Google has been overhauling their Android platform to improve the camera performance. Google is adding RAW picture format to their API (application programming interface). API’s allow two different softwares to communicate between each other. So an app developer can now use the new API’s to add these new features to any app they develop. Google is planning on bringing in the RAW image format as well as many other new features. Among these other features will include: mountain-view, burst mode capture, and new API’s.
Gina Scigliano a Google spokeswoman told CNET, “RAW picture formats and burst mode is now present in all Android’s hardware abstraction layer (HAL).”
This means that application developers are all ready able to take advantage of RAW picture formats. RAW image formats are very lightly compressed or altered during saving in comparison to the popular JPEG format that is commonly used for most photo capture applications. RAW images make it easier to manipulate a photo after it is taken. RAW picture formats are commonly modified in Adobe Photoshop or other photo editors to improve atheistic appearance.
The new camera API will also include face-detection features which you can already see in today’s popular cameras. This will allow multiple focus points so you can take a picture with everyone’s face in focus.
Scigliano also stated that, “Android’s latest camera HAL (hardware abstraction layer) and framework supports raw and burst-mode photography,” and, “We will expose a developer API in a future release to expose more of the HAL functionality.”
Google announced that they will be shipping the new API in future releases. The phones hardware will determine if all new features will be available, indicating that there may be performance issues with some phones. You may need a certain camera or other hardware components to take full advantage of all features for the new HAL and camera API’s.