• Windows Phone Area
• On January 23, 2018

Windows Camera app gets significant interface changes in build 17074

Nokia Pro Cam debuted in 2013 with the Lumia 1020 cameraphone, offering advanced photo features like the ability to balance between shutter speed and ISO thanks to a wheel-style controller you could reveal by swiping left on the capture button. This interface has evolved throughout the years, but the basic principles of Nokia (Lumia) Camera in Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Camera in Windows 10 Mobile remained basically the same – with two modes (Auto and Pro) and the wheel-style controller in ‘Pro’ mode.

Nokia Pro Cam (2013)

As Windows Mobile is no longer a focus, Microsoft is preparing significant changes for Windows Camera app in the next update for Windows 10. In Insider build 17074, Windows Camera gets new features, but also lose some currently available for Windows phones.

Microsoft cites the need to “remove the complex handling for unsupported devices” and the result is that swiping left on the capture button to show all wheels is no longer possible. Microsoft is also removing the ability to switch between video, photo and panorama by wheeling the capture button. It looks like Windows Camera will be more focused on Auto mode in the future, although the app will still have a ‘Manual’ mode as a replacement of ‘Pro’.

Windows Camera (2018)

However, Microsoft is not giving up on the Camera app, but just moving away from the phone-centric app and the UI we know from 2013. In the blog post, the company writes that you can expect a more personalized behavior thanks to the new features in build 17074. Windows Camera now supports two cameras at the same time, and remembers the last used camera. The app also remembers the last used scene (photo or video), while you can select more photo resolutions and video ratios.

All these changes won’t affect anyone on Windows 10 Mobile, as Microsoft is not planning to release the Redstone 4 update for currently supported smartphones.