See Why Google's Pixel 3 Night Sight Camera Mode Is An Absolute Game-Changer

by Brandon Hill — Friday, October 26, 2018, 11:13 AM EDT

Google has made a big deal about computational photography with its Pixel family of smartphones. Through a use of machine learning which can identify certain patterns in pictures, and with the help of the Pixel Visual Core (which was introduced on the Pixel 2 family of smartphones), Google is able to produce some of the best photos that we've seen in modern smartphones -- even while only having a single rear camera compared to two or three in other flagship devices.

Google's latest addition to its Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL computational photography arsenal is Night Sight, which allows for incredibly detailed pictures to be captured in low-light situations (without the aid of a flash). Although Google hasn't yet given a thorough explanation on how Night Sight exactly works, as you can see in the images below, it's able to greatly brighten scenes while preserving much of the detail that would usually be lost.

All of these images were captured inside in low-light conditions, but we'll update this piece in the future with nighttime shots. But even in pre-production form, the results from Night Sight are truly impressive.

Google's Night Sight is not yet officially available in the Google Camera app, however, the folks over at XDA-Developers have tweaked the APK to enable the feature right now. You can download the Google Camera 6.1 Mod right here, which was modified by cstark27.

If you'd prefer to wait until the feature is officially included in the Google Camera app, you'll have to wait until sometime in November according to Google. The modified camera app is available for the Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 (along with their XL variants).

And while you're at it, be sure to check out HotHardware's review of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

Tags: Google, (nasdaq:goog), pixel 3, pixel 3 xl, night sight

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.

Which New GPU Is For You?

Stay updated with the latest news and updates. Subscribe to our newsletter!

Subscribe Now