How are we still waiting on Zoom Enhance? The feature was touted as coming to the Pixel 8 Pro way back during the launch keynote at Made by Google. Where is the camera function? Maybe we can work it out.
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The Pixel 8 Pro is Google’s smartphone crown jewel. It’s not even a year old and, as you would expect, boasts a powerhouse camera system that rivals the best in the business in almost all areas. As far as mobile camera systems go, it has impressive hardware, such as the 5x optical zoom lens.
While impressive, one feature announcement had us itching to try out the new hardware: Zoom Enhance. Powered by generative AI, Zoom Enhance has promised to revolutionize digital zoom on smartphone camera systems. But here we are, eight months later, and Zoom Enhance remains frustratingly absent. Let’s delve into what Zoom Enhance is supposed to do, why it might be delayed, and what this wait could mean for the future of Pixel photography.
Zooming beyond physics
Digital zoom, a staple feature on smartphones and even lots of mirrorless camera systems, works by cropping into a captured image. Using this magnification method inevitably leads to a loss of detail, resulting in mostly blurry and pixelated photos. Zoom Enhance would use the initial principle of digital zoom, but it supposedly defies these limitations.
Before zooming into a photo, Zoom Enhance analyzes the image using advanced machine learning models. The AI then identifies areas where detail is lost due to zooming by analyzing the surrounding pixels and textures to understand the missing information.
Finally, the AI would leverage its understanding to, as Google puts it, “intelligently” fill in the “gaps between pixels and predicts fine details” essentially reconstructing the lost detail. This would result in a zoomed-in image that retains sharpness and clarity, akin to scenes from Blade Runner or CSI where a blurry image is miraculously enhanced to reveal crucial details.
AI-enhanced optical zoom
The Pixel 8 Pro’s 5x optical zoom is solid. It’s not the best zoom lens on a smartphone – that honor belongs to the Galaxy S24 Ultra – but it offers a closer view without sacrificing quality too drastically. Like all smartphone cameras, it has its limitations. It only reaches 10x, but can go to 30x anything beyond that falls back to the limitations of digital zoom.
We know that Google likes to solve problems using software rather than relying on raw hardware—the Pixel camera system is testament to that. That’s why, like you, we were excited when we saw the Zoom Enhance teaser and the potential improvements Google’s AI models could make to images.
While we only know what was noted on stage at Made by Google 2023, Zoom Enhance can theoretically work across any zoom level, not just a fixed optical limit. This could allow for extreme close-ups while maintaining detail, something traditional optical zoom can’t achieve.
Another added bonus is that because optical zoom lenses are fixed hardware components and can’t be changed in most smartphones. Zoom Enhance, being software-based, can be continuously improved with updates and advancements in AI technology.
Slowly drip-feeding features
The absence of Zoom Enhance isn’t without precedent. It took a few months for Video Boost to arrive on Pixel 8 Pro. Because the Tensor G3 chip doesn’t have the necessary grunt to do much of the processing locally, you need to upload videos shot in this mode to Google Photos servers and wait up to an hour for the content to process.
Processing 30 frames per second of 4K video requires a lot of power. Zoom Enhance is unlikely to require as much CPU and GPU time to work, but maybe there are other issues that have caused this delayed release.
The level of detail in the reconstructions promised by Zoom Enhance might require significant processing power we don’t anticipate. Google could currently be in the process of optimizing the feature to ensure smooth performance without sacrificing Pixel 8 Pro battery life.
We’ve also seen AI models evolve quite rapidly over the past 12 months. While Google showcased the technology last year, the model might require further training and refinement to achieve optimal results across a wide range of photos.
Given the double-down on AI at Google I/O, it’s also possible that the Pixel camera team is exploring ways to integrate other systems, such as Imagen with Zoom Enhance. Imagine an AI that reconstructs detail and understands the scene and content, potentially leading to even more powerful zoom enhancements. I appreciate that this could be wishful thinking on my part.
One eye on the next generation…
We’re rapidly approaching a year since the Pixel 8 series launched in October 2023. Because of that, you could easily speculate that Google is saving Zoom Enhance as a marquee feature for the upcoming Pixel 9 series. This could be a strategic move to differentiate the new generation from its predecessor.
Top comment by matteventu
This could be a strategic move to differentiate the new generation from its predecessor.
That could be a strategic move for a class action.
You announce Zoom Enhance with Pixel 8, and then release it one year later with Pixel 9 making it exclusive to the latest model? I don't see this happening.
More likely that they'll just not release it as t all.
Or, hopefully, that it will land for Pixel 8 and 9 altogether.
As we noted, the field of AI is rapidly evolving. Google might wait to integrate the latest advancements in image processing before releasing Zoom Enhance, which could mean an even more powerful and versatile feature when it finally arrives.
It’s time this…Feature Dropped
While the reasons for the delay remain unconfirmed, Pixel users have a potential light at the end of the tunnel: Google Pixel Feature Drops. We all love that these periodic updates deliver new features and improvements to Pixel devices, but they don’t often have a major focus on the camera. The next Pixel Feature Drop is expected soon, and to that end, Zoom Enhance could be the star of the show.
Even so, the absence of Zoom Enhance on the Pixel 8 Pro after such a long time remains puzzling. Video Boost made it out the door with some minor limitations and frustrations, but it’s a working function not just a flashy unfulfilled keynote promise.
Whether the feature is delayed due to technical challenges, strategic planning, or a desire for further integration with cutting-edge AI models like me, the wait does diminish the sheen of the impressive demo shown half a year ago. Can it live up to its potential? We’ll just have to continue waiting and see – it surely has had long enough in the oven by now…
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