“Magic Photo” gives you a great photo even if you don’t time the shutter release perfectly.
Cameras are one of the main reasons people buy Pixel phones. So they always attract a lot of attention during launch events. For the Pixel 11 series, Google introduced new, larger sensors, which I think will help smartphone photographers a lot more than the usual AI stuff. Of course, the new range has also gained some useful new computing features, including one that will enable faster nighttime capture, as well as new film looks and improved digital zooms.
Instant Night Sight, Magic Capture and new AI features
Google’s Night Sight lets you take photos in low light without a flash, but you have to hold the camera steady for what can seem like forever (actually three to five seconds). Now all Pixel 11 smartphones offer a new feature called Instant Night Sight that reduces capture time by up to 4.5 times, so you can take clear night photos in about a second or less. This is all done computationally, thanks to “redesigned software, 50% more TPU and the (new) Tensor T7 chip,” the company notes.
The new Pixel phones also have another new time-saving feature. Sometimes it takes several photo attempts before you finally capture a group photo with everyone smiling and no one blinking, but a new feature in the Pixel 11 called Magic Capture aims to reduce that wasted time. Just press the shutter button once and you’ll get both a video and a selection of high-quality photos ready to share “thanks to automatic cropping and deblurring,” Google notes.
With cameras like the Fujifilm X100 VI (and the influencers who love them), creative film looks are currently rigorous. The Pixel 11 capitalizes on this popularity with the new Camera Looks feature that lets you create your own unique “pro-quality” movie looks for HDR+ photos. Google notably claims that even with very stylized or personalized looks, the camera offers “fair results on all skin tones”.
Google has not forgotten video enthusiasts with its new range. The new Pro Stable Video feature (powered by Video Boost) captures ultra-stable cinematic footage up to 8K. You also get a new Creator tab in Video Settings for Pixel’s Creator Suite tools for trimming and rearranging videos, as well as a teleprompter feature and improved speech enhancement.
New sensors across the range and longer zoom lenses
No amount of AI trickery can bring more light into a camera. The only way to achieve this is to use a larger sensor or improved processing on the sensor and that’s exactly what Google has done on the Pixel 11 lineup. The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL have received the biggest updates, with a new 1/1.3-inch 50MP main sensor that, while the same size as before, promises double the optical quality. Google also increased the size of the 48MP telephoto lens, saying it’s 32% more similar to that of the Pixel 10 Pro models. The 48 MP ultra-wide camera and 42 MP selfie camera are unchanged from the Pixel 10 Pro models.
The Pixel 11’s 48MP main camera also has a larger sensor that captures 56% more light, Google said, leading to better nighttime photos and videos. With a new 13 MP ultra-wide camera (up from 10.5 MP), details and zoom capability (more on that soon) are also improved. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold features the same larger 48 MP sensor for improved low-light capability, while retaining the Pixel 10 Fold Pro’s 10.5 MP ultra-wide and 10.5 MP telephoto cameras.
With the improved sensors, Google increased the digital zoom of the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL to 120x (up from 100x), saying photos are sharp even at this long zoom range. The previous model offered decent quality without additional sharpening at its 100x range, so hopefully the new model will offer the same results at 120x. Meanwhile, the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro Fold’s digital zoom increases from 20x to 30x for a bit more reach.
The new cameras and photography features are a good way for Google to add value to the new Pixel phones, given the rising prices of memory and storage components. However, with prices increasing across the board, it remains to be seen whether these and other new features will be enough to convince buyers to jump in or upgrade from their current Pixel devices.
