Google's Camera app just got a bump up to version 2.3 (rolling out in stages of course), which adds a very welcome feature - remote shutter functionality for Android Wear devices.

We saw hints of this functionality inside the code of a previous version of the Camera app, but now that Wear devices have hit release, it's finally live. Users need only open the Camera app on their phone or tablet, and Wear will automatically insert a card for remote capture. Clicking that card gets you a big fat shutter release button right on your wrist. The interface will count down for three seconds, capture, and then show you the results.

It's worth noting that this functionality will only work with Google's Camera app since it contains a mini APK specifically for the purpose.

Besides that, the Camera update brings a refreshed panorama capture interface. The new look gives users bigger bolder circles to align, making it just a little easier and a little more visually pleasant to capture panorama images and spheres.

Camera also has an in-app help interface now, continuing Google's transition away from directing users to its help website. That's it for now, but if we find any other new bits we'll add them here. In the meantime, grab the apk for yourself below.

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.

File name: com.google.android.GoogleCamera-2.3.017 (1266841-30).apk

Version: 2.3.017 (Android 4.4+)

MD5: ec05273151f5f6d3da2cc5c15aa39e7c

Thanks, Martin!