Based on some Android source code, it appears that their camera app is about to get a much-needed update. Finally, Google has confirmed the report. Speaking to CNET, Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano confirmed that some important new features were already present in the version of Android that its developers are working with.
“Android’s latest camera HAL (hardware abstraction layer) and framework supports raw and burst-mode photography. We will expose a developer API [application programming interface] in a future release to expose more of the HAL functionality.”
While the hardware is getting an update, the software is also important. The new update could possible finally bring the camera up to the awesomeness of Lumia’s which have far better photographic capabilities.
Scigliano explains what Android users can expect,
“The core concept of the new HAL and future API is centered around burst-mode photography. The basic idea is instead of taking a single shot with a given set of parameters, you instead have the power to queue up a request to take multiple shots each with different parameter settings such as exposure gain. The camera subsystem captures a the burst of shots, which can be subsequently post-processed by the application layer.”
At the moment there is no date for the new software and the company is only saying that it will be available “in a future release.”