Pixel 6a is coming soon and brings a lot to the table, but it looks like the phone will not support a feature from its flagship brothers. According to some new evidence, it appears that Pixel 6a does not support “Motion Mode” photography.
Android developer Cuba Wojciechowski discovered, via XDA developersevidence from the Pixel Tips app suggesting that Google will not allow Motion Mode on Pixel 6a.
In the Pixel Tips app, details of Motion Mode are coded to be displayed on “PIXEL_2021_EXPERIENCE” devices, which include 6a given its first generation Tensor processor, but specifically excludes codenamed “bluejay”. The “Bluejay” code name is consistent with everything we’ve heard over the last few months, including when we first reported that code name back in November last year.
The details of this discovery were not originally shared publicly, but our APK Insight team was able to locate where “bluejay” is specifically excluded from the code, supporting Wojciechowski’s findings.
With that in mind, the conclusion is clear, it’s very likely that Pixel 6a does not support Motion Mode in the Google Camera app. Motion Mode, first launched on Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, can create effects to highlight movement around a subject. We weren’t particularly impressed with the performance of Motion Mode in our review of the Pixel 6 Pro, but it was a nice addition nonetheless.
As for why Google might exclude Motion Mode from the Pixel 6a, it’s unclear, but it’s probably related to the older camera hardware we reported on a while back. After all, the chip inside is the same.
Dylan Roussel and Kyle Bradshaw contributed to this article.
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