Asus ZenFone 6 (6z) GCam port now available, HDR+ enhancement also working

Combining the rear camera setup with selfie camera is nothing new. Mainstream OEMs, like OPPO, came with up with gadgets like the OPPO N1 back in 2013. The phone featured a 13 MP camera which could be swiveled up to 206 degrees – making it both the front and rear facing camera.

Fast forward to 2019, and Asus once again popularized the concept with the introduction of ZenFone 6 (sold as Asus 6z in India). The Taiwanese OEM opted for the industry standard Sony IMX586 48 MP sensor paired with a 13 MP ultrawide lens – all installed inside a unique flip module with dual LED flash.

Asus is trying to give a tough fight to other OEMs occupying the ‘budget flagship’ category, especially in the Indian market, with the release of the sixth generation ZenFone. They rolled out a number of software updates (targeting camera improvements) – even before the retail release of the phone.

As a matter of fact, the company went one step further, and decided to deliver free ZenFone 6 (6z) units to select developers in collaboration with XDA. We are aware of similar initiatives from Honor, Poco and OnePlus, but the entry of Asus in this game is kinda surprising.

One of the selected candidates is Arnova8G2, the man with the tremendous knowledge in porting Google Camera (GCam). He is a familiar name in the Android modding community, and we often talk about him – for example, his works on OnePlus 7 / 7 Pro GCam ports.

FYI, I01WD is the codename of the Asus ZenFone 6. And yes, Arnova has already started developing a dedicated modded Google Camera port for the current gen flagship from Asus.

We are not sure whether he has got the test device in his hand or not, but the pace of development seems pretty fast. The current status of the port is as follows:

Photos-------: Back/Front hdr+/hdr+enh (but bug)---| Work ( 48Mp)
Night signt--: Back/Front---------------------------------| No Work
Portrait------: Back/Front hdr+/hdr+enh---------------| No Work
Lens blur----: Back/Front---------------------------------| Work
Time Lapse-: Back-----------------------------------------| Work 
Video--------: Back/Front Auto/60/30 fps-------------| Work
Photobooth-: Front---------------------------------------| Work ( 6.2Mp)
SlowMotion-: Back----------------------------------------| No Work

The developer has also confirmed that the phone becomes the first device to produce HDR+ enhanced photos with 48 MP sensor via the GCam port.

Below you can find some early samples for comparing between the stock Asus camera app and the Google Camera port:

The first testing version of GCam builds for Asus 6z / ZenFone 6 has already been uploaded to Celso Azevedo’s Google Camera Port repo. The build is based on Google Camera 6.2.030.

• Download GCam for Asus ZenFone 6: Gcam_6.2.030_Advanced_V2.1beta9.190612.0433.apk (by Arnova8G2, 2019-06-12)

Version 48Mp and 12Mp

Hdr + enh, raw, portrait, video, photobooth and time lapse works

Interested users can involve with the development, discussion and troubleshooting by participating in the Telegram channel and/or the XDA support thread.

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