Xiaomi phone cameras could borrow a feature from the Google Pixels

Xiaomi Mi 10
The Xiaomi Mi 10. (Image credit: Future)

If you've got a Pixel 3 or a Pixel 4, then you'll know about the Top Shot feature that picks out the best picture from a burst of photos – and now it looks as though a similar feature is going to make its way to Xiaomi handsets.

Some digging by XDA Developers into the latest beta versions of MIUI 12 (the skin Xiaomi puts on top of Android) have found references to a feature called AI Shutter, and it could well mimic the Top Shot functionality.

While the translations from Chinese are likely to be a little off the mark, AI Shutter appears to be set up as a way of selecting the "best moment" when the shutter button is pressed. At the moment, the feature isn't available in MIUI 12, which is rolling out now.

As experienced Top Shot users will know, it takes some of the pressure off trying to capture the perfect moment when you're taking a picture – your phone can pick out the picture where everyone is smiling and has their eyes open instead.

To you, to MIUI

MIUI 12 is a significant new release for Xiaomi handset owners, bringing with it a variety of major improvements to the software. Those improvements include better battery management, a dark mode, improved permissions management, and the addition of a smart-looking Control Center.

A lot of these features can already be found in phones from other manufacturers of course, so once Xiaomi catches up it'll give you yet another reason to consider a phone from the Chinese manufacturer – besides the competitive prices and high component quality.

As for Google and its Pixel line, the quality of the camera and in particular the software processing on top of it has always been a key selling point. We're still patiently waiting for both the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 5 to appear sometime this year.

With the likes of Huawei, Samsung and Apple not showing any signs of slowing down in terms of improvements to their own camera hardware and software, no one can ease up – and it would seem Xiaomi will be able to announce another new feature soon.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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