Posted by The Android Crew
CameraX is an Android Jetpack library that makes it simple to include digicam performance instantly in your Android app. That’s why we focus closely on system compatibility out-of-the-box, so you possibly can concentrate on what makes your app distinctive.
On this submit, we’ll have a look at 3 ways CameraX makes builders’ lives simpler relating to system compatibility. First, we’ll take a peek into our CameraX Take a look at Lab the place we check over 150 bodily telephones day by day. Second, we’ll have a look at Quirks, the mechanism CameraX makes use of to mechanically deal with system inconsistencies. Third, we’ll focus on the methods CameraX makes it simpler to develop apps for foldable telephones.
CameraX Take a look at Lab
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| (Left) A single rack in our CameraX Take a look at Lab. Every check enclosure accommodates two an identical Android telephones for testing back and front cameras. (Proper) A GIF exhibiting the within of a check inclosure, with a rotating cellphone mount (for testing portrait and panorama orientations) and a high-resolution check chart (not pictured). |
We constructed the CameraX Take a look at Lab to make sure CameraX works on the Android units most individuals have of their pockets. The Take a look at Lab opened in 2019 with 52 cellphone fashions. Right now, the Take a look at Lab has 150 cellphone fashions. We prioritize units with probably the most day by day lively customers over the previous 28 days (28DAUs) and units that leverage a various vary of techniques on a chip (SoCs). The Take a look at Lab presently covers over 750 million 28DAUs. We additionally check many various Android variations, going again to Android 5.1 (Lollipop).
To generate dependable check outcomes, every cellphone mannequin has its personal check enclosure to regulate for gentle and different environmental components. Every enclosure accommodates two telephones of the identical mannequin to simplify testing the back and front cameras. On the other aspect of the check enclosure from the telephones, there’s a high-resolution check chart. This chart has many industry-standard exams for digicam attributes like shade correctness, decision, sharpness, and dynamic vary. The chart additionally has some particular components for practical exams like face detection.
Once you undertake CameraX in your app, you get the reassurance of this steady testing throughout many units and API ranges. Moreover, we’re constantly improving the Take a look at Lab, together with including new telephones primarily based on market developments to make sure that nearly all of your customers are properly represented. See our present check system record for the newest stock in our Take a look at Lab.
Quirks
Google gives a Digital camera Picture Take a look at Suite in order that OEM’s cameras meet a baseline of consistency. Nonetheless, when coping with the wide selection of units that run Android, there might be variations ultimately person digicam expertise. CameraX contains an abstraction layer, referred to as Quirks, to take away these variations in habits in order that CameraX behaves constantly throughout all units with no effort from app builders.
We discover these quirks primarily based on our personal handbook testing, the Take a look at Lab’s computerized testing, and bug experiences filed in our public CameraX concern tracker. As of right this moment, CameraX has over 30 Quirks that mechanically repair habits inconsistencies for builders. Listed here are a couple of examples:
- OnePixelShiftQuirk: Some telephones shift a column of pixels when changing YUV information to RGB. CameraX mechanically corrects for this on these units.
- ExtensionDisableQuirk: For telephones that don’t assist extensions or have damaged habits with extensions, CameraX disables sure extensions.
- CameraUseInconsistentTimebaseQuirk: Some telephones don’t correctly timestamp video and audio. CameraX fixes the timestamps in order that the video and audio align correctly.
These are just some examples of how CameraX mechanically handles quirky system habits. We’ll proceed so as to add extra corrections as we discover them, so app builders gained’t should cope with these one-offs on their very own. In the event you discover inconsistent habits on a tool you’re testing, you possibly can file a difficulty within the CameraX part detailing the habits and the system it’s occurring on.
Foldable telephones
Foldables proceed to be the quickest rising smartphone type issue. Their flexibility in display measurement provides complexity to digicam growth. Listed here are a couple of ways in which CameraX simplifies the event of digicam apps on foldables.
CameraX’s Preview use case handles variations between the side ratio of the digicam and the side ratio of the display. With conventional cellphone and pill type components, this distinction must be small as a result of Part 7.5.5 of the Android Compatibility Definition Doc requires that the “lengthy dimension of the digicam aligns with the display’s lengthy dimension.” Nonetheless, with foldable units the display side ratio can change, so this relationship may not at all times maintain. With CameraX you possibly can at all times protect side ratio by filling the PreviewView (which can crop the preview picture) or becoming the picture into the PreviewView (which can end in letterboxing or pillarboxing). Set PreviewView.ScaleType to specify which technique to make use of.
The rise in foldable units additionally will increase the likelihood that your app could also be utilized in a multi-window surroundings. CameraX is about up for multi-window assist out-of-the-box. CameraX handles all features of lifecycle administration for you, together with the multi-window case the place different apps can take precedence entry of singleton sources, such because the microphone or digicam. This implies no extra effort is required from app builders when utilizing CameraX in a multi-window surroundings.
We’re at all times in search of extra methods to enhance CameraX to make it even simpler to make use of. With respect to foldables, for instance, we’re exploring methods to let builders name setTargetResolution() with out having to have in mind the totally different configurations a foldable system might be in. Control this weblog and our CameraX launch notes for updates on new options!
Getting began with CameraX
We now have numerous sources that can assist you get began with CameraX. The most effective beginning place is our CameraX codelab. If you wish to dig a bit deeper with CameraX, take a look at our digicam code samples, starting from a fundamental app to extra superior options like digicam extensions. For an summary of every little thing CameraX has to supply, see our CameraX documentation. In case you have any questions, be at liberty to succeed in out to us on our CameraX dialogue group.
