Vivo’s Android camera app makes the Pixel and Galaxy look outdated

But while I was enjoying my honeymoon period with that camera’s hardware, I found myself appreciating something much less flashy, but much more useful in everyday use: the default settings. camera app

It’s one of those features that doesn’t appear on the spec sheets, but quietly changes the usability of a phone, especially one with a camera as advanced as the vivo X300 Ultra. And after spending some time with it, I really think this is something Google and Samsung should copy for the Pixel and Galaxy phones. And it seems that Apple is also convinced.

The vivo camera app is ridiculously customizable in a way that most Android brands don’t even try. At the top of the camera UI, vivo gives you a fully customizable “shortcut bar.” You can choose up to four controls to permanently place on top for quick access. There is also another set of up to three customizable shortcuts that can appear directly within the viewer on the right side.

In both areas, you can place options like:

• Toggle manual/auto focus
• Super macro
• Google Lens
• High resolution mode
• live photo
• aspect ratio
• Raw lighting
• Countdown timer
• Styles/filters
• Snapshot mode

What I love is that Vivo doesn’t impose its own priorities on me. I can completely rearrange these controls, moving them, removing them, or adding new ones, depending on the type of photography I’m doing or the settings I prefer when I turn on the camera app. Seeing too many shortcuts can sometimes be confusing and unnecessary, and this way I can prioritize the options I use frequently over the ones I rarely touch.

For example, if I’m casually shooting outdoors, I can prioritize aspect ratio and Live Photo. If I’m experimenting with close-ups, I can keep macro and manual focus easily accessible. And if I don’t want any mess, I can remove it all. That flexibility is great, especially compared to being stuck with a camera UI that you can’t change at all.

Most smartphone camera apps still operate under the assumption that there is one correct design for everyone. This is especially true on Pixel and Galaxy phones. Don’t get me wrong, both Samsung and Google offer feature-packed camera apps that are really nice to see and use. At the same time, they are incredibly rigid and don’t allow you to customize controls or organize functions like you can on vivo phones.

The app even lets you customize the Toolbox, the bottom row of camera tools that appears when you tap the options button. You can completely rearrange this row simply by dragging the options up or down to prioritize the controls you use most frequently.

These tools overlap with shortcut options. So if you prefer a cleaner shooting experience, you can remove all shortcuts from the main interface and rely on the Toolbox only when necessary.

The customization options don’t end here. You can even add, remove, or rearrange the home screen modes that appear next to the Photo and Video options. Obviously, those two are grayed out and can’t be modified because they are the primary shooting modes, but the rest are completely customizable. Plus, you can add options to those options, including Pro Photo mode, Ultra HD Document (for taking clear photos of a document), Food Photo mode, and more.

This is the level of customization that every Android phone, heck, every phone should offer. If it’s my phone, I want the camera UI to be personal and adapt to the way I shoot, rather than being limited to what a brand thinks I should use.

Taking camera app customization a step further, 3vivo also includes five camera UI presets:

• Default
• immersive
• Scenery
• Scenic
• Video creation

And these are not just cosmetic issues; They actually reorganize the camera experience, including the mode carousel, toolbox, and shortcut layout.

For example, the Immersive preset removes some major shortcuts and reduces visible controls to prioritize a cleaner shooting experience. The carousel is also simplified to just Photo, Video, Portrait, and more. Meanwhile, the Video Creation preset brings video tools and modes to the forefront, while Stage features concert-focused recording features.

So if you don’t want to go through the hassle of organizing your camera layout, you can use one of these presets to automatically minimize distracting options.

Again, vivo recognizes that different users, and even the same user in different situations, want different experiences with the camera. That’s a level of UI flexibility we rarely see in major smartphone brands.

This type of customizable camera approach makes so much sense that even Apple seems to be moving in exactly this direction.

According to a recent Bloomberg According to the report, Apple is planning a much more customizable camera app for future iPhones as part of its next big software redesign. Users will reportedly be able to decide which controls appear, where they are located, and which features they want to prioritize.

In other words, Apple seems to have realized that camera apps should adapt to users, and not the other way around.

I really hope Google and Samsung follow suit, especially since android cameras Start embracing more AI-enabled photography features that will only add to the multitude of options already available to users.