How To: Use Your Pixel's Camera to Quickly Estimate the Angle of a Slope

Use Your Pixel's Camera to Quickly Estimate the Angle of a Slope

It feels like every few months, some new feature is discovered in the Pixel's Camera app. By taking advantage of machine learning and the high-quality camera, Google continues to add hidden functions that improve your life even if they're a little niche.

The Pixel's Camera app can tell you the angle of a slope. To activate it, you need to have "Framing hints" enabled in the camera's settings, which you can by tapping the down-facing arrow at the top of the viewfinder while in Camera mode, then choosing the gear icon.

Once enabled, direct your camera viewfinder to a flat surface and hold it still for a couple seconds. A horizontal line will appear with the measurement 0°. If you don't see the horizontal line, try tilting your camera back and forth ever so slightly as if you were trying to line up a shot to where it was perfectly horizontal.

The purpose of this tool is really to tell you when you're taking a picture that's slightly askew. Incidentally, however, you can use it to measure the angle of a slope. Tilt the camera to match the slope you wish to estimate (e.g., line it up with the center of the drop-down arrow on the left and the center of the shutter button on the right), and the measurement will change accordingly.

Just updated your iPhone? You'll find new features for TV, Messages, News, and Shortcuts, as well as important bug fixes and security patches. Find out what's new and changed on your iPhone with the iOS 17.6 update.

Cover photo by Dallas Thomas/Gadget Hacks, screenshot and GIF by Jon Knight/Gadget Hacks

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