Apple's HomePod—identifies several different types of scenes that could be identified, including: baby photos, pets, the sky, snow, sports, sunset, fireworks, foliage, documents and more. This sounds pretty much like a list of conventional camera scene modes, but without the need to select and set them manually in the camera menu—Apple will simply recognize them and shift accordingly.

The so-called "SmartCam" feature was not announced by Apple at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which likely means it won't be made available to older iPhones with an update to iOS 11. It's possible Apple wants to retain the feature as a unique selling proposition for the next generation iPhone models, which are expected to be announced in September.

Source: The iPhone camera may soon use 'SmartCam' AI to adjust to different scenes on the fly

Here's our first look at the mysterious $1,200 smartphone from RED, a company that makes cameras for blockbuster films

The Hydrogen One definitely isn't trying to be like most smartphones.Marques Brownlee/YouTube

Professional camera company RED made waves last month when it announced plans to launch its first smartphone, the Hydrogen One.

The company hasn't divulged many details about the device in the time since, but has hyped up some of the phone's higher-level features: a "modular" accessory system that will support higher-quality camera tools and a "holographic" display that's said to be capable of presenting images with a 3D-like effect without the need for specialized glasses.

All of that comes in a phone whose pre-orders start at $1,195.

Up to now, RED has only released one obscured teaser image of the device. But the company recently gave popular YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee — also known as "MKBHD" — a non-functional prototype of what it says the Hydrogen One will ultimately look like.

Here's a closer look:

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Source: Here's our first look at the mysterious $1,200 smartphone from RED, a company that makes cameras for blockbuster films

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.

© Pinterest

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."

© Youtube 

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.

© Pexels

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