Summary
- You can obtain greater camera control on Android by switching to third-party apps.
- Android 15 may bring a new API called Eyes Free videography, which aims to stabilize video footage from social apps just as well as the stock camera app.
- A new Settings option in Android 15 allows users to enable these camera extensions too, benefiting third-party apps even if manufacturers don’t offer support.
Android is a marvelous ecosystem in that developers can create apps which rival the functionality of stock apps pre-installed on devices by manufacturers. While there’s no getting rid of the stock camera app on your phone, you can wring out that extra bit of detail and control by switching to one of our favorite camera apps. A peek into Android 15 code reveals API changes which could help these third-party apps stabilize video footage nearly as well as the stock camera app.
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While optical image stabilization is implemented at a hardware level, video stabilization is also reliant on complex algorithms. The pre-installed camera app on your Android device usually handles subject focus tracking and stabilization much better than a downloaded app because the latter relies on the device manufacturer supporting certain camera extensions that app developers can access through the Camera2 Extensions APIs for feature support.
In an article for Android Authority, apex geek Mishaal Rahman explains that as of Android 14, there are five extensions supported by the Camera2 Extensions API, named Auto, Bokeh, Face retouch, HDR, and Night. While the onus of implementing these extensions rests on the device OEM like Samsung or OnePlus, leading to drastic variations in extension availability on devices, they all focus on still imagery and don’t affect video processing.
Better stabilization in Android 15
However, Rahman spotted a new Camera2 Extension API called Eyes Free videography. If the name wasn’t obvious enough, this extension is coded to “lock and stabilize a given region or object of interest.” In theory, it should help apps reliant on the Camera2 API offer better video stabilization. Like the five other extensions available already, this addition to the list with Android 15 will also make video from third-party apps about as stable as clips from the stock camera app, directly benefiting clips filmed in Snapchat, Instagram, etc.
On the one hand, it’s still down to your device manufacturer to offer support for the new EyesFree videography extension, but on the flipside, Rahman also spotted a new Settings option under Security & privacy → More security & privacy called Allow camera software extensions. It should immediately enable the Eyes Free videography extension along with the software-level implementation of the other image processing extensions, so third-party apps designed to leverage those capabilities can benefit even if the device maker cuts corners and doesn’t support the extensions.
