Last updated April 12, 2018
I LOVE the portrait photos that come out of the camera in this phone. It is the best photos out of any phone camera I’ve used.
PROBLEM: Out-of-the-box the Pixel 2 XL Portrait Mode ONLY works with the rear camera (back camera). There is no option to flip it to the front camera (front facing camera, aka selfie camera).
SOLUTION: Simply upgrade to the latest version of the Google Camera App. Here is how:
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Go to “Play Store” on the phone.
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Select “My Apps & Games”
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Look for the “Google Camera”, it should be on the list of updates you have available.
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Simply update the “Google Camera
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Go back to your “Camera” app and select “Portrait Mode”
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You should now be able to switch to the rear camera and take a selfie!
Detail Steps with Photos:
Below: We Switch to Portrait Mode:
Below: Notice the button to switch to the FRONT camera is NOT there.
Below: Go your “Play Store” and go to “My Apps & Games” from the drop down menu, and select to UPDATE the “Google Camera”:
Below: Test if it worked! Opened the Camera App again, Go to “Portrait” Mode:
Below: YAY!!! We see the button to switch to the Front Camera!
Below: Portrait Mode with Front Camera TEST:
Below: Results show that the phone properly processed the Portrait Mode! NOTE the background of the photo is blurred out.
Below: COMPARE the UNPROCESSED photo: NOTE the background of the photo is NOT blurred out.
Below: So this is the result: NOTE the background of the photo *IS* blurred out.
