Is the Portrait mode achieved by Ported Google Camera same as Google Pixel 2's Portrait Mode ?

As many of you know already, Google Pixel 2 has an amazing Portrait mode. Unlike other smartphones, Google does this with just a single camera. Also, the portrait mode works for both front and rear cameras. This feature is part of Google Camera app, however is exclusive to Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL only.

Some very talented guys at Xda have now ported this Google Camera on to other smartphones. Until now, only HDR+ features were available. However, recently Portrait mode also got ported.

So is it the same as Google Pixel 2's portrait mode ?

This ported Portrait mode is not same as the Rear Camera Portrait mode on Pixel 2. The ported one is using the Pixel 2's Front Camera Portrait trick - which is 100% software based - and applying the effect to the rear camera shots. In Pixel 2, rear camera Portrait mode uses Dual Pixels to analyse the scene and create the blur. It works well not on just faces, but also on objects. But in the ported Google Camera, you need a face in the pic for Portrait mode to kick in.

Anyway, Kudos to that Chromeloop dot com guy for spending time in porting these features to older Nexus devices and Xda ppl in porting them further to other devices. HDR+ is revolutionary.

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