Install Google Camera on Xiaomi Poco F1 & Xiaomi Mi 8 [Without Root]

Google Camera is probably the most sought-after camera app outside of the Play Store. That would explain the numerous attempts at porting it to non-Google phones. Since the launch of the Google Pixel and its amazing HDR+ tech, everybody has been wanting to get their hands on it. And people have been quite successful to an extent. The Google Camera is getting ported to more and more devices. Xiaomi Mi 8 and the much talked about Xiaomi Poco F1 can now be included onto the list of such devices. Here’s how you can install Google Camera on Xiaomi Poco F1 and Xiaomi Mi 8 without root.

Google Camera port

Much of the demand for Google Camera ports is due to the software-based HDR+ technology. HDR+ allows the average user an easy way to capture stunning photos with their smartphone cameras. A user doesn’t need to worry about learning to use manual photography or editing RAW images. A Ukrainian developer who goes by the name of B-S-G on the forum 4PDA, was able to port a working Google Camera APK with HDR+ processing onto devices with the Hexagon 680 ISP (found on the Snapdragon 820, 821, and 835 SoCs).

This developer is the reason behind many Google camera ports for so many devices. He only posts on 4PDA which is a Russian forum. 4PDA used crowdfunding to send the developer a Xiaomi Mi 8 and the developer has now posted a working Google Camera port for the device. Since the Poco F1 is pretty much the same device when it comes to the internal hardware, the port also works on it. Unfortunately, some key features are missing though. Also, one can’t take photos with HDR+ turned off using the Google Camera port on the Xiaomi Poco F1 and the Xiaomi Mi 8. This port is still very much a work in progress and is in an early development stage. You can expect frequent updates and quite a few bugs here and there.

What works

• Portrait Mode (front and rear)
• HDR+
• Video recording

What doesn’t work

• ZSL
• Slow-Mo
• Smart burst

No root required

Many Xiaomi devices don’t have the camera2API enabled which is required for the Google Camera app to work. Fortunately, the Poco F1 and the Mi 8 run on the Snapdragon 845. As it turns out, all Xiaomi devices running on the Snapdragon 845 and Snapdragon 710 have the camera2API enabled. This means you won’t need to manually enable it which would have required root access.

Download latest Google Camera Port for Xiaomi Mi 8 & Xiaomi Poco F1

MGC_5.1.018_MI8_V1b .apk  |  Mirror

Don’t miss: Install Android Pie-based MIUI 10 Global Beta on Poco F1

How to install Google Camera on Xiaomi Poco F1 & Xiaomi Mi 8

Like many other Google Camera ports, you don’t need a rooted device to enjoy the benefits of this one either. All you need to do is enable Install unknown apps permission for your browser. Before Android Oreo, this setting was universal and known as Unknown sources located under Settings > Security. With Android Oreo, Google has specified this setting to individual apps. This means only the apps that you allow can install APK files on your device. You can read more about it and learn how to grant apps the permission to Install unknown apps here. Even if you don’t enable this setting already, you’ll be asked to do so at the time of installation.

Download the Google Camera APK linked above. Once the download is complete, tap on the download complete notification and select INSTALL. If you hadn’t granted your browser the permission to Install unknown apps before, you’ll be asked to do so now before you are allowed to tap INSTALL.

source: xda