Pixel camera app, complete with HDR+, hacked to run on other phones

The Google Pixel stood out last year thanks to its camera chops, touting the same fundamental specs as the Nexus 6P, but with one key difference. The camera app delivered HDR+, which dramatically stepped up photo quality.

Far from being blurry like the HDR modes of yore, the Pixel’s HDR+ mode resulted in much improved photo quality at night, for example. Unfortunately, Google didn’t release the updated camera app for all, but a Ukrainian developer has stepped up to the plate.

According to XDA, the developer spent two evenings hacking together the Google Camera APK. The end-result is that the app is designed to work with any smartphone equipped with Qualcomm’s Hexagon 680 image signal processor or better.

In other words, it’s designed to work on phones with the Snapdragon 820, Snapdragon 821 and Snapdragon 835 processor. We’ve tried it on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and LG G6, only working on LG’s smartphone.

The publication reported a big quality improvement with the OnePlus 3. Meanwhile, reddit users have noted improvements when using the app on the OnePlus 5, the LG V20 and the US Galaxy S8, to name a few.

Check out the XDA article for the APK, but do be warned that it comes from a third-party download link.

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