Pixel 6 has broken cover and the world is already abuzz with what Google has managed to create this time around. The new phone by Google comes with the company’s very-own chipset for the first time ever and improves on some big pain points like the battery capacity. However, the highlight this time, as has always been the case with Pixel phones, is the camera. Interestingly, the camera on the Pixel 6 promises a lot more than just clicking great pictures.
Together with an improved camera system on the Pixel 6 and the new Tensor chipset that promises more computational prowess than before, Google promises some cool new features to photography lovers. For instance, Pixel 6 users can remove unwanted objects from the background of any image they click, a feature that is quickly gaining the limelight in social media circles.
Rightly so, as such a level of on-device photo editing is not something you see every day. How many times have we looked at a photograph and thought that it could have been better without that unwanted element in it. Pixel 6 will now allow you to do that in a jiffy. At least, that is what Google promises.
However, Google is not the only one that can do that, and neither are the new Pixel phones.
While the concept might sound too outlandish, the fact of the matter is, there are third-party apps out there that let you do exactly the same treatment to photos on your smartphone. Just look for apps with search phrases like “Remove Unwanted Object” on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and you will see a ton of results to cater to your need.
Magic Eraser on the Pixel 6 removes unwanted objects from the background (Image: Google)
Downloading and using any of these apps will let you do just what Google promises with the Magic Eraser on the Pixel 6. In fact, there are even apps that will let you do the bang opposite of this – photobomb an image with the photo of your choice. The quality of the output, of course, will vary from app to app and it is likely that Google’s offering will rank among the best options for the function out there.
A similar search for “Photo Motion” or such terms will show results for apps that can add a motion effect to a still. For example, a photo of a cloudy sky can be edited to add a motion effect to the clouds so that they seem to be drifting in a particular direction. Google promises this with Motion Mode on the Pixel 6.
Motion Mode seen on the Subway train, as clicked through Pixel 6 (Image: Google)
The feature essentially applies motion blur to an image to make it look more dynamic. Bottomline is the same, Pixel 6 is certainly not the only smartphone that can do it.
Then there is Face Unblur – a feature wherein a moving object is captured with the utmost light and least blur for optimum clarity. Google says that there are four machine learning models that combine data captured from two sensors to give this output. One sensor captures the image at normal exposure while the other does so at faster exposure to minimise blur. Net effect – a sharper image of a moving object.
Now other apps might not be able to perform such on-device computation for similar results, but there are apps out there that reduce the level of blur in a photo. So, even if you manage to capture a blurry object on your regular smartphone, you can probably make it sharper using these apps.
Google says that the camera on the Pixel 6 is the “most advanced smartphone camera” yet. We are not contesting the claim, at least for now. What we merely want to point out is that the features that Google highlights for such a supposedly great camera are not new, and can be easily gained through third-party apps on any other smartphone. So, how the Pixel 6 sets itself apart in terms of photo editing is yet a mystery.
