Google decided to remove raw photo support from Android 4.4

Google wanted to introduce a new camera API in Android 4.4, with which the camera software could have taken raw photos, among other things. A few weeks before the release of the Nexus 5, it was decided not to include the api in Android 4.4.

Raw photos are not compressed and therefore better suited for photo editing, for example. In addition to support for saving images in raw format, the new camera API also includes support for face detection and a burst mode, say Ars Technica. Those functions are included in many Android phones, but the manufacturers make them themselves.

The developer of the new features, who previously created a camera app for the Nokia N900 with raw support as a student, made a commit which said ‘not yet ready’, after which it did not come in the final version of Android 4.4.

It is therefore unclear when and whether raw support will come to Android, but Google has already promised ‘improvements’ in the camera software of, among others, the Nexus 5. Nokia also promises raw support for its phones with Pureview cameras, such as the Lumia 920. , 925 and 1020.