Real Tone is a human solution to a technology problem.

When camera technology was created, it was only tested on light skin, leading to a bias in many of our image-making products. This means folks with darker skin aren’t always shown accurately in photographs - sometimes disappearing altogether.

By partnering with image experts, we filled this data gap with thousands of portraits tested in a wide range of tough lighting conditions.

This collaboration between external image experts and internal developers led to the creation of Google’s most equitable camera - so everyone can be seen as they truly are.

Historically, camera technology hasn’t accurately represented darker skin tones. We partnered with a diverse group of image experts, like photographers, cinematographers, and colorists celebrated for their beautiful and accurate imagery of people of color. The result is Real Tone, a collection of technical improvements to the Pixel 6 camera and Google Photos that more accurately and beautifully highlight the nuances of all skin tones

Real Tone is a collection of technical improvements and mission to make our camera and image products work more equitably for people of color. We vastly improved our camera tuning models and algorithms to more accurately highlight the nuances of diverse skin tones with Real Tone software, including improved auto-exposure, auto-white balance, and other core features.

Our mission to create a more equitable camera has transcended Google, and now we’re seeing more companies in the image-making space working toward more accurate representation of darker skin tones, like Adobe’s partnership with Dario Calmese to bring more skin tones to Lightroom Presets and Snapchat’s commitment to building a more inclusive camera.

The strategy behind Real Tone was molded by the understanding that building for the community meant building with the community - the community being anyone who hasn’t been seen fairly or accurately by camera and camera technology.

Executing upon that strategy meant pairing Google’s technology expertise with the aesthetic expertise of image partners outside of the company to affect the trajectory of our camera technology in a meaningful way.

Nov 2017 - First conversations about the idea.

Summer 2019 - Committed to product roadmap plan

May 2021 - Announced mission at I/O

Fall 2021 - Launched Real Tone at Fall Hardware event

The full campaign work ran at Google I/O, on Broadcast, Youtube, Google’s social channels, in a collaboration with New York Times Advertising and other publishers, as well as in branded TV content.

SInce its launch in October 2021, the work has been enthusiastically received around the world, with 7 films from 5 different countries reaching over 70 million total views and impressions around the world, plus positive comments and reactions across the board from communities of color.

When we started, our goal was simply to create a better camera. But what we found is that this mission connected with people and audiences all over the world through stories that were as personal and nuanced as the people who viewed them. Launching with partners across the Americas, APAC, EMEA, and LATAM brought Real Tone to the screens of the people who will directly benefit from it.