(I’ve also posted this here on reddit to increase reach)

BigKaka’s AGC9.2.14 V14 GCam mod, available here, now supports photosphere, all onboard cameras, and all modern V9 camera features on Pixel 9 series of phones. No need for a config (tested on my Pixel 9 Pro).

Previous GCam mods (I tried quite a few) either:

  • Weren’t based on more recent GCam versions, so were missing features
  • Had working Photosphere but none of the other features worked
  • Only the main camera worked.
  • It just plain crashed on start.

To remind everyone, Photosphere was taken off from the Pixel 8-series onwards. While there were workarounds for Pixel 8-series users, Pixel 9 users have been stuck without it since launch.

As a big fan of the feature, I’m glad I can now use it again without having to switch between camera apps to take normal pictures or worrying about crashes.

  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
    3·
    2 years ago
    Compatibility and requirements:
Only works on phones with the camera2 API enabled;

Recent apks may not work on older Android versions;

    Neat. What’s the check for ‘phones with the camera2 API enabled’ ? How ‘older’ is ‘older Android’?

    I’ve seen fog with better definition than that list.

    • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      The Camera2 API was introduced in Android 5 in 2014 I believe. It was a big deal at the time. Most phones should support it.

    • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Also, welcome to modded stuff. It’s sadly not always user friendly, and often requires further googling and reading to understand.

      Despite this site’s best efforts to make recommendations (it’s a godsend given how many versions there are), I’ve still had to test a lot of different versions to find one that works well with my phone.

      This link should help you find something for your phone model:

      https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/links/

  • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    That is super cool that it is back! My tin foil hat theory is that from Pixel 8 onward Google outsourced photosphere Google Maps Streetview content to a third party and no longer needed that internal team’s tech anymore. There is usually some dumb business need attached to google’s android features, even if they are useful and cool.

    • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      Until recently, I think you could do it with the Street View app, but apparently that has now been discontinued. Not sure what you can do now.

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        2 years ago

        I used a 360 camera app on iOS for years. Probably 2010 to 2016. Don’t think there’s been a decent replacement or alternative since it was removed from the app store.

        iOS is enshittifying too.

    • Eager Eagle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      2 years ago

      Panorama is only horizontal and often has angle limits like 180 degrees. Photosphere gets everything around, up, and down.

      • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        Yes and when viewing them, you can pan around with your phone or a VR headset like you were there!

        If you’ve ever used Google Street View, it’s basically that.

    • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      Sorry, I don’t actually know what you mean by “Focus mode”.

      I doubt it’s technically FOSS given that it’s a mod of a proprietary camera app usually limited to the Pixel phone line. It is free though.

        • Armand1@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          2·
          2 years ago

          And for posterity by focus mode I meant that there’s a mode where you can manually control the focus of the camera, at least on my phone

          Ah yes! It’s pretty cool that you have focus peaking too so you can see exactly where the focus is while you are dialing it in. Helpful for macro shots etc.