After a protracted wait, the long-awaited Zoom Enhance function is supposedly rolling out for the Pixel 8 Pro right now.
In Google’s official blog post (h/t The Verge) detailing some of the camera functionality of the Pixel 9 series, Zoom Enhance was briefly mentioned. The function is present on the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold right at launch but will be rolling out to the Pixel 8 Pro “starting today.”
If you’re unaware, Zoom Enhance was announced almost a year ago as “coming” to the Pixel 8 Pro during the Made by Google 2023 keynote. It utilizes AI to increase the quality of images at higher zoom levels. Google has not fully detailed how it works but offered the following explanation in the Pixel 9 AI features blog post:
Zoom Enhance intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details for high-quality, post-capture zoom results.
There was another example of Zoom Enhance in action, which showcased a photo gaining a little extra fidelity once a toggle has been activated:
This demo doesn’t show earth-shattering improvements to the image in focus, but extra detail is added without making things look too sharp or artificial. It appears that Zoom Enhance is there to augment rather than overhaul an image.
Google hasn’t fully detailed how Zoom Enhance will work in the camera application. However, thanks to a video from MilesAboveTech showing it in action, Zoom Enhance appears to be baked into the Google Photos application rather than into the camera UI. Any photos you have that lack fidelity can be enhanced by scrolling to the “Tools” tab, and – when available – you can use the “Zoom Enhance” option to clean up an image using AI.
After a few seconds of processing, you can tap and hold to compare the results with the original or pinch and zoom to see what Zoom Enhance has done to the images taken with your Pixel 9 or Pixel 8 Pro device.
The latest Google Photos v6.95 has begun rolling out via the Google Play Store, but this doesn’t appear to trigger the Zoom Enhance option to appear on Pixel 8 Pro in our testing. It’s highly likely that this is a server-side switch so expect it to rollout widely over the next few days and weeks. We may have had almost a year to wait, but at least Google is keeping their promise and adding this long-awaited camera function.
Let us know down in the comments section if you have the option appearing on your Pixel 8 Pro.
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