Samsung's latest flagships use Instagram's Night Mode for better images

Galaxy S24 Ultra, Z Flip 6, and Z Fold 6 use Instagram's Night Mode

Google has announced that Instagram is using Android's Camera Extensions API for the ‘Night Mode' in the app. Night Mode improves image quality on the latest flagship phones from Google and Samsung.

The company announced that the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Galaxy Z Fold 6 are the phones currently using Night Mode, powered by Android's Camera Extensions API and its ‘Night' extension. The announcement said more Galaxy devices will soon get these features.

The Camera Extensions API allows third-party apps to use device-specific camera hardware and software features developed by smartphone brands. Its features include:

1. Bokeh: Sharpening the subject in the foreground and blurring the background to offer a background blur effect generally used in portrait images.
2. Face Retouch: Improves skin texture, under-eye tone, and more to make the face look more attractive.
3. HDR: Captures multiple frames at different exposure levels and merges them for an image with a wider dynamic range and deeper colors.
4. Night: Captures multiple frames and different exposure values and merges them for an image that is brighter. It can take several seconds to capture those frames, so the user should hold the phone still for a few seconds.

Instagram has implemented its ‘Night Mode' using the Camera Extensions API's Night extension to capture brighter images. When this mode is activated automatically, a moon icon appears on the top of the screen.

Google announced that over 120 Android devices are using the Camera Extensions API, representing over 75 million users. As more third-party app developers use it, we will see more competitive camera apps.