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Pixel 4 Dual Exposure Controls, Live HDR won't come to Google Pixel 3, 3a

Two of the Pixel 4's coolest camera features won't be coming to legacy Pixel phones.
By
October 21, 2019
Pixel 4 XL back top half 1

The Google Pixel 4 packs quite a few neat camera features, including an astrophotography mode, Dual Exposure Controls, and Live HDR+ previews. We already know that the former feature is coming to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a series, but what about the other two features?

Unfortunately, the Made By Google Twitter account has confirmed that Dual Exposure Controls and Live HDR+ functionality will remain exclusive to the Pixel 4 series. The company claimed that these features require hardware capabilities that aren’t available on the older devices.

Hi Mahfooz, Dual Exposure Controls and Live HDR+ require low-level capabilities in the hardware that are only available on Pixel 4, so they will not be available on older Pixel devices.
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 21, 2019

The news means you should get the Pixel 4 if you officially want these features, although I’m sure unofficial Google Camera ports will attempt to bring them to older Pixels.

5 reasons why you should (and shouldn't) pre-order a Google Pixel 4
Features
Clearly White Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL on a shelf

Live HDR+ previews allow you to see what your HDR+ shot will look like in the viewfinder before you hit the shutter key. Meanwhile, Dual Exposure Controls give Pixel 4 owners two slider bars in the viewfinder, with one bar allowing you to tweak shadow levels and the other controlling overall exposure.

It’s a little disappointing that we’re not seeing these features come to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a, but Google is bringing some features to its legacy phones though. These include the aforementioned astrophotography mode and Android 10’s Live Caption functionality.

Would you buy a Pixel 4 over the Pixel 3a? Let us know your answer in the comments below!