The Pixel 8 lacks a camera mode Google offered since 2012
www.androidauthority.com
Google has offered the Photo Sphere Mode on its phones for over a decade now, but the company has ditched this feature on the Pixel 8 line.
    • dantheclamman@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      98·
      1 year ago

      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?

      • SomeRandomWords@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        20·
        1 year ago

        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…

        • Paradox@lemdro.idMEnglish
          14·
          1 year ago

          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

          • SomeRandomWords@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            10·
            1 year ago

            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.

  • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
    512·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • redfellow@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      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.

      Source?

      • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
        5·
        1 year ago

        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.

        • redfellow@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          5·
          1 year ago

          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”.

  • ryan@the.coolest.zone
    43·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • wreckedcarzz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      321·
      1 year ago

      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…

      • Gmail to Inbox to Gmail;
      • GPlay Music to YT music;
      • Reader to;
      • Hangouts to Messenger to Alo to Messages to Chat (or whatever the fuck it’s called now) to Messages (but with RCS so it’s okay we improved it we swear) ;

      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

      • ryan@the.coolest.zone
        19·
        1 year ago

        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.

    • Eager Eagle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      1 year ago

      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.

  • NathAEnglish
    361·
    1 year ago

    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.

      • NathAEnglish
        18·
        1 year ago

        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.

    • Raiderkev@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      1 year ago

      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.

  • XbSuper@lemmy.worldEnglish
    252·
    1 year ago

    Every time I hear about Google killing a feature, it’s the first time hearing about the feature. So it makes sense to me.

  • b0uldr@lemdro.idEnglish
    23·
    1 year ago

    Nooooo. I always use this when the wide angle lens is not wide enough.

  • BobsonDugnutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    241·
    1 year ago

    Oh bloody hell!! I loved this feature! I always capture 360 photos to relive on VR!! Even the cardboard one was incredibly immersive!!!

  • Polar@lemmy.caEnglish
    22·
    1 year ago

    Google removed the ability to turn them into tiny planets YEARS ago, and that’s what upsets me the most.

  • EddieTee77@lemmy.worldEnglish
    201·
    1 year ago

    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

  • xcjs@programming.devEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    I love this feature and use it all the time! Are there any apps I can replace this with?

  • FernandoOrlando@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    143·
    1 year ago

    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.

      • FernandoOrlando@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        11·
        1 year ago

        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