Google announced a lot of exciting stuff during Google I/O, but it seems to have left out one important thing. We were expecting to hear about what’s coming with Android 14, but the company barely even mentioned it. However, the company did announce that Android 14 will bring an Ultra HDR mode to Google Photos, according to Forbes (via Phone Arena).
Google I/O just happened, and if you want to see our coverage of what was announced, check out AndroidHeadlines.com. We have information on the new software and AI innovations along with the Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, and Pixel Fold.
Android 14 will bring Ultra HDR to Google Photos
Google has been known as the company that uses aggressive HDR in its photos for a while. That’s one of the reasons why the Pixel phone’s cameras are so capable. However, the company wants to take that a step further, and this will involve using Adobe’s Help.
In Android 14, you’ll be able to add Ultra HDR to your images using the Google Photos app. In order to achieve this, the app will use a Gain Map on standard jpeg images. This is an extra layer of photographic information added to the images. Using the Gain Maps, the images will have brighter highlights and deeper shadows. This will give the images a more pleasing and realistic look.
While this may be the case, Adobe also explains that using different phones will bring different results. “There are several reasons, including varying capabilities of HDR displays and the different tone mapping methods implemented across software and platforms. Consequently, HDR content authors can neither control nor predict how their images will appear in other applications.”
This means that the Ultra HDR effect will look better on some devices than others. We’re pretty sure that the Ultra HDR effect will look better on more expensive devices than on cheaper devices, but that remains to be seen.
This feature is going to be rolling out to Android 14 beta testers first, and it’s coming soon. We don’t know the exact date, but we shouldn’t expect it to be too long. If you want to test out this feature, and you have an eligible phone, you can sign up for the Android 14 beta. Just be sure to read all of the appropriate warnings before signing up.