Google removes photo sphere mode from the new Pixel
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-photo-sphere-mode-pixel-8-3373610/Open linkView original on lemmy.world184
Comments57https://www.androidauthority.com/google-photo-sphere-mode-pixel-8-3373610/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
But why? I LOVED that featu- oh wait! Right
Bring out your dead!
I don't have enough wheelbarrows for all of them.
But isn't that feature a crucial component of people adding 360° pictures to google maps?
Maybe the Pixel team didn't talk to the Maps team. Maybe they did and the maps team said they didn't care. Maybe everyone involved in all of these features has since left the company. With Google, who knows?
The accuracy of this comment is amazing.
This is literally the answer to all of the questions
They also notably ended their dedicated Street View app: https://9to5google.com/2022/11/01/google-street-view-app-shutting-down/.
Whoa I had no idea this happened. I used to be a part of a group that would go in and add street view for places like public transit stations so people could gauge accessibility. It's such a shame that Google killed that ability...
You should refocus your efforts to OpenStreetMap and it's associated entities. Don't give Google free data they will later take away or charge you for
A lot of it was updated with both OSM (imagery via Mapillary) and Google Maps.
While I love the "don't make Google stronger" stance, the goal wasn't to help Google but instead to help the people who needed the imagery. And (at the time, at least) most people planned their routes using Google Maps so it was important to meet them where they were.
Stupid Google, this was a great camera feature. I use it all the time.
Don't forget guys, Google My Maps is kept alive by one single Google employee. When he leaves the company, they'll kill the feature for sure.
It wouldn't surprise me if there was one single engineer that kept Photo Spheres alive.
Source?
I can't find the name, but he used to reply to people on the support forum. I can't even find the support forum now... They also killed the Android app in 2021.
I was ready to ask what the fuck are you on, until I re-read and spotted you talked about "Google my maps" and not "Google Maps".
I just tried the photo sphere mode again for old times' sake. It sure hasn't gotten any better. Maybe they're removing it so they can make and release a better version, but I won't hold my breath.
I mean, maybe, but hear me out: what if - crazy idea right here - they finish a fucking project before killing off the old one? Or, even wilder, maybe they improve the existing project? I'm about to blow this ceos mind with these radical ideas.
Maybe not do things like...
Google is like an adhd teen with no adult supervision or medication. It just decides that project x isn't fun anymore and abandons it, but y will totally be better except it never is because y gets abandoned too because ooooh shiny.
I'm not angry at all, noooooo. It's not like most of the projects I used have been axed and replaced (or not) with shittier alternatives. I absolutely love moving friends and family to systems for a few months just to hear about 'why doesn't x work anymore' and 'you said x would be around for a while'. Fuck you, Google.
/rant
Trust me, I still haven't gotten over the untimely deaths of Inbox or Play Music, and my comment history will show me raging about Google's inability to have a coherent messaging strategy. (By the way, you forgot the original Google Chat which was killed off before Hangouts!)
It's the same story every time. An app/service with excellent potential, left to stagnate for years, retired. It's at the point I don't bother trying anything new Google puts out because I can't trust that I won't be rugpulled again.
Edit: my mistake, it was called Google Talk, which was renamed to Gmail Chat, which was killed off in favor of Hangouts.
Anybody remember Inbox?
Well, it does the job, doesn't it? I love this picture mode and would like to see it in more camera apps, now Google kills it too.
Literally used it last weekend. If you're in an open space it works really well.
You’re right! They’ll release a better version tied to Google One subscription
WHY? It's one of the reasons why I like Pixel cameras?!
The photo sphere is still present on Android 14. It isn't being taken away if you already have that feature.
Nobody talks about Daydream, but I have an old pixel 2 with Daydream and it's great for these photo spheres.
I'm one of the dozens of people who likes Daydream and wishes it wasn't killed off.
I never did figure out what daydream was supposed to be...
It's a poor person's VR. Turns your phone into a VR headset. Ever sat on the couch and watched a bunch of YouTube videos? Or a TV show/movie? Put on the daydream, and you are sitting in a virtual theatre. It's good when you need the house to be quiet because everyone is in bed. I'd say 90% of my Daydream usage is watching stuff like Youtube/Netflix.
It's amazing when you are on a flight. It totally takes you away from the plane experience. Also really neat when travelling in general. Sitting in a hotel room watching content on a virtual big screen and not the pokey little hotel TV.
[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]
The cardboard is the super basic sibling to the Daydream. The Daydream has a hand remote controller that feels like a TV remote in your hand. It's how you control the phone while wearing the headset. The Cardboard is a bit limited because you can't really interact with it.
[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]
Neither did Google
I have a daydream as well. They killed off all the apps for it. I tried to get it going on my newer pixel, and like nothing worked. Sad.
One more thing to add to the Google Graveyard
Oh bloody hell!! I loved this feature! I always capture 360 photos to relive on VR!! Even the cardboard one was incredibly immersive!!!
Every time I hear about Google killing a feature, it's the first time hearing about the feature. So it makes sense to me.
Nooooo. I always use this when the wide angle lens is not wide enough.
WHAT THE FUCK GOOGLE
I use this camera mode the most
Google removed the ability to turn them into tiny planets YEARS ago, and that's what upsets me the most.
I loved this picture feature when out and about in nature. I loved adding them to Maps too! I've used this feature for about 10 years now. I can't believe they are getting rid of it. It was so fun and something I thought others would add to their camera app
I love this feature and use it all the time! Are there any apps I can replace this with?
Probably not
I love pixel phones but I still buy iPhones because I know nothing ever changes in the Apple world, and if it does it’s slow.
Google makes amazing things and just takes them away so what’s the point of being excited anymore.
That’s what I mean, is google is hostile to its users by canceling features people use all the time. It’s just hard to feel invested in anything they do besides like YouTube and search
Now how am I meant to make an oversized panorama a couple of times a year!?
Maaaaan.... I didn't use this for 360 photos, but as a workaround for the broken panorama mode. Every panorama photo I take with my pixel 6 is blurry - I believe it's a bug where the camera doesn't refocus when taking the next image
The thing that upsets me about this is that there's a way to basically post photospheres to Google maps. So in distant locations where there's interesting features (far away from a road) you can do a photosphere and essentially make it public on maps, so anyone can experience that location from anywhere in the world anytime they want.
Google maps generally only has "Street view" that's provided and almost all other location ground-based view is a submission by someone.
This will sharply end the ability for people to add more of that or simply update any that already exist.
Fucking Google...
Honestly, I played around with it for a little bit and then never used it again. Of course one of the reasons was that it was so hidden and I simply forgot.
I used to use it when I took panoramic pictures on my phone. I always use Photo Sphere because it outputs a much more consistent result compared to regular panorama mode.
Is there a 3rd party app that does this?
Gcam Mods with a lower version than 9.0.
I just went and looked, but couldn't find a credible alternative on Android. Found an open source option that claimed to do spherical stitching, but crashed my phone when I tried to use it. I also stumbled upon the 360 videos I made with my Essential Phone, which I'd forgotten about but was kind of cool going into my past from that perspective. Honestly, the best replacement seems to be a 360 camera, which obviously doesn't fall within the budget of many people
AGC 9.1 has photo sphere and is an higher version of Gcam than 9.
It makes sense its not nearly as polished as other pixel camera features
Then... polish it? By your standards, should we ditch Lemmy because Reddit is more polished?
Or give it an “Experimental” warning so that users don't have high expectations.
What's the point of keeping a feature as experimental for over 5 years? It was more relevant when Daydream and Cardboard were a thing and I have not heard one single person mention this feature as a plus point for buying a Pixel. Nobody cares about it now and the feature works like ass in the modern day.
Why not? Elon’s Full Self Driving does not seem to be leaving Beta (more like Alpha) anytime soon, either. It’s fine as long as it’s a marginal feature that isn’t heavily marketed and does not take up much space – in which case they should move it to a separate app and release it without fanfare on GitHub (like they did with Web Environment Integrity) and include a link for people looking for the deprecated feature.
Edit: The Wi-Fi I just posted this from says “Experimental” on its welcome page, and it’s been functioning flawlessly for the past 5+ years, woth double the range it’s supposed to cover.
It still works well enough though?