If you are using an Android phone to scan a QR code and encounter difficulties, such as the wall of the QR code being too far away, it is difficult to scan successfully, then Google is developing a new feature that allows the phone to automatically identify, zoom in and read the QR code. This feature has not been officially launched yet, but it has been tested in the latest application program interface (API) that Google provides to developers.
Specifically, Google’s QR Code Scanner API has been updated for use in Google’s QR Code Scanner (QR Code Scanner) system app, as well as for integration into other apps. If a developer uses this API, the user does not need to grant camera permissions, saving the developer the time of designing the scanning functionality themselves.
The API utilizes Google’s native machine-learning technology to parse the QR code and only outputs a Barcode object to the application to protect the user’s privacy. The exact technology is unknown, but AI amplification technology has already been used in other areas of media.
According to Android expert Mishal Rahman, this new auto-amplification feature is included in the latest version of the ML Kit Barcode Scanning API library, which can be integrated into apps (and also downloaded via the Google Play service), as well as in a separate QR Code Scanner API version 16.1.0. Rahman writes that this simple QR code scanning feature will likely be available on devices running Android 13 or later since their QR code scanners use the same ML Kit barcode scanning library. And according to screen footage from X (formerly Twitter) user AssembleDebug, the feature may have already begun to be pushed through GMS.
It’s unclear how effective this new feature will be for Android phones with low-quality cameras, or if it will appear on devices other than Google’s own Pixel.
