Hi Guys,

First of all, I would like to thank all developers for such an amazing OS! Using GrapheneOS for a week now and everything just works, including all my banking apps. Great work guys, you're doing God's job!

Now, the problem:

Device: Pixel 7 Pro
Google services installed: Yes (all 3) + Pixel Camera Services from Aurora Store
GrapheneOS version: the latest one

I am having issues with Google Camera (and GCam too).

Everything works as expected, the camera processes pictures very quickly (Night Mode, etc).
However, it takes 1-1.5 minute to process Portrait Mode pictures both with front and end cameras which drives me crazy as its basically impossible to use Portrait Mode.

This happens with both stock Google Camera and modded GCam.

For comparison, in stock OS, portrait picture processing takes just 1-2 seconds.

I tried to play with different app settings to n/a. Obviously, the app has Unrestricted battery usage and I also tried to enable Exploit Protection Compatibility Mode but nothing helps.

Do you guys have the same issues? How can this be resolved?

My guess is that it maybe needs extra libraries for portrait image processing and these are not available in GOS?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    I just tried using the official Google Camera on a Pixel 6 and took a photo using the portrait mode. It processed almost immediately.

    That said, I don't have a 7 Pro to test this on. It doesn't sound like it's something that's specific to GrapheneOS, however.

      matchboxbananasynergy

      Thanks for this.

      This is interesting - I wonder if its an issue with Pixel 7 build or maybe something else... I don't have any non-standard config - Google services installed through GOS App, Google Camera is installed through Aurora store, most of the apps are FOSS apps...

      I even tried to export the Camera apk directly from stock ROM and it produced the same results.

      I bumped into a similar thread on Reddit but this is for CalyxOS: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalyxOS/comments/uzqe8v/gcam_portrait_processing_5x_slower

      Will be very useful to see if anyone else with Pixel 7 experiencing this issue. I wonder if its my setup or a general issue for Pixel 7.

      Volen I rarely use portrait mode, but I too have noticed it takes about 45 seconds on my Pixel 7 to complete "Processing", whatever that involves. That said, I'm still able to take several back-to-back shots without issue.

      If it helps you at all, I only have GSF installed.

      A quick search revealed a similar post regarding CalyxOS and a Pixel 6.

        mythodical

        Thanks for confirming.

        Its unfortunate as it seems to be working fine on Pixel 6 series.

        Is it something we need to report on Github or this is not related with GrapheneOS project and we just need to live with it?

          MetropleX

          Yes, I tried to grant location access to Google Camera and Google Photos but this did not resolve the issue. I didn't change GPS settings so it routes through GrapheneOS.

          However, on the stock OS, the Google Camera still processes photos in 1-2 seconds even in airplane mode and with location services turned off (which makes sense as network is not always available so taking pictures should work in all modes).

            Volen right I tested on my 6a and as I do not like location EXIF I never grant location or use location on my Play Services user.

            Like matchboxbananasynergy images process the same as stock.

            I have a feeling that it takes so long as using location redirected to stock OS GPS/GNSS which is default is causing it to take longer while it tries to stamp location data to the image. Probably would be normal if you enabled Google Network Location Service or revoked location from GCam altogether.

            Location using stock GPS will always take longer on first lock and will struggle/fail if indoors without line of sight to the sky.

              MetropleX

              Thanks for the info.

              Jut like you, I don't care about location EXIF so location permissions are revoked for both Google Camera and Play Services. I don't think its a location issue as otherwise you would have the same issues too as you also revoked location permissions. Moreover, it doesn't explain why the camera processes videos and normal pictures in 1-2 seconds and only having issues with processing Portrait images.

              For the sake of experiment, I enabled Location permissions for both Play Services and Camera and changed routing from GOS to Google - no luck.

              I even tried to factory reset GrapheneOS and only install GSF and Google Camera, nothing else, not changing any system configs, etc - its still doing the same, unfortunately.

              I tried stock Google Camera from Aurora store, Google Camera apk pulled directly from stock OS via ADB command, and GCam mod, but all doing the same.

              If it helps, GCam shows "processing HDR+" during this process and this is a hint that the camera struggles with processing HDR in Portrait mode. Turning off HDR in GCam doesn't make any difference.

              Is it possible that GrapheneOS for Pixel 7 is not utilizing Tensor G2 chip properly hence the issues with processing speed?

                MetropleX I haven't given it much thought, since it hasn't really effected my user experience.

                The only permissions I've granted to Google Camera are camera, microphone and sensors. Storage scopes are enabled for the DCIM folder.

                I have the phone's location services always disabled as well, and GSF is installed with no permissions granted.

                It's been a non-issue for me, but I can definitely do some troubleshooting if it helps the project.

                Thanks both, I am happy to help too. Not an Android developer but have some modding, troubleshooting and technical skills.

                As it seems this is affecting Pixel 7 devices only, I think more users will report this as they upgrade their phones.

                MetropleX

                Hi MetropleX,

                Do you think its possible to troubleshoot this to narrow down the issue? I can help with this. Really keen on getting this one sorted. Thanks.

                I am experiencing the same issue myself on the Pixel 7 Pro

                Volen very comprehensive and detailed description of the issue. I'm commenting to indicate that my P7P is also affected

                7 days later

                Unfortunately, this is still the case with the latest GOS and Google Camera.

                Not only picture processing in Portrait Mode, but when recording videos too - the viewfinder is not smooth enough when moving phone around. The overall interface is sluggish too - imagine Windows running without proper graphics card driver.

                I believe it requires some library that is missing.

                Stock GOS camera doesn't have that issue with video recording smoothness but lack of dedicated zoom buttons, night sight and portrait mode makes it too weak and limited vs Google Camera. Whilst daylight pictures are somehow comparable, night time pictures look awful vs Google Camera.

                Its not only GOS camera - every single camera I tested just cannot match Google Camera's quality due to lack of API support.

                Overall, this is the only major drawback for me. I literally cannot use the camera properly and in camera department it feels that I am using a phone which is 5 years beyond current generation.

                My 2 years old Samsung blows it out of the water when it comes to camera capabilities.

                Obviously, its not GOS issue as Google Camera is a third party app, but I still wonder if its somehow possible to fix this. After all, Pixel 6 users do not have this issue.

                  Volen While I agree it would be nice to see the portrait delay resolved, we haven't had any issues actually taking pictures with it as is. The portraits do capture correctly, it simply takes a bit longer to process them for preview. Some have said this makes the camera unusable for them, which I struggle to understand.

                  I haven't had any issues with the video viewfinder at all, everything feels smooth to me (smoother than any of my previous phones), but I am coming from older phones so maybe that's the difference.

                    mythodical

                    Obviously, camera usage is different per user (some users don't use this or that feature, some others don't bother - for example, I absolutely don't bother about Astrophotography or Cinematic recording but it doesn't mean these are not important).

                    The fact is that many people do use these features and we can't just ignore the fact that these issues do not exist - camera is one of the major features of flagship phones and it should just work - especially, when it is mentioned in GOS FAQ that Google Camera does work. Many people use camera heavily on daily basis, taking multiple pictures pretty quickly, etc.

                    At the end of the day, we are using a flagship Google phone not just an average cheap Android phone. Google Camera does work flawlessly in stock firmware so its not a hardware limitation.

                    It simply shouldn't take over 40 seconds to process a portrait picture and all should be smooth like in any other modern phone. Try taking 3 Portrait pictures in a row - boom, Google Camera will stuck forever processing these pictures and won't take any more pictures until it will process all these but in stock OS it takes a blink of an eye to process so there are clearly issues that we cannot simply ignore.

                    Imagine a prospective Pixel 7 Pro buyer - they have no idea Google Camera won't work as expected as it says in all GOS FAQs that it works with GOS services. They are buying the phone and then Google Camera doesn't work as expected. They will surely ask why this info was not acknowledged or provided in FAQs as otherwise they would not probably buy it, correct?

                    I don't blame GOS at all as Google Camera is not their product (and GOS is a great OS!) BUT this issue is something that needs to be acknowledged and probably written in FAQ so that people will know what to expect before buying the phone (this is the reason of having a detailed FAQ).

                    We can't just pretend the issue doesn't exist or exists like a very very minor bug - it is a major thing, indeed.

                    • [deleted]

                    Is there a solution for this issue? I find it very annoying and awkward when I'm with friends.