This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Among all the novel smartphone "trends", there's a minor feature that really, really grinds my gears. It's subjectively obnoxious, stupid, and I detest it with a passion. It's stock camera watermarks on photos, like the one you're seeing above.
These watermarks serve no practical purpose at all.
To my eyes, there's nothing uglier than a distasteful watermark sitting in the corner, informing you what camera system and phone were used to snap the masterpiece in question, like you're going to forget overnight.
They are eyesores that detract from the artistic and photographic value of the image, its composition, and basically strip it away from any aesthetic merit whatsoever.
They are not copyright-protecting ones and generally can't be customized (with one exception), and it's clear as day that their main function is to stir up free marketing and PR for the manufacturer once users hopefully start sharing these on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, what have you.
Nobody really cares what phone you have
I don't really remember when this feature took off, I suppose it was sometime in the past two years but has really taken off recently. I see it everywhere and every time I do, I "literally can't even", as millennials and sorority girls used to say back in the day.
If you're using this feature and unironically sharing such images on social media, you better stop right now. If you're a manufacturer wondering if you should bake that functionality on their next Android device, please don't.
Hall of shame
So, which ones are the wrongdoers in question? Three defendants, your Honor:
Xiaomi, which has camera watermarks enabled by default on its flagships. "Shot on Mi Mix dual camera", yeah, get lost. A handy switch in the settings of the camera app does away with this infuriating software quirk, but it's still bad to force this functionality on users by default:
Distasteful
Huawei, which doesn't have the watermark feature enabled by default. It's still utterly obnoxious and irritating and irks me at all the wrong spots:
You guessed it - distasteful, strike two
OnePlus, which doesn't have the feature enabled by default and at least allows users to customize the bottom portion of the text. Another proof that weaponizing bad ideas is stupid:
Strike three and we're out
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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