The Pixel Camera which was earlier known as GCam or Google Camera is rarely working on Samsung phones which are based on Exynos chipsets or sometimes even Snapdragon chipsets. But developers like BSG, Zoran, IDan, MadnessKnight, etc. have brought many Pixel Cam ports for these phones.
Out of which, LMC, BSG and Zoran are actively working to bring as latest as Pixel Cam 8.4, 8.1 and 7.4 builds to Exynos phones.
If you already know about Pixel Camera and it’s image processing capability you don’t need an introduction and may proceed straight to find a download link for your Samsung phone. If you are a first time user then you may want to know the features of the Pixel Camera or better known as Pixel Cam.
What to Expect from Pixel Camera Port for Samsung Phone?
Pixel Camera is designed to work only on Google Pixel and legacy Nexus phones by default and not on any Samsung phones (specifically the Exynos). But, many developers have already ported that to have a working one.
Moreover, let me bring this to the table that at least 8 out of 10 times I have seen the images produced by the Pixel Cam Port is better than the images produced by the Stock Camera of any Samsung phone. And trust me on this, because I have tested almost all the major Android phones including the new ones. One interesting fact is that I also have lost track of when did I use the Stock Camera on my smartphone since the time I have used a ported the Pixel Cam app for my Android phone.
Enough taking Pixel Cam’s side, let’s have a look at the key features of Pixel Camera which makes it stand ahead of all other camera applications.
Samsung Camera vs Pixel Camera
This is one of the major feature which is why the Pixel Cam is popular among the Android users. Night Sight mode captures unbelievably more light than any other camera application available on Android even on darker conditions.
Astrophotography Mode with Pixel Cam on Samsung Phones!
Available on Pixel Camera 7.0 and later versions which is designed to work only in low light conditions to capture better and cleaner photos of the celestial bodies such as sky and stars.
Astrophotography Mode works on Night Sight mode with long exposures to capture more light and a lot of information of the scene.
Portrait mode on Pixel Camera
Portrait mode is used to create bokeh or background blur effect. Usually this is created using a larger aperture lens in DSLR which is not possible in Mobile phones. This is the reason Mobile phones use a secondary camera to evaluate the depth by detecting the focused subject in image and creating a blur effect on the rest of the image which is out of focus.
The biggest problem in this technique is detecting the edges of the subject in focus and out of focus where most of the camera applications fail. The portrait mode on Google Camera has an awesome edge detection algorithm which creates DSLR like natural bokeh effect there by making it the best in class camera application.
HDR+ image processing on Pixel Camera
Every image captured in HDR+ mode is processed out of multiple images with different exposures. This preserves much detail of the image captured and also creates a more contrast image. A better contrast image meaning not over or under exposed image unlike many camera applications.
Pixel Camera Samples captured on Samsung phones and others
Before installing Pixel Cam you may like to see what kind of images people have captured using Pixel Camera application. Below are some of the Pixel Camera samples taken on various phones including Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9.
Where to download Pixel Cam Port for Samsung / Exynos Phones?
Well, if you have convinced by the brief explanation and some of the stunning images captured and want to try an available port on your Samsung phone, then below is a list.
Latest Pixel Cam
Latest BSG and Zoran’s ZGCam port usually works for many Exynos based phones. Currently I am using Pixel Cam 7.4 and Pixel Cam 8.1 both on my Galaxy Note 10 Lite which has an Exynos 9810.
Most likely this is compatible for Android 9, 10 or 11. For older devices please try these Exynos GCam ports.
Visit the Downloads section to download on of the mod APK file or visit the device specific list to try one.
List of Compatible Pixel Cam for Samsung
[table id=225 /]How to Install Pixel Camera on Samsung?
[su_note note_color=”#FBF4DD” text_color=”#A38C68″ radius=”3″ class=”” id=””]You cannot install Pixel Camera from Play Store on any Non-Google phone(s). Only a Pixel Cam port can be installed. To be able to install Pixel Camera (Pixel Cam) on Samsung phone it must have Camera2 API enabled to run Pixel Camera on any device, in fact.[/su_note][su_note note_color=”#D7E3F4″ text_color=”#728095″ radius=”3″ class=”” id=””]If a phone is launched with Android Oreo or later, most likely it will have Camera2 API enabled by default. In case you still want to verify, follow the below instructions![/su_note]Verify and enable Camera2 API on your Samsung phone (Only older phones)
[su_note note_color=”#D7E3F4″ text_color=”#728095″ radius=”3″ class=”” id=””] Visit the below link that explains how to verify if Camera2 API is enabled, if not then how to enable the same.– How to verify and enable Camra2 API[/su_note]
Once the Camera2 API is enabled, follow the below instructions to install the Pixel Cam on your Samsung phone.
- Download a compatible Pixel Cam for your phone from the above downloads list.
- To install any app from a third party app other than Play Store you need to enable app install from Unknown Sources on your Android device.For Android Oreo and later versions, enable Install Unknown Apps from the app from which you are going to install the Pixel Camera APK.For example: if you have downloaded the Pixel Camera apk file on Google chrome or firefox browser on your phone.
Or you have downloaded and copied the apk file to the file browser and you want to install it from there.Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Open the app (Chrome, Firefox or file manager app etc) > Install unknown apps and enable Allow from this source
See the below screenshots that enables to install unknown apps on Oreo for Chrome app (you need to enable on the app from where you want to install the apk):
- Once enabled, click on the downloaded app to install.
- Once installed clear the app data for best results.
- Then, start the app and enjoy the feature packed Pixel Camera on your Samsung phone.
If you face any problem installing the Pixel Camera on your Samsung phone or you want Pixel Camera which is not there in the list, then just login and leave a comment to get an instant reply back from me or other users.