Here’s a great surprise from Google: Visual Core.
What is Visual Core and why is it going to be a power feature for the Google Pixel 2?
The Google Pixel 2 smartphone, despite some initial problems with a display issue that we reported on earlier this month, just continues to get better by the day, and it has to keep pushing the envelope because the competition with Apple is brutal.
Google has unleashed the figurative photography beast from within the phone, if TechCrunch’s assessment of a recent Android developer’s preview bear out.
What exactly is Google changing about the Pixel 2?
A developer preview of Android’s upcoming operating system update showed off a currently underutilized part of the device called the Visual Core, a system on a chip (SoC) that “has eight image processing unit (IPU) cores and 512 arithmetic logic units.”
TechCrunch describes the way the tech works, “Using machine learning, [Google] is able to speed things up by 5x, with one-tenth of the energy. Access to the chip, combined with the Android Camera API, means third-party photo apps will be able to take advantage of the system’s speedy HDR+.”
This could be a boon for third-party photography apps that will now be able to take advantage of the increased power within the Pixel 2’s kit.
The update is currently in Beta testing phase and is only open to those people who are signed up for Google’s Beta testing program.
A wider Android 8.1 Beta testing phase should be rolled out during December 2017.
Of course, as with any Beta release, there will be bugs and problems, so people who are loathe to deal with sudden quirks in their phone’s OS may just want to stick with the tried and true version of Android they are currently using.
Also, this feature will only be available on Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones although future Android smartphones will likely feature this technology.
