Owners of 2016 Pixel phones get to keep free unlimited original-quality photo uploads on Google Photos

We know Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL owners have until January 2021 to be able to upload original quality photos without it counting against your storage. But it seems the original Pixel devices from 2016 won’t be affected by this change. That means owners of the 2016 Pixel and Pixel XL will be able to upload photos and videos in their original state for free for an indefinite amount of time (we can’t say that Google won’t change its mind somewhere down the line).

Source: Android Police

Google starts to integrate video calling to its built-in Phone, Contacts, and Android Messages apps

Here’s something Android users might be feeling envious over iOS users: the ability to start video calls right from Phone and Messages app. Google users, specifically those who have Pixel, Nexus, and Android One users, will soon be able to video call right from Phone, Contacts, and Android Messages apps.

To make this possible, Google is using its Duo video calling service and the ViLTE standard. The latter is an extension of the current VoLTE standard, which focuses on better video call quality over an LTE network. By default, video calls will be routed through ViLTE. That is if your carrier supports that standard. If they don’t, Google will route it through Duo. This means, you’ll need to have Duo installed and activated on your device. You also need to have the latest versions of the aforementioned apps. Later this year, Google also plans to give you the option to upgrade a voice call to a video call.

Source: Android Authority

Google brings selfie flash to Camera app

Google updates its native camera app to bring a new feature selfie lovers will like. The Google Camera now has a selfie flash. This feature (and the others that’ll be mentioned below) are designed to work for recent Nexus and Pixel devices that run Android 7.1.1 and above. What the app does is it adds a beige color light right after you take the photo to bring a bit more light into the shot. Google opted to use a warmer color instead of a flash of bright white to make it look a bit more natural. However, as The Verge points out, this feature doesn’t seem to have automatic white balance like that on the iPhone’s camera.

It’s easy to enable the feature, you just need to tap on the Flash icon when you’re in front-facing mode and toggle between automatic or on. You know the feature is enabled if a beige block is covering the menu bar at the bottom. Aside from this, version 4.4 of Google Camera introduces shortcut gestures like swipe to toggle between shooting stills and videos and double tap to zoom.

Google hires veteran Apple mobile chip designer

Google Pixel XL review

There has been rumours going around that Google is looking to design its own processors for its Pixel smartphone line and there might be some truth behind it with its recent hire. The company has brought on Manu Gulati, a veteran chip architect at Apple. Gulati, who has worked for Apple for the past eight years, is now the lead system-on-chip architect at Google. According to MacRumors, Gulati has been “instrumental” for the Apple’s development of its custom chips for the Apple TV, iPad, and iPhone. It’s expected that his expertise in the field will help Google create its own custom chips. Job listings from Google have also been spotted online for a “mobile SoC CPU architect” and other similar roles.