Soon after Google revealed Pixel 2 in early October this year, the Internet discovered that it ships with a chip that’s not activated yet. The chip is called Pixel Visual Core and it’s Google’s first mobile chip designed for image processing and ML. Android 8.0 Oreo, launched on August 21, didn’t support it, so it remained hidden in the Pixel 2. With the soon-to-be-released Android 8.1 Oreo update, Google promises to have implemented a new developer option that activates the imaging chip in the Pixel 2, allowing apps that use the Android Camera API (Application Programming Interface) to capture HDR+ photos. Owners of the Pixel 2 device can now install the Android 8.1 Developer Preview 2 and test drive the hidden imaging chip.
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