Google's Night Mode will help cheap Android Go phones take better photos

Google has brought Night Mode to the Android Go camera app with a new update this week. It'll be coming to phones like the Nokia 1.3, Alcatel 1, and other phones running on the platform, helping users take better pictures on their budget phones.

While features like Night Mode are typically reserved for phones on the higher end of things, Google has been working hard so that Night Mode will work without hardware that's as capable as something you'll find on the even the Pixel 3a. Google is working around this by building the Camera Go app towards the camera hardware that's used on these phones. In other words, the hardware and software are integrated to some degree. You can see how well the Night Mode performs with the provided images of the Nokia 1.3 below.

Joris van Mens, Product Manager at Google's Next Billion Users initiative, said:

We want to provide people using entry-level smartphones access to a high-quality camera experience. For many, capturing moments in low light is a matter of trial and error. Taking night-time photos requires them to experiment with complicated settings. With Night Mode in Nokia 1.3 and other devices, preserving memories and capturing great photos will be easier for everyone.

Android Go is Google's platform for making cheap, inexpensive smartphones running Android without much compromise (well, once you take the prices these phones are being sold at). The company has debuted several cut-down versions of its best apps for the platform, but that hasn't stopped it from trickling in features like Night Mode into those cut-down apps.

The Camera Go update is rolling out now to the Nokia 1.3 and other Android Go phones.