Please note: I'm just sharing information here. All credit goes to the amazing devs who made this possible (links below). My very small contribution is at the end of this post.
Long story short, after trying out the Pixel 2 XL for two weeks and then returning it, I must say that the Note 8 camera(s) are meh by comparison. I'm not saying they are bad---I certainly got some nice shots out of the rear camera (the front camera is garbage). However, there is just no comparison with the Pixel 2 / 2 XL. Most reviews agree with this, BTW.
Now, the specs for the Note 8 and Pixel 2 / 2 XL rear cameras are actually pretty similar (F1.7 aperture, 12MP sensor), and I'm sure Samsung used excellent glass in their flagship. (I'm disregarding the zoom lens; that's a very nice plus, and I enjoy having the option.) What changes is the software in the Google Pixel camera vs. the Samsung camera app.
It turns out that talented devs were able to extract the Pixel 2 camera and make it work on any device with an Snapdragon 835 processor---including the AT&T Note 8! The following URL is an up-to-date repository:
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/
Additional information in this thread.
Please note: I make no representation as to the safety or security of these APKs. I've been using them with apparently no adverse effects, but that's it. Use at your own risk.
My very small contribution: I took a number of pictures in a variety of challenging situations with both the stock camera and the ported Google camera. You can see the results here:
Camera comparisons
I added a comment to each picture, indicating which camera app was used and what to look for in a given specific shot.
The tl;dr version is that the Google Camera does not exhibit the (admittedly slight) yellow/green tint that affects most photos taken with the stock camera. Moreover, it captures a lot more detail in HDR shots. Finally, skin tone and texture is more pleasant and realistic, without being overly sharp. I think noise is slightly lower, too. The improvements are mostly visible using the rear camera. The selfie camera is so bad that there is very little Google's AI can do
Obviously, these are to some extent subjective judgments. You may like the stock camera captures better, and that's fine by me! I'm just sharing the information.
Of course, the Google Camera does not use the 2x zoom, and cannot do portrait mode / live focus shots. For those, you need the stock camera.
Long story short, after trying out the Pixel 2 XL for two weeks and then returning it, I must say that the Note 8 camera(s) are meh by comparison. I'm not saying they are bad---I certainly got some nice shots out of the rear camera (the front camera is garbage). However, there is just no comparison with the Pixel 2 / 2 XL. Most reviews agree with this, BTW.
Now, the specs for the Note 8 and Pixel 2 / 2 XL rear cameras are actually pretty similar (F1.7 aperture, 12MP sensor), and I'm sure Samsung used excellent glass in their flagship. (I'm disregarding the zoom lens; that's a very nice plus, and I enjoy having the option.) What changes is the software in the Google Pixel camera vs. the Samsung camera app.
It turns out that talented devs were able to extract the Pixel 2 camera and make it work on any device with an Snapdragon 835 processor---including the AT&T Note 8! The following URL is an up-to-date repository:
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/
Additional information in this thread.
Please note: I make no representation as to the safety or security of these APKs. I've been using them with apparently no adverse effects, but that's it. Use at your own risk.
My very small contribution: I took a number of pictures in a variety of challenging situations with both the stock camera and the ported Google camera. You can see the results here:
Camera comparisons
I added a comment to each picture, indicating which camera app was used and what to look for in a given specific shot.
The tl;dr version is that the Google Camera does not exhibit the (admittedly slight) yellow/green tint that affects most photos taken with the stock camera. Moreover, it captures a lot more detail in HDR shots. Finally, skin tone and texture is more pleasant and realistic, without being overly sharp. I think noise is slightly lower, too. The improvements are mostly visible using the rear camera. The selfie camera is so bad that there is very little Google's AI can do
Obviously, these are to some extent subjective judgments. You may like the stock camera captures better, and that's fine by me! I'm just sharing the information.
Of course, the Google Camera does not use the 2x zoom, and cannot do portrait mode / live focus shots. For those, you need the stock camera.
