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Pixel 3's camera can now detect kisses for photos with your boo

Single people lose yet another ally in computational photography.

Lynn La Senior Editor / Reviews - Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
2 min read
Google

Available in the latest update to Google's camera app for the Pixel 3, Photobooth is a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to recognize kisses, clear faces and open eyes to automatically take a photo. With the update, you can just smile and pose in front of the selfie camera without needing to tap the shutter. 

Known for its excellent camera, the Pixel 3 (and its larger counterpart the Pixel 3 XL) are Google's flagship phones for 2018. While other phone competitors employ multiple rear cameras to boost photo quality, the Pixel 3 has only one rear camera, but it uses impressive software optimization, known as computational photography, to capture stunning photos. Photobooth is optimized specifically for the phone's two front-facing cameras, and adds yet another AI component under the Pixel 3's belt.

Watch this: Pixel 3: 6 months in

Google engineers trained Photobooth to recognize five types of facial expressions, which are "smiles, tongue-out, kissy/duck face, puffy-cheeks and surprise," Google says in a blog post. (Rejoice single people, you can still use Photobooth with just the duck face expression.) As expressions change, Photobooth displays a dynamic white line that widens as the photo content "improves." You can see the line move in the camera app and adjust accordingly to trigger the shutter.

In addition to Photobooth, the Pixel 3 has other standout camera features that use algorithms to take better photos. Top Shot also recognizes good, clear expressions to suggest the "best" photo out of a series of burst shots. The camera's low-light mode, called Night Sight, brightens up dimly lit scenes without a flash.

For more information about the phone, and how it has been holding up since its launch, check out our updated Pixel 3 review: Six months in, here's what's great and what's not.  

Pixel 3 camera test: Google's phone delivers again

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