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Google Camera
Download the best Google Camera port for your Android device

The Google Camera Port Hub is a centralized location where you can go to find a working port for your device. Currently, the hub has over 40 devices listed.

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One of the best developments in the Android community in recent years has been Google Camera ports. The Google Pixel's picture-taking ability is spectacular, even though the camera hardware may be better on other devices. A lot of the Google Pixel's photo magic comes from the Google Camera app. Features like HDR+ and portrait mode make the camera really shine. A vibrant community of developers and users has sprung up to bring these features to as many devices as possible.

a/b seamless updates
How A/B Partitions and Seamless Updates Affect Custom Development on XDA

You may have heard of Seamless Updates before. It involves something called "A/B partitions." What is it and how does it affect custom development on XDA?

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When Android Nougat released, it had us talking about all kinds of new features. We got a newly updated user interface for starters along with long-awaited multiwindow capabilities and Vulkan Graphics API support. But one under-the-hood addition flew over the heads of most users. Android Nougat introduced "Seamless Updates" on devices that support A/B partitions. The vast majority of existing Android devices (excluding the new Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL) did not have A/B partitions at the time and thus couldn't take advantage of seamless updates. The basic premise of this feature is that the device has a second set of the system, boot, vendor, and other important partitions, and when you get an OTA update the update happens in the background while the second set of partitions are patched which lets you reboot into an updated software build seamlessly. If an update fails, you'll be kicked back to a working build, meaning companies will have fewer headaches to deal with and consumers are better protected.