Although Google is currently struggling to meet pre-order demand for the Pixel and Pixel XL, those who have managed to get their unit of the devices are reporting an issue with the camera. More specifically, it appears the Pixel’s camera is prone to excessive lens flare.
Thankfully, Google has acknowledged the issue; a representative of the company also mentioned that users can “expect a software update in the next few weeks that will improve the effects of this issue.” Based on this statement, it appears this issue can be fixed with a software update; it was also mentioned that the lens flare problem does not warrant a device replacement.
This Halo effect is weird on the Pixel. pic.twitter.com/kGlTwGaOsY
— Danny Winget (@superscientific) October 22, 2016
However, in order to take advantage of the upcoming fix, HDR+ has to be enabled. “We’re working on some algorithms that recognise the halo/arc flare, characterise it mathematically, and then subtract it from the image,” the representative explained. It’ll be interesting to see if this will indeed solve the issue, considering the fact that some consumers suspect it’s a hardware issue.
The Google Pixel smartphones do have a capable camera. Google certainly thinks so, and DxOMark seems to be on the same page as well. Hopefully, the upcoming software update will rectify the lens flare issue.
(Source: Google Product Forums via 9to5Google; Featured Image: Twitter (Danny Winget))
