Pixel: Google announces a camera update and other new features

Picture: June Wan/ZDNET.

The list of Pixel novelties for the month of December has arrived, and it will please Pixel owners, who will see their camera improved.

Video Boost

The most important novelty is undoubtedly Video Boost, exclusive to the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Video Boost, once activated, creates a copy of the videos you record to switch them to HDR+ and improve various parameters thanks to artificial intelligence: lighting, focus, details, colors, etc.

It is important to note that the primary file (the one that has not been edited) can be shared immediately, but that the improved copy will take some time. You not only have to wait until you have a Wi-Fi connection to download it, but also wait for Google’s servers to process it and send it back. It may even take a few days. You will receive a Google Photos notification when the enhanced version is complete.

Video Boost also brings a significant improvement to videos taken with Night Vision mode. But the novelties do not end there: it is now possible to take nocturnal videos in timelapse.

The other photo novelties

Other novelties have also been announced for all Pixel devices: Balance light will propose to reduce the shadows of the shots, Photo unblur to improve the sharpness of the photos and Clean to remove the spots from the scanned documents in the Camera application. And if the built-in camera of your laptop does not offer the desired quality, your Pixel (6 and newer) can now be used as a webcam if it is connected by USB (provided that your computer supports UVC).

Exclusively on the Pixel Fold this time, Google has announced a new mode that makes it easier to take photos in a group, whether you are with your family or your friends. While you are preparing to take a photo with the internal screen, your subjects can see each other on the external screen to make sure everything is perfect.

Watch Unlock and Call filtering

If you have the entire Pixel ecosystem, you will be able to benefit from the new feature of the Pixel Watch, Watch Unlock. Faster than facial recognition and more reliable than fingerprint, the latter allows you to automatically unlock a paired Pixel smartphone from a Pixel Watch – provided that the watch itself is already unlocked. To configure it, open the Watch app on your smartphone, then go to Preferences > Security.

The Pixel Watch will also offer six new dials and a screen for call filtering. The latter will allow you to display the same information about a call on your watch screen as on your Pixel. You can then ignore or ask for more details.

Telephone assistant and repair mode

If you use your smartphone to make calls, the Google Assistant can now serve you better in situations such as confirming or canceling an appointment.

Finally, a new repair mode allows you to preserve the confidentiality of your photos, messages and other files if you ever have to entrust it to a person to repair it or solve a problem.

This month’s update also includes other less important news, and especially fixes for vulnerabilities. To know the details, you can read the Google blog post.

Source: ZDNet.com