The Pixel Visual Core is a special piece of silicon that's unique to Google's Pixel 2 phones. In short, it's a custom chip designed to help with the Pixel's HDR+ image processing — that's the computational secret sauce that makes the Pixel 2 camera so great.
But it's also a little misunderstood — the visual core isn't necessarily used in every photo your Pixel takes, even since Google enabled it by default in the February update for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
So we're going to take a step back here, and go over what the Visual Core is, what it does and doesn't do — and the differences now that Pixel 2 owners can use it. Check out our explainer video above to find out everything you need to know about the Pixel Visual Core!
- Android Central on YouTube
- Google Pixel 2 + Pixel 2 XL review
- How to update your Pixel to the latest version
- More on the Pixel Visual Core
Alex is global Executive Editor for Android Central, and is usually found in the UK. He has been blogging since before it was called that, and currently most of his time is spent leading video for AC, which involves pointing a camera at phones and speaking words at a microphone. He would just love to hear your thoughts at alex@androidcentral.com, or on the social things at @alexdobie.
