Streamlined Access and Enhanced Functionality
One nice tweak in this update places Night Sight just a swipe away, while video controls are now more evenly spaced out. The redesign also does away with the ‘Modes’ section from the end, and the mode switcher now remains sticky, remembering your last Photo or Video mode.
User Interface Adjustments
Curiously, this redesign swaps the positions of the camera roll preview and the front and rear lens switcher. The top of the screen no longer hosts any UI elements; instead, they are concentrated at the bottom for more convenient one-handed usage. However, the bottom strip also hides the front-facing camera, leaving the freed-up space unused.
Subtle Visual Changes
Apart from the rearrangement of controls for improved accessibility, there are no significant visual alterations. The themed icon has been updated and is now larger. Notably, Google Camera 9.0.115.561695573.37 necessitates Android 14 and will not function on Android 13 or older, suggesting it’s aimed at Pixel users in the Beta Program. It has been successfully tested on a Pixel 7 Pro running Android 14 Beta 5.3.
Availability
The new version began its rollout on September 7 but is not yet widely accessible on the Play Store. It was first spotted by the Google News group on Telegram and is currently available for download from APKMirror. Interestingly, this rollout indicates that the redesign isn’t exclusive to the Pixel 8 series as initially presumed.
