Google’s new Pixel lock screen needs to copy iPhone photography tricks

October may be halfway there, but it’s already a banner for smartphones. Not only did the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro arrive this week – for no small amount of congratulations – but finally Android 14 appeared for the first time stable on all supported Google devices. I am a fan of the company’s new lock screen editor for Pixel, but I would have lied if there was not a feature on iOS that asked me to copy Google for a feature drop. And no, it’s not a lock screen widget, it’s something more useful and certainly up on Google’s wheelhouse.

Those of you who used to use the Pixel running Android 14 will definitely be playing with the new screen lock device – they are the most visible visual version in this year’s upgrade. In fact, I’m going to go one step further and announce that it is the first Android 14 setting that you should change once you have installed the operating system version to make your smartphone feel a little more flexible. With Android 14, you can change the design and size of your watch while syncing with your device for a color-coded experience – a huge step forward from the basic look seen in Android 13 and earlier.

It feels like a reaction to the lock screen switch that Apple introduced with iOS 16 back in 2022, although I would like to say that it is short in some important ways. Yes, I can complain about the lack of widget support – even though Google’s technology has beaten Apple in this race by years, it has abandoned this feature for a long time – or wished for an iPhone capable (cool Strong) To place some elements of the photo wallpaper in front. Of the clock to give a depth effect. But frankly, I’m looking for something simpler, not more explicit.

Earlier this week, while trying to reset my Pixel 8 Pro’s lock screen to a photo of my two cats lying on the couch together, I was again encountered with unhappiness. Someone you know who has a lot of pets or kids: Sometimes photos will not fit your phone. Sure, I could create a jigsaw puzzle in Photoshop, but it was evening and I was getting ready for bed. Mobile photo editing tools are very annoying to try and actually do not always achieve what I am looking for. So I called it stop putting the phone on the vault and fall asleep.

However, yesterday I received a package in the mail: iPhone 15 Pro Max that I ordered for comparison and other content here at Android Police. After transferring my data from my old iPhone, I decided to change my iOS lock screen wallpaper for the first time in several months to find new features added last month that I did not know about. All. Using the same photo that frustrated me on my Pixel 8 Pro last night, I was able to scale the image properly to perfection, with a blurry photo extension filling in the blanks at the top of the screen. Screen.

Now let this not be perfect. I know what my living room wall looks like, and surprisingly, it is not a perfect match. The snow slope started too fast for my liking, too – my cat Lin Linus ears faded and blurred even though it appeared in the middle of the shooting. The low level of iOS notifications also tends to obscure my other cat, Murphy, though image overlay will be problematic regardless of platform. After all, the lock screen is there to give you a brief overview of your missed notifications.

But compared to Google’s strategy, nothing is better than expected. This image could not be used on the Pixel without me taking it to a mobile or other external editing program. Apple’s lock screen is smart enough to expect that I might want to use a frame-appropriate shot that is not suitable for a modern smartphone screen size and automatically add blur when I crop a photo.

Thinking about Magic Editor fFrom my Pixel 8 Pro review

What I find really surprising about this is that this kind of feature feels at Right on Google Street. Looking at the camera-focused apps I just reviewed on the upcoming Pixel 8 Pro – Best Take, Magic Editor, and Zoom Enhance – it feels like the company’s entire strategy is using software tricks to enhance its photos. You get effective after they shoot. . Features like Best Take (or Photo Unblur last year) seem to save what you think is useless, while Magic Editor enhances, enhances, and corrects images after the fact. Isn’t that what was happening on the iPhone lock screen when I cut out the image?

Apple and Google accept each other’s ideas all the time – the Android 14 lock screen is proof enough of that – and I’m not a bad Android user. Instead, I hope the team at Google sees what Apple shipped in iOS 17 last month and thinks about how they could incorporate this idea into future OS updates. There’s something great about snap-locking screenshots on iOS and looking at the rest of the screen intelligently, filling in the blanks. Missing. I just hope my Pixel 8 Pro can do the same one day soon.

• Google Pixel 8

  The Google Pixel 8 is still Google’s best phone yet, and it’s a regular model that’s a lot different from the Pro version. It comes with a great profile factor that fits in the hand and has the normal application functionality you would expect from a Pixel.

• Source: Google

  Google Pixel 8 Pro

  The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the company’s latest smartphone with a new Tensor G3 chip, a brighter screen and a new camera array that can capture more light. As usual, the real power lies in Google’s Tensor chip, which offers more image enhancement and image editing functions, including Audio Magic Eraser and Best Take tool to blend multiple images into one perfect image.