Google is planning a slew of new AI-powered camera tricks for its next-gen Pixel smartphones, according to a new report.
According to documents leaked from Google’s “gChips” division and seen by Android Authority, the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 cameras, in particular, will deliver significant advances over the current lineup.
This year’s Pixel 9 range offered relatively minor camera upgrades over the Pixel 8 series. However, the Pixel 10 is expected to deliver significantly greater improvements thanks to upgraded camera hardware and the inclusion of Tensor G5, Google’s first fully custom-made smartphone SoC. Later, the Pixel 11 is predicted to feature even better performance and features with the introduction of the Tensor G6.
Leaked camera improvements in the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 include:
- Pixel 10: Enhanced Video Capabilities
- Pixel 10: Game-Changing Video And Photo Editing Features
- Pixel 10: Stable Diffusion On Device
- Pixel 11: Up to 100x zoom
- Pixel 11: A new under-display camera for face unlock
- Pixel 11: Huge Low Light Video Improvements
- Pixel 11: Better Cinematic Video
Let’s take a look at these features in more detail:
Pixel 10: Enhanced Video Capabilities
The extra performance of Tensor G5 will enable 4K HDR video at up to 60fps rather than 30fps. This important upgrade will finally align the Pixel range with major rivals such as the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S-series. However, Google has far more impressive improvements in store.
Pixel 10: Game-Changing Video And Photo Editing Features
Tensor G5 is expected to provide new “Video Generative ML” features, delivering what the report describes as “Post-capture Generative AI-based Intuitive Video Editing for the Photos app.” That’s certainly a bit of a mouthful, but what’s apparent from this description is that Google Photos will gain some fancy new AI-based video editing features, powered at least in part by Tensor G5. According to the report, these video editing features may also be available when creating YouTube Shorts in the YouTube app.
Brand new features are also coming to still images, including “Speak-to-Tweak,” presumably some sort of voice-controlled image editing function, and “Sketch-to-image,” a more familiar-sounding feature expected to transform crude drawings into high-quality pictures using AI.
Less familiar is a proposed “Magic Mirror” upgrade whose function, for now, remains a mystery. However, Google’s “Magic” features tend to lean heavily on generative AI, and that’s likely to be the case here, too. Perhaps this Magic Mirror might deliver a brutally honest AI-powered appraisal of your beauty, thereby escalating a jealous revenge plot against your winsome stepdaughter. I hope not, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Pixel 10: Stable Diffusion On Device
The report also claims that the Pixel 10 will be able to run Stable Diffusion image generation models locally on the device without the need to process them in the cloud on Google’s server. Stable Diffusion is an open-source deep-learning model primarily used for generating images from text descriptions. It requires significant processing power and a large amount of RAM to run at a usable speed. The ability of Pixel 10 to run Stable Diffusion locally points to some serious performance upgrades.
Pixel 11: Up To 100x Zoom
Looking further forward, 2026’s Pixel 11 may introduce a “100x zoom” mode for both still photos and videos. This would use image processing powered by machine learning combined with an as-yet-unknown “next-gen” telephoto camera. Samsung’s Galaxy S-series flagships have offered 100x “Space Zoom” since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, but only for still images and with somewhat.
Pixel 11: New Under-display Camera For Face Unlock
The Pixel 11 could deploy a new under-screen infra-red camera capable of improving the performance of secure face unlock in darker environments, an area where current Pixels struggle compared to the iPhone’s Face ID system. Interestingly, the Pixel 4 offered a dedicated sensor, which was removed in favor of smaller bezels and a punch-hole selfie camera.
Pixel 11: Huge Low Light Video Improvements
The Pixel 11 looks likely to introduce a new “Ultra Low Light” video mode that runs entirely on-device rather than relying on Google’s cloud-based Video Boost feature, as in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series. This means you’ll be able to shoot low-light video without needing a fast internet connection and without a long wait, often several hours, while Google’s cloud servers process your files. According to the report, Google expects the new low-light video mode to work in lighting conditions of 5-10 lux, roughly equivalent to “mood lighting” in a restaurant, but brighter than moonlight.
Ultra Low Light video will be made possible by combining the Tensor G6’s increased performance and new camera hardware.
One niggling issue with the current Video Boost option is that you have to activate it manually every time you open the camera app. Google won’t let you set it as the default option, presumably due to the added inconvenience of Video Boost and, more importantly, the enormous load it would place on its servers if everyone shot in Video Boost mode all the time. Moving the feature away from the cloud might make it easier to access the feature without having to remember to flick this switch.
Pixel 11: Upgraded Cinematic Mode
The Pixel 11’s Cinematic Mode is due to receive an upgrade. It will allow up to 4K recording at 30fps, up from 1080p on the Pixel 9, and a new “video relight” feature. According to the report, Tensor G6 will enable both features while reducing power consumption by nearly 40% when shooting cinematic video.
These impressive leaks paint an encouraging picture of the Google Pixel roadmap over the next two years, but Google’s competitors won’t stay still between now and 2026. In the fight for smartphone supremacy, AI is becoming the new battleground. Google will have to pull out all the stops to remain competitive against giants like Apple and Samsung, which are both tipped to deliver significantly upgraded cameras and processors in their next-generation flagships.
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