Getty The new Google Clips wireless camera is seen at a product launch event on October 4, 2017 at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, California.
Google unveiled a plethora of new content at a conference yesterday including a brand new phone. The Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL will build on what was established with the original Google Pixel and look to challenge Samsung and Apple for dominance in the smartphone market.
Another interesting device shown off yesterday is the Google Clips. This new mini camera is an entirely hands-free device that will allow you to instantly take photos for you in moments when you might not want the camera out. This is done with what’s called Moment IQ, a machine learning algorithm that is constantly learning what good lighting, framing and expressions are. You can still take pictures manually as well if you don’t trust the AI.
The device is turned on by twisting the lens and then placing it the device somewhere. Google Clips then watches everything it can see in a 130-degree field of view and it records seven-second moving images of anything it finds fascinating. It has the ability to learn your face over time and even the face of your pets. As a result, it will try to only take pictures of people and pets it sees often which means you won’t have a ton of snapshots of the plumber or anything like that.
A hands-free camera, Google Clips captures more moments—so you can be in the moment → t.co/4dzPd9jkvN #madebygoogle
The device will pair with phones but it won’t just pair with any phone. Of course, you will need to have an Android device, but surprisingly, iPhones will work with the device as well. Google Clips will link directly to your phone without the need for an internet connection but having a connection will certainly help your speed.
Google Clips’ overview page says you will need a phone running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher. This means you’ll need a relatively new phone to run this device. Your ancient Galaxy S3 won’t cut it here. Google’s new Pixel 2 phone along with the original Pixel will work well with this. If you’re a Galaxy fan, you will be able to use either the Galaxy S7 or S8 with Google Clips.
On the Apple side of things, Google says to start you will need an iPhone 6 or 7 running iOS 10 or higher. More phones will be added in the future so don’t lose hope. It’s probably safe to assume the iPhone 8 and X will work as well.
For better readability, here’s the list of phones that will work with the Google Clips out of the box:
- Pixel and Pixel XL
- Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Phone 6
- iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
Google Clips is certainly not as good as Google Pixel 2’s camera but that’s not what it’s going for. The key feature here is the self-learning AI that will take pictures on its own. Google is trying something innovating and it’s hard not to support something like that.
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Google Clips: All The Compatible Phones