New Google Pixel Phones Launch with Portrait Mode, AR-Friendly Google Lens

Last year's debut Pixel and Pixel XL excelled in CR's smartphone camera testing, and the new models continue Google's emphasis on photography.

Both versions of the phone feature a 12-megapixel rear camera. The cameras check all the boxes on high-end smartphone photography features.

In particular, the Pixel 2 phones have a portrait mode, which uses software to produce a bokeh effect, in which the subject is in sharp focus while the background is blurred. It's a classic technique of portrait photography.

The iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Note8 do something similar, using a pair of lenses—one that takes a picture up close and another that takes a wide-angle photo. Google says the Pixel 2s achieve the same effect with just one lens by using sophisticated software and "dual-pixel sensors." What that means, roughly, is that each pixel captures two slightly different images (one on the right, one on the left) that the software uses to sense depth. According to Google, the technology is particularly helpful in creating the bokeh effect when there's a bright, busy background.

That's a claim we'll be interested to test out in our labs after the phones hit the market.

Like the most recent iPhones, the new Pixels also focus on augmented reality. These are the first phones to feature Google Lens, which was unveiled at the company's Google I/O conference earlier this year. Google Lens is a technology that uses artificial intelligence to help your phone interpret what the camera is looking at, and provide relevant information or perform useful functions. Conceptually, that's similar to the unloved Google Glass, which the company launched back in 2013.

We'll have to see how well it works in the real world, but it should help the phones handle diverse AR apps.

Other notable features include an OLED HD display; the same screen technology is used on high-end phones by LG and Samsung, along with the upcoming iPhone X. 

Google is bucking the all-glass trend in smartphones by using aluminum construction in the phones, which could mean more durability, but no wireless charging. As in the previous Pixels, there's a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone—similar buttons on other Android phones can be hard to reach, but the Pixel version seems to be placed more conveniently.

In addition, you can access Google Assistant by just squeezing the sides of the phone. 

Source: New Google Pixel Phones Launch with Portrait Mode, AR-Friendly Google Lens