Smartphone cameras have come a long way over the last few years, and even budget phones these days have cameras that are pretty good. You can capture some likable pictures with a sub-Rs 15,000 smartphone today. However, if you are using phones other than the Google Pixel smartphones, which have been touted to have the best smartphone camera by many, you would have noticed that picture quality on other smartphones (even some flagships) isn’t even as comparable. Fortunately, the image quality can be vastly improved by using a different camera app than the default one which comes baked into the device. Yeah, I’m talking about the Google Camera Mod (better known as GCam Mod or GCam port) that’s quite often talked about and does, in fact, make a noticeable difference to the image output of your smartphone camera.
Before you can install the GCam Mod on your phone, there are a couple of things you need to check:
What Exactly is Camera2 API?
Camera2 API is a framework that allows developers to obtain access to granular camera controls such as exposure, focus, or ISO, which they can then bake into their third-party apps in the form of advanced features to offer Android users an improved picture-taking experience. This API is a successor to Android’s original camera API and utilizes a pipeline model, permitting developers to gain direct access to camera hardware.
To see whether any of your Android smartphones support the Camera2 API, you simply need to install the Camera2 API Probe app (Free) from the Play Store. Simply install the app and launch it.
As you can see in the screenshot above, the Camera2 API Probe app lists the “Hardware Support Level” for both the rear and front cameras with the Camera ID being 0 and 1 respectively. It shows information about the Camera2 API capabilities which are supported by your Android smartphone and here’s the meaning for each of the camera levels:
This means the ZenFone Max Pro M1 does not include Camera2 API support and support for the same will need to be enabled before installing the Google Camera Mod, whereas Nokia 7 Plus is ‘Level_3 compliant’ and the modded camera app can directly be installed on this smartphone.
If your phone has the Camera2 API enabled, you’re pretty much set. However, if your phone doesn’t support the Camera2 API, don’t worry, because you can enable Camera2 API on your own by rooting your device, and editing the “build.prop” file on your phone, or using Magisk to enable Camera2 API. Whichever way you choose is up to you, and we’ll explain both the processes to some extent here itself.
If you want to edit the build.prop and not use the Magisk module, all you need to do is download the BuildProp Editor app (free).
- Launch the app, and give it root permissions. Then, tap on the edit icon.
persist.camera.HAL3.enabled=1
Using a Magisk Module
There’s a Magisk Module that you can also use to enable Camera2 API on your phone. The module, called ‘Camera2API enabler‘ is available via XDA, and you can simply install it on your phone using the Magisk Manager, and it’ll enable the Camera2 API for you.
Once you’ve enabled the Camera2 API on your phone, or if you’ve skipped all those things because your phone already has the Camera2 API enabled, you just have to install the Google Camera Mod on your phone.
- Realme 6 Pro (Download)
- Realme 6 (Download)
- Realme 5 Pro (download)
- Realme 5 (Download)
- Realme 3 Pro (download)
- Realme 3 (download)
- Realme 2 Pro (download or download)
- Realme 1 (Download)
- Realme X2 (download)
- Realme X2 Pro (Download)
- Realme X (Download or Download)
- Realme XT (download)
2. Xiaomi
- Poco F1 (download)
- Poco X2 (download)
- Redmi Note 9 Pro (Download)
- Redmi Note 9 Pro Max (Download)
- Redmi Note 4 (Download or Download)
- Redmi Note 5 Pro, 6 Pro (download)
- Redmi Note 7, 7S, 7 Pro (download)
- Redmi Note 8 Pro (download)
- Redmi Note 8 (download)
- Redmi 7 (Download)
- Redmi K20 / Mi 9T /Redmi K20 Pro (download)
- Redmi 8 (download)
- Mi A3 (download)
- Mi A2 (Download)
- Mi A1 (Download)
- Mi A2 Lite (Download)
3. Asus
- ZenFone Max Pro M1 (Download if you are on Android P, Download if you are on Android Q)
- Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 (download)
- Asus 6, 6Z (Download APK, XML Config for Android 10 / Download APK for Android 9)
- Asus Zenfone 5Z (Download for Pie, Download for Q)
4. Nokia
- Nokia 7.1 (download)
- Nokia 7.2 (download)
- Nokia 6.1 Plus (download)
- Nokia 6.1 (Download for Pie, Download for Q)
- Nokia 7 Plus (download, XML)
- Nokia 8.1 (download)
- Nokia 7.2 (download)
- Other Nokia Devices (Download)
5. OnePlus
- OnePlus 3 (Download)
- OnePlus 5, 5T (Download or Download, XML Config)
- OnePlus 6, 6T (Download)
- OnePlus 7, 7 Pro, 7T, 7T Pro (Download APK, XML Config, Enable Aux Camera [Magisk Module])
6. Samsung
- Samsung Galaxy A71 (Download)
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (Download)
- Galaxy S9, S9+, S10, S10+ Exynos variant (download)
- Galaxy S8 Series Exynos variant (Download)
- Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+ Exynos Variant (Download, you can try this GCam APK for other Exynos-based devices as well)
- Galaxy Note 9 Exynos variant (Download)
- Galaxy S10, S10+ Snapdragon Variant (Download)
- Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+ Snapdragon Variant (Download)
7. Motorola
- Motorola One Power (Download for Android 10, Download for Android 9)
- Moto One Action (Download)
- Moto G5 Plus, G5s Plus (Download or Download)
8. Others
- Oppo Reno 10X Zoom (Download)
- LG G7 ThinQ (Download, Config)
- Honor Play (Download)
- Honor View 20 (Download, you can try this GCam APK for other Kirin-based devices as well)
- Vivo Z1 Pro (Download)
What Difference Does the GCam Mod Make?
If you’re wondering what difference the Google Camera Mod can make, we have a video on smartphone photography tips where we show how the Google Camera Mod can improve your phone’s picture quality. Plus, it’ll bring features like Night Sight to your phone as well, depending on whether or not the developer has implemented those features yet.
