Xiaomi has a pretty decent camera app on its phones out of the box. But is that app optimized well to give the best picture quality? NO!
There comes the GCam which works on almost all Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco phones and it brings software optimizations to utilize all the pixels of your camera sensor.
Google Camera or GCam APK on Xiaomi phone enhances the picture quality beating the stock MIUI / Poco camera app. This is a one stop location which provides download links to all compatible GCam ports for available Xiaomi phones.
Moreover, let me bring this to the table that at least 8 or 9 out of 10 times users have seen the images produced by the GCam Port is better than the images produced by the Stock Camera of any Xiaomi phone.
And trust me on this, because I have tested almost all the major Android phones including the new ones. One interesting fact is that I also have lost track of when did I use the Stock Camera on my smartphone since the time I have used a ported the GCam app for my Android phone.
If you already know about Google Camera and it’s image processing capability you don’t need an introduction and may proceed straight to find a download link for your Xiaomi phone. If you are a first time user then you may want to know the features of the Google Camera or better known as GCam.
What you get on a GCam for Xiaomi Phone?
Google Camera is designed to work only on Google Pixel and legacy Nexus phones by default and not on any Xiaomi phones. But, because of its unmatched image processing capabilities it has attracted more developers’ attention and users to port it for many phones which is known as GCam mod / port.
Let’s have a look at the key features of Google Camera which makes it stand ahead of all other camera applications.
Night Sight mode
This is one of the major feature which is why the GCam is popular. Night Sight mode captures unbelievably more light on darker conditions than any other camera application available on Android.
Below are some images captured in Google Camera Night Sight mode:
Astrophotography Mode
Available on Google Camera 7.0 or any later version, which is designed to work only in low light conditions to capture better and cleaner photos of the celestial bodies such as sky and stars. Astrophotography Mode works on Night Sight mode with long exposures to capture more light and a lot of information of the scene.
Portrait mode
Portrait mode is used to create bokeh or background blur effect. Usually this is created using a larger aperture lens in DSLR which is not possible in Mobile phones. This is the reason Mobile phones use a secondary camera to evaluate the depth by detecting the focused subject in image and creating a blur effect on the rest of the image which is out of focus.
The biggest problem in this technique is detecting the edges of the subject in focus and out of focus where most of the camera applications fail. The portrait mode on Google Camera has an awesome edge detection algorithm which creates DSLR like natural bokeh effect there by making it the best in class camera application.
Below are some images captured in Google Camera Portrait mode:
HDR+ image processing
Every image captured in HDR+ mode is processed out of multiple images with different exposures. This preserves much detail of the image captured and also creates a more contrast image. A better contrast image meaning not over or under exposed image unlike many camera applications.
Google Camera Samples captured on Xiaomi phones
Before installing GCam on a Xiaomi phone probably you would like to see what kind of images people have captured using Google Camera application. Below are some of the samples taken on various phones including Xiaomi.
Where to download Google Camera / GCam Port for Xiaomi Phones?
Once you are ready to try a compatible GCam APK on your Xiaomi phone, then below is a list of download links for specific Xiaomi phones.
Compatible GCam Port for Xiaomi Phones
Xiaomi Series Phones | Compatible GCam port download |
Xiaomi 14 Ultra | Xiaomi 14 Ultra GCam port |
Poco Series Phones | Compatible GCam port download |
Poco F5 | Poco F5 GCam port |
Redmi Series phones | Compatible GCam port download |
Redmi 13C | Redmi 13C GCam port |
Redmi K60 Pro | Redmi K60 GCam port |
Redmi Note Series phones | Compatible GCam port download |
Redmi Note 8 | Redmi Note 8 GCam port |
Redmi Note 10 Pro | Redmi Note 10 Pro GCam port |
Redmi Note 13 | Redmi Note 13 GCam port |
Redmi Note 13 Pro | Redmi Note 13 Pro GCam port |
How to Install Google Camera Port on Xiaomi phone?
Some legacy phones, typically a phone that was launched before Android 8 (Oreo) required to have the Camera2API installed on the phone.
If your phone was launched with Android 9 or later, then by default the Camera2API is already enabled and you can straight away proceed to follow the installation instructions to install the GCam on your Xiaomi phone. In this case if you still want to verify the availability of Camera2 API you can still use the below link to do so.
Verify and enable Camera2 API
If your phone needs this, then visit the below link that explains how to verify if Camera2 API is enabled, if not then how to enable the same.
Installation instructions
- Download any compatible GCam for your phone from the download link(s).
- To install apps from a third party app other than Play Store you need to enable app install from Unknown Sources on your Android device.
For Android 10 or later version, enable Install Unknown Apps from the app from which you are going to install the APK file.
For example: if you have downloaded the Google Camera apk file on Google chrome or firefox browser on your phone. Or you have downloaded and copied the apk file to the file browser and you want to install it from there.
Go to Settings > Apps and notifications > Open the app (Chrome, Firefox or file manager app like ES File Explorer etc) > Install unknown apps and enable Allow from this source
See the below screenshots that enables to install unknown apps on Pie for Chrome app (you need to enable on the app from where you want to install the apk): - Once enabled, click on the downloaded Gcam port apk to install.
- Once installed you can clear the app data and open the app and enjoy the feature packed Google Camera on the phone.
NOTE: You cannot install Google Camera from Play Store on any Non-Google phone(s). Only a GCam port can be installed. To be able to install Google Camera (GCam) on Xiaomi phone it must have Camera2 API enabled to run Google Camera on any device, in fact.
Conclusion
Of course GCam is good but that does not mean the MIUI or the Poco camera is bad. GCam provides better image quality, it has several features of its own which out performs the stock camera app.
But Xiaomi’s stock camera also has some good features which cannot be overlooked such as the Pro features, Vlogging features, and better hardware compatibility.
Summarizing it all, GCam will not replace the MIUI / Poco camera rather both the camera apps can be installed on the same phone and you can use each app for which it better suits to your needs.
That’s all for now on this chapter of GCam for Xiaomi phones. If you face any problem installing this app or you want Google camera for your Xiaomi phone which is not there in the list, then just leave a comment below so that I can take a look at the availability and answer you as soon as possible.