Android 16 will help you take better social media photos in low light

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

TL;DR

Android 16 will introduce a new Night Mode Indicator API to help apps automatically optimize photo capture in low-light environments.
Instagram and other social apps will use it to trigger night mode, improving image quality and notifying users when they click images in low-light conditions.
Some devices, such as Pixel 6 and above, Galaxy S24 Ultra and others, already support this feature and display a moon icon to help users activate night mode.

Google plans to introduce a new night mode indicator API in Android 16 to help apps automatically adapt to low-light environments when capturing images or recording videos.

In a new Android Developer blog post (h/t Mishaal Rahman), Google wrote that the new API will allow apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and others to detect when a device is in a low-light environment and to trigger the camera extension in night mode. when necessary. This means that when you take a photo in low lighting, the social media apps’ built-in camera will automatically optimize settings, resulting in brighter images with reduced noise.

Instagram already supports this feature on some phones like Pixel 6 and above, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Galaxy Z Fold 6. More devices will be added to this list soon. When Instagram detects low-light conditions on devices that support this feature, it displays a moon icon, informing users that they can enable night mode. Google has shared examples (see below) of how this feature improves image quality, providing improved exposure and detail.

Android 16’s Night Mode Indicator API will be part of Android’s Camera Extensions framework, which allows apps to leverage device-specific camera features like Portrait Bokeh and Face Retouching. This ensures that no matter which device you use, you will get the best possible performance from your phone’s camera hardware.

For social media users, Android 16’s Night Mode Indicator API will make it easier to capture high-quality content in dimly lit environments as more app developers will be able to implement the Moon Icon indicator to enable and turn off night mode.