Google Glass update XE6 brings HDR camera feature

Google has released this month's software update for Glass, bringing with it a handful of features and improvements, the most notable of which are changes to the camera. In particular, photographs taken with Glass are now more detailed with less over- and under-exposure issues due to an HDR feature, which snaps multiple images and combines them into a single exposure.

According to the update details posted on Project Glass's Google+ account, the update brings with it a few improvements to the camera, the first of which is a background "rapid sequence of shots". This feature takes a burst of photos with every photograph that is taken. Those multiple images are then merged together, producing a single image that is more detailed and better exposed than the previous images Glass would take. You can see an example of the quality differences in the image above; before the update is on the right, after is on the left.

This is known as HDR photography, where multiple exposures of the same image are taken so that both bright and dark areas are revealed. Such is likely the same method used by this Glass improvement, although Google doesn't detail how the process takes place, instead only calling it an auto HDR feature. If a situation is too dark for an HDR image to be taken, the resulting photograph will instead be brighter and sharper than what Glass would offer before the update.

Other camera updates include improved sharpness when taking images of photographs of subjects that are moving, such as children. A captioning option has also been added, allowing users to speak a caption, which is then added to the photograph before it is shared. The folks over at Glass XE have the full change log, which shows that images are also taken faster after depressing the shutter button, increasing the odds of getting that snapshot you're aiming for.

The camera aside, there are some other small changes and improvements that are included in update XE6, such as a change to the shut down notification sound and Off-Head detection sound. Hangouts produces a ring when connecting, Google Now Sports and Birthdays cards are new and improved, off-head detection is better, and several small fixes have been applied. Have you noticed any other changes? Let us know!

SOURCE: Google+