For a few years now, it has been possible to obtain photos with a bokeh effect, which is also known as a field or depth blur effect. This came with the dual camera modules, since these contained dedicated sensors for this purpose, although Google implemented it in their Pixels at the beginning with only one camera thanks to the work of artificial intelligence. Then it was common to see terminals with two or more triggers, but without any dedicated lens; for the replacement of this, artificial intelligence began to take center stage.
Now there are also applications that discard the use of a dedicated camera for bokeh mode in photos thanks to manual or automatic post-processing. Google Photos is one of these and allows you to apply the depth effect from the gallery app itself, without the need for the phone as such to have a camera or depth of field function.
This is how you can apply portrait mode with Google Photos without using the camera
The field blur function of Google Photos is at first glance in the display of a photo, just below it and above the bottom bar where the four buttons of Share, Edit, Google Lens and Delete are located. It is identified as Blur background (button that must be pressed to add portrait mode) and allows selecting the degree of blurring of the image using a horizontal bar, although not any.
For starters, the feature doesn’t take any pictures. This has to be very defined and selfie. The subject cannot be very far away and its silhouette must be very clear and understandable so that the interpretation errors are as minimal as possible.
Unfortunately, even though we have the latest app update, the button is not available for all devices. So it may not appear to us. For example, in the case of the Redmi Note 7, it does not appear.
The function Blur Google Photos background, as highlighted by the Android Help portal, arose from the Google Pixels, so it is available in these terminals. Others also have it, but there is no specific list that names them. Surely in the future, many more mobiles will be compatible with this function of Google Photos.