Instagram has a new photo capture mode called Focus mode. It works with the story camera and is available on both Android and iOS users. There’s just one catch though; there are device limitations. What this means is, Focus mode isn’t going to be available on all devices.
Focus Mode Availability
For iOS users, Focus mode will be available on iPhone 6S/6S Plus, and above. For Android users, there’s no definitive list of supported phones however higher end phones like the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will have access to it. You can check out this Reddit thread to see which users have confirmed the feature working on their phones.
Use Focus Mode
Open Instagram and tap the camera button at the top left, or just swipe right. Swipe along the bottom (where the shutter button is), to change modes. Instagram has other modes that you’re perhaps familiar with like Live mode, Boomerang, and rewind.
If Instagram supports Focus mode on your phone, you will see it appear between Rewind and Boomerang. It will look for a face because this mode is made for selfies. That said, it works with objects as well.
Focus mode basically focuses on the main subject of a photo. With selfies, Focus mode will automatically detect faces and blur everything else in the background. It works with the rear camera as evidenced by the screenshots above. The app has focused on the object closest to the camera i.e. the toy car and blurred the background object i.e., the carpet and kitten.
In Focus mode, you can take a photo or you can hold the capture button and record a video. The image can be posted to your story or if you want to share it to your feed, you can save it to your camera roll, and then upload it.
If your phone didn’t get this feature, and you own an Android phone you can’t force it to appear. You can however look for other apps that will replicate the feature. Focus mode isn’t unique in what it does. The Google Camera app on the Pixel phones has a portrait mode that is basically the same thing. iPhones, the newer ones, have a similar feature.
If you don’t own a Pixel phone, try to see if the ported mod of the Google Camera app will run on your phone. Finally, you can utilize the Blur mode which is available on a good number of Android phones. For iPhone owners with an older model, there isn’t much recourse.
