Camera app available in the ay Store, ns Blur effect in tow

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 16 Apr 2014

ke many of its other applications, has just released its very own Camera application to the ay Store for users that are running on Android 4.4 KitKat. 

The new application comes with a simplified interface a few new tweaks along the way. ssibly the most interesting new feature found on the application is ns Blur, which allows the user to blur out the background (or foreground) of a photo. details the new ns Blur feature on its research blog here.

ns Blur is a feature we’ve seen on devices like the Sony Xperia Z1S, HTC One (M8) Galaxy S5, all of which yield mixed results. Even the HTC One M8, with a secondary depth sensor, can sometimes yield some less-than-breathtaking images. Still, ‘s Camera app gets the job done.

lens blur
Depth-of-field effects. Everyone’s doing it!

The new application also includes a few updates to existing features, like a 100% viewfinder that allows you to see more of the scenery, high-res panorama shots, the often-ignored otoSphere. The gesture-based UI of the new camera app is better than ever, we think it’s going to please a lot of people, but there aren’t a lot of options for power-users.

Interestingly enough, seems to have restricted video recording to lscape orientation only. en attempting to record video in portrait mode, an animation will appear in the center of the screen, prompting the user to turn the device to lscape. If anything, it’s a bit of a strange move on ‘s part, but we’re not going to complain about fewer vertical videos on YouTube.

googlecamera4

Overall, the new camera application, while restricted to only KitKat devices, is a step in the right direction. shing applications to the ay store allows for faster updates without a refresh to the system software. 

If you’re rocking a modern Android phone, but want to get a taste of a new camera experience, be sure to check out Camera now!