Google Duo gets low light mode to brighten up your late night video calls
Google has just unveiled a low-light mode for its video calling app, Google Duo, which should help to boost image quality.
Google is adding a low-light mode to automatically brighten up your face during late night Duo calls. But that's not all.
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The company says it hopes that the feature can help people around the world that experience lighting issues, such as power outages, and users in locations where electricity is more expensive.
The feature is able to detect poor light conditions and switch the brightness up automatically, but there's also an option to toggle the feature on and off manually. So, if you're having a bad hair day or you've already taken your makeup off, you can continue to happily hide in the dark until the call is over.
Photo credit: Google
A demonstrative GIF posted by Google (follow this link) looks mighty impressive. The video doesn't appear to lose any quality or become grainy and the light isn't sudden and harsh in the way a camera flash can be. But of course, the example is simulated so it's a little tricky to tell exactly how well it would work in reality.
It isn't clear exactly how Google is able to achieve the boost in brightness, as the screen doesn't seem to dramatically increase in brightness the way it does to mimic flash for selfies, and the feature isn't dependent on the very latest and greatest camera specs to work.
Google does, however, note in the fine print that the actual effects will "vary based on device and environment", so it is possible that the camera specs will have some impact on how well low light mode performs on different handsets.
Google Duo low light mode will be rolling out to iOS and Android devices globally, this week.
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Low light mode isn't the only feature Google has added in response to feedback from users. The app recently introduced a bunch of new features including Data Saving mode, personalised video messages and group call capabilities for up to eight friends.
