Google explains the Pixel 3's improved AI portraits

Google's Pixel 3 takes portrait photos that are more accurate than its predecessor could take when new, which is no mean feat when you realize that the upgrade comes solely through software. But just what is Google doing, exactly? The company is happy to explain. It just posted a look into the Pixel 3's (or really, the Google Camera app's) Portrait Mode that illustrates how its AI changes produce portraits with fewer visual glitches. When the Pixel 2 launched, Google used a neural network and the camera's phase-detect autofocus (namely, the parallax effect it offers) to determine what's in the foreground.