It’s almost 9 months since Google unveiled the Pixel 8 series and we’re still waiting for Zoom Enhance to arrive. Is it coming before the Pixel 9? Who knows, but we want to know if you even care.
Zoom Enhance was teased toward the end of the Made by Google ’23 keynote, which could be a foreshadowing of sorts. The tech relies heavily on AI to effectively insert extra detail to photos at the ends of the Pixel 8 Pro’s zoom range. Currently, most camera systems will oversharpen an image to try and compensate for the lack of extra zoom range. The result is overly blocky or – oddly – soft images when you punch in past the 20x zoom level on Pixel 8 Pro.
Not many smartphone camera systems get game-changing features after launch. Samsung’s Expert RAW is probably the last such example. That said, Google might have waited too long to get Zoom Enhance out the door – will people even use it? We’ve explored some reasoning as to why it might be taking so long, but that doesn’t stop it from dulling the sheen of a brief but impressive demo shown last year.
Given we are inundated with AI on a daily basis from tech firms, brands, and everyone in-between, maybe there is a lack of interest in yet another AI function. Could this warp our memories with images that are not quite what they seem…by injecting AI-generated frames, did we actually take the photo? I get that these are broader, existential questions, but it does make you think about what these tools can do to our own photography when available.
Concerns aside: Personally, I like the idea of getting better zoom images if the AI isn’t overzealous and turns images into something that isn’t representative of what I saw with my own eyes. Also, not upgrading cameras to get better images shot with the Pixel 8 Pro telephoto lens is inadvertently great for longevity and Google’s growing environmental pledges.
When the waiting ends will you be excited to use Zoom Enhance on your Pixel 8 Pro? Let us know using the poll below:
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