The latest Pixel 8 rumors indicate that Google’s next-gen phones have an all-new camera sensor that delivers better images and uses less power.
Google’s Pixel 8 will have a new camera sensor that delivers more vivid colors and richer detail, leaks suggest.
Next-gen Pixels will support a feature called “Staggered HDR” for higher quality photos with much greater dynamic range. The cameras will also be faster and could be up to 24% more energy efficient.
Scaled HDR on the Pixel 8
According to a series of tweets from famed leaker Kuba Wojciechowski, Pixel 8 phones (or flagship versions, at least) will support scaled HDR.
This is where the camera takes short, medium and long exposures at the same time to create HDR images with more detail and better colors. It should also eliminate ghosting that often occurs when shooting moving subjects in HDR with the current method of capturing multiple successive exposures.
The information is based on a teardown of the Google Camera Go app, which references two devices named Husky and Shiba, believed to be the next flagship Pixel phones.
All this indicates that the Pixel 8 series uses a new camera sensor. The Pixel 6 and 7 feature Samsung’s ISOCELL GN1 sensor, but it doesn’t support step HDR. However, the company’s new GN2 suggests that’s what will be in the next generation of Google phones.
In addition to improved image quality, Samsung claims the sensor is 24% more energy efficient. It also supports up to 100 megapixels and offers faster focusing.
Introducing a new camera after just two generations would represent a shift in strategy for Google, which previously kept the same hardware in place for many years. The sensor first used in the Pixel 2 was still used in the Pixel 5, and even in this year’s Pixel 6a.
But 2023 is shaping up to be an interesting year for Pixel photographers, as the Pixel 7a is also believed to pack a new camera alongside plenty of other high-end features.
2023 will be a big year for Google Hardware
In addition to new phones, next year will see the launch of the Pixel tablet, which has already been pretty much fully featured, as well as the possible debut of the Pixel Fold, the company’s first foldable device. These will help extend Google’s new hardware ecosystem even further.
