NewsUpcomingReviewsUnboxingTips & TricksAppsChromebooksChromecastGoogle AssistantAbout

Chrome Unboxed - The Latest Chrome OS News

A Space for All Things Chrome

New Chromebook Tablet ‘Scarlet’ Gets Dual Cameras

By 3 Comments

by Robby Payne
Filed under:

Similar to the situation we had in late Summer last year, the number of Chromebooks in development keeps growing and, with that number, the number of new features is also expanding.

Today we have some info on the camera setup for ‘Scarlet’.




Seen in this commit and it’s relative files, we can see the two cameras being tested for use on this Chrome OS Tablet.

It looks like we have a 5MP front-facing camera and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

Though there are other detachables and tablets in development, this is the first solid proof of dual cameras in a standard tablet setup. Though we don’t assume you’ll be doing a ton of shooting with your tablet, ‘Scarlet’ looks to be a smaller 7.9″ tablet, so the opportunity could arise.




The two camera models are ov8855 and ov5695 and drivers are being worked on actively for both in ‘Scarlet’. Here are some specs on each right from the maker, Omnivision.

OV5695

OmniVision’s new 1/4-inch OV5695 is a high performance and cost-effective 5-megapixel OmniBSI+™ sensor designed to be a cost-competitive camera solution for both front- and rear-facing camera applications in smartphones and tablets. The OV5695 features an improved design that offers superior image and video quality in a more compact, power-efficient package.

The OV5695 utilizes 1.4-micron OmniBSI+ pixel architecture to capture full resolution video in a native 4:3 aspect ratio at 30 fps or 1080p video at 60 fps with support for interleave row high dynamic range (iHDR).

The sensor’s exceptional low-light sensitivity enhances image and video quality when recording in low-light conditions, and reduces user dependence on the device’s front-facing flash functionality.

The OV5695 fits into an 8.5 x 8.5 mm module with a z-height of approximately 4.4 mm.

OV8855

OmniVision’s OV8858 is a 1/4-inch 8-megapixel PureCel® image sensor for the rapidly growing mainstream smartphone and tablet market. The compact and cost-effective OV8858 sensor delivers dramatically reduced power consumption and best-in-class performance, making it a highly competitive solution for the next-generation of mobile devices.

Compared to OmniVision’s previous-generation 1/4-inch 8-megapixel sensor, the OV8858 delivers a number of performance enhancements, including dramatically improved full-well capacity (FWC) and sensitivity for enhanced high- and low-light performance. It also offers a significant reduction in power consumption and form factor.

The sensor also features OmniVision’s Video-in-Video (ViV™) technology, which stitches together images from the front- and rear-cameras, applies enhancements such as independent lens correction and color compensation, and sends the combined image to the host ISP. In ViV mode, users can capture a portrait scene perfectly alongside their own face, record video while narrating for high quality video blogging, or utilize the feature for video conferencing. This is made possible by a special input MIPI receiver on the OV8858 that can accept image data from a wide range of OmniVision image sensors designed for front-facing applications of 2-megapixel and below, thus saving a camera port on the host ISP.

The OV8858 supports an active array of 3264 x 2448 pixels (8-megapixel) operating at 30 frames per second (fps) for zero shutter lag, enabling high-speed photography. The sensor is capable of recording 1080p high definition (HD) video at 60 fps, or 720p HD video at 90 fps, each with additional pixels for electronic image stabilization (EIS). The OV8858, when paired with OmniVision’s latest 2-megapixel sensors, can provide full resolution ViV snapshot images at 15 fps and preview ViV video at 30 fps.

The OV8858 fits into an 8.5 x 8.5 mm camera module with a build height of approximately 4 mm.

Sure, this is a bit of marketing speak, but these don’t sound like garbage sensors. They should do the job of grabbing a quick pic if you are in the mood and don’t have your phone or other camera handy.

  • I had a suspicion this was why the default camera app was updated last month to support more than one camera. Tablets usually have two cameras (unlike laptops), so if one were to use the default camera app with a tablet, they’d need a way to select which camera they want to use.

  • Those are the same dual cameras that are already being used in the new school convertible Chromebooks, like the Acer Spin 11, right?

    In the Acer Spin 11 setup, it is a traditional 8 mp camera above the screen which is used in laptop mode, and second 5 mp “Worldview” camera in the keyboard is was used when the Chromebook is in tablet mode.

    Has anyone done a hands on with those yet? I am curious how well the second camera in keyboard concept works in real life.

  • ChrisG

    I want to address a rather general question here. Personally, I have found it perplexing why Google would want to introduce a line of Chrome tablet devices alongside their Android offerings that could compete with those Android products and make product marketing a trickier exercise. One view is that Google is now quite agnostic about OS platforms and that it is simply providing the OS that its customers want. So, because some users may prefer tablets based on Chrome OS Google will accommodate those users by supplying Chrome OS tablets just as it supplies Android tablets to users who happen to want those. Without setting out a full rebuttal of that view I am by no means convinced that Google’s actions with respect to Chrome tablets is based on a kind of corporate commitment that it should give users what they want.

    I think I can see, now, why Google is keen to bring Chrome OS tablets to market. Already, within the Chromebook market there is a distinction between unmanaged (i.e. consumer) Chromebooks and managed Chromebooks, viz. Chromebooks for School and Chromebooks for Work. Managed Chromebooks are the devices purchased by government departments and authorities, schools, and businesses. All of these institutions use the powerful but easy to use management console and tools packaged with the managed version of Chrome OS. Similar management options and configurability are now available for Android, too, but, Chrome OS has some additional benefits that make it a good choice as an OS platform for schools, government and industry. Chrome OS is i) a very secure platform that supports ii) the richly endowed G Suite office suite which is a major improvement over Android software in the same category. And, Chromebooks, furthermore, are iii) a more or less complete functional alternative to classical PCs and laptops. Chromebooks, for example, can be used as a platform to teach programming to senior school students or, if needs be, as an interface to powerful Windows, MacOS or Linux applications executing remotely.

    That particular combination of benefits has transformed schools, in particular, into a stronghold for Chrome OS and Chromebooks. And, assuming tablets would confer further benefits in terms of a school’s teaching and learning role, then, schools would want to build on the managed Chrome device model which, clearly, has served them so well. But, I doubt whether demand of this sort has only been coming from schools. Google’s interest in Chrome OS powered retail Kiosks parallels the situation in schools. Chrome OS will normally be the right choice because, while somewhat similar results could be achieved with Android (or Android Things), only Chrome OS can offer that particular combination of benefits that is so attractive. So, I would not be surprised if the large majority of Chrome tablet devices turn out to be something like Chrome tablets for School and Chrome tablets for Work. That is my bet, anyway.