Blur demur

One shooting mode that doesn’t work quite so well is Lens Blur, designed to replicate background blur on portraits, for example. Once you have focused on the main subject, activating this feature involves angling the camera down by following an on-screen arrow. It does work, but it’s not particularly intuitive, and the dual camera system on the iPhone 7 Plus seems to be more effective at cleanly separating the subject from the background. Pictures taken with the Pixel’s Lens Blur feature are also smaller than standard shots, which is another annoyance – bokeh fans may prefer to replicate the effect in a photo- editing app or reach for their main camera. It’s not exactly the Pixel’s Achilles’ heel, but this feature needs more attention.