Microsoft Pix aims to bring better photos to iOS

The camera on the iPhone 6s is already fairly impressive in terms of quality, but Microsoft is looking to improve the photos it takes with its new app, Pix. The app launches today on the iOS App Store, and it comes with a number of features that make it worthy of consideration by folks who have decided to use an iPhone as their day-to-day shooter.

The benefits of using Pix over iPhone's main camera app stem from the way the app takes pictures. Instead of waiting for you to hit the shutter button, Pix snaps a burst of 10 photos every time you use it to take a picture. Some of these images are captured before the shutter button is even pressed in an effort to ensure that you don't miss the moment you were trying to capture. Once the burst has been captured, Pix will determine the best shots of the bunch and present them to you, allowing you to pick the best to keep while the other nine images are deleted.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the photos you never see are going to waste, though, as Microsoft says it will use data from all 10 burst images to do things like reduce noise, brighten faces, and adjust the contrast in the final product. It doesn't take very long for Pix to offer up the best images of the burst, either, as Microsoft's algorithms are able to present them about a second after the photo is snapped.

Taking pictures in groups also allows Pix to potentially create a Live Image, much like the Live Photos feature found on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. For this, Microsoft uses another set of algorithms that run alongside the set that determines the best stills of the burst. The company says that users won't always be presented with a Live Image, as the algorithms Pix uses will determine if any interesting motion in the burst warrants creating one.

Pix comes sporting other features like an open-eye detector that's part of its facial recognition software, and you'd think that with all of this under the hood, the app would be fairly complex to navigate. Microsoft promises, however, that all of this is done behind the scenes in an effort to present users with an app that's as straightforward to use as possible. If you're interested in giving Pix a spin, you can find it now on the App Store, and you can also read more about the development of the app by hitting the source link below.

SOURCE: Microsoft