A bit of code in the Pixel Tips app indicates the feature may not be supported on the Pixel 6a
Although the Google Pixel 6a will share some of its hardware with Google’s Pixel 6 flagships, at least one camera feature won’t be trickling down to the mid-range phone. According to a recently discovered code snippet, the Pixel 6a may not support the Pixel 6’s photo Motion Modes to capture moving objects with blurring effects.
The change was discovered by Kuba Wojciechowsk, and further confirmed and corroborated by Esper.io’s Mishaal Rahman (via XDA). The “smoking gun” here is a bit of logic in the Pixel Tips app that indicates a Motion Mode-related tip is set not to appear on “bluejay” devices — the hardware code-name for the upcoming Pixel 6a, which recently appeared in a carrier inventory system. The only reason we can think of why the Pixel Tips app would programmatically exclude showing tips regarding Motion Mode on the Pixel 6a is if the phone can’t use those features.
The Pixel 6a is expected to share the same Tensor chipset that powers the more expensive Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, but camera hardware will differ, with the Pixel 6a expected to continue using the same primary sensor as last year’s Pixel 5a (though it may have an upgraded ultra-wide sensor). The Motion Mode features might be disabled because of a sensor hardware limitation, as the IMX 363 that is expected to be used in the Pixel 6a dates back to 2016. Google doesn’t historically shy away from porting newer features to lower-end phones when it’s technically possible to.
Action Pan (left) and Long Exposure (right).
Motion Mode itself provides two slightly different camera features on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro: Action Pan and Long Exposure. Each works in basically the opposite way to add motion blur to parts of a photo. Action Pan mimics the effect of a pan shot to blur a background, imparting a sensation of speed to the in-focus subject, while Long Exposure blurs a moving subject while keeping the rest of the scene sharp. They’re fun features, but the Pixel 6a may skip out on them.
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