Google Camera app leaks change to Pixel 7 selfie snapper

Yesterday we passed along the word that some hidden code found by 9to5Google in the newly updated Google Camera 8.5 app revealed that the Pixel car crash detection feature is coming to non-Pixel Android phones. Today, 9to5Google said that according to the Google Camera 8.5 app, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro front-facing cameras will both support recording in 4K.

The difference with the Pixel 6 line is that with the 2021 models, only the Pixel 6 Pro has the capability to record front-facing video in 4K. The premium model is equipped with a front-facing 11.1MP sensor while the Pixel 6 sports an 8MP front-facing sensor and delivers video in FHD. Code in the 8.5 version of the Google Camera app suggests that the front-facing sensor on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro could be the same sensor used on the Pixel 6 Pro.

Code in the latest version of the Camera app cites a "p21_front_setup" for both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which was used on the Pixel 6 Pro.

The Pixel tablet, which was mentioned during last month's Google I/O event, revealed that the tablet, supposedly scheduled for a 2023 release, will have a single rear camera. Google Camera app 8.5 shows that the tablet may not support 4K video recording at 60 frames per second. There are also indications that the Pixel tablet might not support any 4K video at all.

And to keep the pricing of the tablet down, the Camera app hints that Pixel handset photo features such as Audio Zoom, Slow Motion videos, and Action Pan photos could be missing from the Pixel tablet. With Audio Zoom, an item that you are zooming in on gets louder with background noise reduced the closer you get to the subject. Action Pan locks the focus on a moving subject in the foreground while blurring the background.

Now this doesn't stop Google from making changes to the photo features it will offer with the Pixel tablet; plenty of time remains "on the clock." It does seem a little strange that in creating and expanding the Pixel ecosystem, Google is removing photographic features for its first Pixel Android tablet. After all, photography has been a key Pixel feature since the release of the first Pixel phones back in 2016.

Perhaps Google believes that it doesn't need to use AI-powered camera gimmicks to sell the Pixel tablet to the public. But it is possible that the company may be repeating the game plan it used with the first Pixel handsets. The OG Pixels had an IP rating of only IP53 which protected the phone from limited amounts of dust and from water spray less than 60 degrees from vertical.

It wasn't until the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were released with their IP67 rating that the Pixel series had water resistance. If Google follows this same path with the Google Pixel tablet, we could see improvements in the tablet's photography system by the release of the Pixel tablet 2.

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Google's Pixel 6 series debuted the firm's home-grown SoC, the Google Tensor. With the chip, Google was able to add features such as the Magic Eraser which removes unwanted items on photographs. Other features such as Action Pan and Real Tone are possible because of the Tensor chip. The component also enhances some older Pixel features including Night Sight.

Night Sight allows Pixel users to snap viewable photos in low-light environments without the use of flash. We should point out that the Pixel 7 series will be powered by the second-generation Google Tensor chipset which should yield some more new computational photographic features for users.