Google has introduced a flurry of new camera features alongside the new Pixel 9 series of smartphones.
Some of the camera features are the handiwork of upgraded sensors and lenses, others the purview of Google’s legendary computational photography nous, and the rest are powered by Google’s increasingly capable artificial intelligence.
Below is a run down of the most impressive features Google unveiled for Pixel 9 users today. It’s also plausible Google will bring some of these features to owners of older Pixel devices via the regular feature drops. Zoom Enhance, for example, will launch for Pixel 8 Pro users today.
You can read about the upgraded camera hardware on the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but here are those new features.
Get in the picture with Add Me
The old ‘prop-up phone, set timer, run into frame trick’ works from time to time, but it’s never quite as good as being in the group shot and that shot being properly framed. And handing a phone off to a stranger isn’t the most desirable solution either.
Google’s answer to this is Add Me, which enables a photo to be taken by the Pixel 9 owner, who then trades places with someone else in the group. Thanks to augmented reality the second photographer will be able to line everything up with the first frame to capture a second image. Both pics will merge to include both photographers. Perfect if you meed a celebrity out in the wild. Google even had NBA star Jimmy Butler up on stage to demonstrate the feature.
Made You Look – the child smile capturer
This Pixel 9 Pro Fold exclusive feature is for all those parents who’ve strived and failed to get nice smiley photos of their young ‘uns. The feature makes use of the outer screen when the device is unfurled and shows the child something like a Pixar character to incite some amusement.
Zoom Enhance, just like the movies
Remember in old school television show and movies where a cop would say “enhance” and a really grainy image would suddenly look like an 200 megapixel, crystal clear photo? Well Google’s actually invented something like this.
“Zoom Enhance intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details for high-quality, post-capture zoom results,” Google says. “It will be available on Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and is rolling out to Pixel 8 Pro starting today.”
8K video – of sorts
The Pixel 9 pro and Pro XL get 8K/30fps video of sorts, but it’s 4K upscaled via a new Video Boost feature. Google says with this feature, you’ll be able to zoom in 2x in post production and still end up with a 4K resolution video.
Google also says that a 20x Super Res Zoom feature will make its debut for video recording. It’s possible thanks to an improved telephoto lens on both models, but it also uses some advanced machine learning tech. This means, for example, you’ll be able to capture images from the nosebleeds of a concert and act like you were in the expensive seats – even when the lights are down thanks to Night Sight support.
Much improved HDR capture
Google says it has “thoroughly updated our imaging pipeline” and this means colours that are more true to life. It’ll optimise exposure, tone mapping, sharpening, contrast and more. You’ll see the benefits in areas like skin tones, textures and shadows.
Reality, reimagined
Google is really leaning into image generation with the latest version of Magic Editor. The new Reimagine feature enables you to ask the AI to craft a new image from the original frame.
You can just describe what you want to see by saying something like “Reimagine as dramatic sunset/volcano/rocks” and so on. This is separate from the new Pixel Studio app which offers completely artificial generated images.
Panorama gets Night Sight
This demonstration was one of the most impressive Google showcased during the keynote. First off the panorama UI has been updated for easier capture, and the brilliant Night Sight feature is now coming to panoramic photos too.
Better framing with AI
This is something we should have probably seen before now, all things considered, but Google’s AI will now suggest new framing options for your photos. And, true to form, it’ll even use AI to fill in the gaps if that chosen framing goes beyond what was actually captured by the lens.
