Android 13 developer preview was unveiled last month which gives us a look at what to expect from the upcoming operating system from Google. Among what to expect is the flashlight quick tap gesture which allows you to turn on the flashlight using gesture. Although, it will be exclusive to Google Pixel phones.
Now a new report reveals that there is a feature in Android 13 that allows users to adjust the brightness of the flashlight. Android 13 comes with two new APIs to the CameraManager class — getTorchStrengthLevel and turnOnTorchWithStrengthLevel.
The first returns the current brightness level of the flashlight, while the second sets the brightness level from a minimum of 1 to a maximum determined by the hardware. Basically, the API lets you adjust the brightness of your phone’s flashlight.
Sadly, there is a catch to this feature, not all Android 13 powered devices will support this feature. Esper’s Mishaal Rahman explained why, “The reason support for this feature will be limited is that it will require an update to the camera hardware abstraction layer (HAL)…[Since] Google has frozen its new HAL requirements to ensure that vendor implementation built against version N will be certifiable for up to version N+3…device makers can upgrade their devices to Android 13 while reusing a vendor implementation designed for an older Android release that doesn’t include the new camera device HAL and its support for LED brightness control.”
This flashlight adjustment stuff has been present in the iPhones and some Samsung devices. It is available in some Samsung devices because Samsung offers that in their custom skin which is OneUI.
