Sorry, you can’t hide in the dark from Google Glass any more

If you thought you could slip into the shadows and go unnoticed by someone wearing Google Glass, it’s not going to happen. Google is pushing a software update to Glass devices to improve the camera in low light. The new feature automatically detects a low-light situation and compensates to get a more detailed, brighter picture.

The Glass team is piggybacking the improvement for bright light photos as well. After the software updated is installed, Glass will automatically take HDR, or High Dynamic Range, photos in low light or bright situations. Several of the latest smartphones support HDR photography, which quickly captures multiple images at various exposure levels. The pictures are then combined to provide an improved picture with boosted brightness in low-lit areas and toned down pixels where overexposure is detected.

Google is sharing an image gallery with before and after images that illustrate the camera improvements on Glass. Here’s an example of two similar images, first without the new software and then with the update:

Without Software Update

With New Software 9

Another small feature addition is the ability to caption photos directly from Glass. When sharing a photo from the wearable device, Glass will prompt for a caption. Users can tap the side touchpad of Glass and then speak their caption before sharing the image.

While the software update may appear very incremental, Google is holding to its promise of new features in monthly software updates for Glass. That means Glass owners can expect a steady stream of new features, both big and small, for their connected glasses.