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In October, Google unveiled the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the latest step in our work to build an inclusive and accessible camera that works for everyone. We introduced a big upgrade to Real Tone, which Pixel 6 originally introduced to improve photographs of people of color, especially those with darker skin. And we continue to build on accessibility with Guided Frame, which uses a combination of audio cues, high-contrast animations and haptic (tactile) feedback to help people who are blind and low-vision take selfies and group photos.<\/p>\n
The testing process for both of these features relied on the communities they\u2019re trying to serve. Here\u2019s the inside scoop on how we tested Real Tone and Guided Frame.<\/p>\n
To make Real Tone better we worked with more people in more places, including internationally. The goal was to see how the Real Tone upgrade the team had been working on performed across more of the world, which required expanding who<\/i> was testing these tools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked with image-makers who represented the U.K., Australia, India and Laos,\u201d says Florian Koenigsberger, Real Tone lead product manager. \u201cWe really tried to have a more globally diverse perspective.\u201d And Google didn\u2019t just send a checklist or a survey \u2014 someone from the Real Tone team was there, working with the experts and collecting data. \u201cWe needed to make sure we represented ourselves to these communities in a real, human way,\u201d Florian says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just like, \u2018Hey, show up, sign this paper, boom-boom-boom.\u2019 We really made an effort to tell people about the history of this project and why we\u2019re doing it. We wanted everyone to be respected in this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once on the ground, the Real Tone team asked these aesthetic experts to try to \u201cbreak\u201d the camera \u2014 in other words, to take pictures in places where the camera historically didn\u2019t work for people with dark skin tones. \u201cWe wanted to understand the nuance of what was and wasn\u2019t working, and take that back to our engineering team in an actionable way,\u201d Florian explains.<\/p>\n
Team members also asked \u2014 and were allowed \u2014 to watch the experts edit photos, which, for photographers, was a very big request: \u201cThat\u2019s very intimate for them,\u201d Florian says. \u201cBut then we could see if they were an exposure slider person, or a color slider person. Are you manipulating tones individually? It was really interesting information we took back.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get the best feedback, the team shared prototype Pixel devices very early \u2014 so early that the phones often crashed. \u201cThe Real Tone team member who was there had access to special tools and techniques required to keep the product running,\u201d says Isaac Reynolds, the lead Product Manager for Pixel Camera.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n