Super Res Zoom on Google Pixels: What is it, and how to use it?

The Google Pixel series is known for offering some of the best camera phones out there. This isn’t only because of excellent camera hardware, though it also helps. What really sets Pixel phones apart is the software enhancement and computational photography additions Google has thrown into the code. One of these is Super Res Zoom.

If you’re on the fence about buying a Pixel device, you might wonder about this Super Res Zoom feature. Let’s review the basics of this zoom capability and show you the wonders it can achieve.

What is Super Res Zoom, and how does it work?

Super Res Zoom is an AI-enhanced zoom feature available on Google Pixel phones. It has been available since the Pixel 3, and all newer Pixels also support it. But of course, it works best when mixed with better camera hardware, so you’ll see better results in newer, higher-end phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro.

Google’s Super Res Zoom essentially uses machine learning and some software tricks when using Super Res Zoom. Let’s start with the basics. On a Pixel 8 Pro, the telephoto lens can achieve 5x zoom. But what happens if you zoom past that? Traditionally, anything past the lens’s physical limitation would be a digital zoom. Essentially, digital zoom is like cropping an image. It just makes a part of the photo look larger and cuts out the other parts, which means you will naturally lose image quality. The photo may look blurry, pixelated, and less detailed.

With Super Res Zoom, Google’s AI magic will step in past that mentioned 5x limitation (this changes per device). It works in a very interesting way. Google is actually capturing images before and after you take a picture. The device can use these extra shots to improve an image when needed. Such is the case with Super Res Zoom. The phone will take all these extra captures and grab the best parts from all to intelligently create one composite image. It will get the best exposure, input more information, and make the image sharper.

Google’s Tensor chips are primarily responsible, as they help the best Pixel phones achieve up to 30x zoom while still delivering some pretty good results. Previous Pixel phones also had Super Res Zoom, but things got much better since the Pixel 7 series, which received an upgrade to the image processing involved. Arguably, the image quality of telephoto images from the latest and greatest Pixel devices now rivals that of dedicated cameras.

How to use Super Res Zoom on Pixel phones

All you have to do is zoom in! You can do this by using pinch-to-zoom on the camera app, whenever you’re trying to shoot a photo.

There isn’t a switch or any other controls available to turn on Super Res Zoom. It kicks in automatically when you zoom past the phone’s physical max zoom levels. In the case of the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, this would be 5x, which is the maximum optical zoom Google currently offers.

If you’re using one of these higher-end devices with a telephoto camera, you can reach as much as 30x, thanks to Super Res Zoom. So, anything from 5x to 30x is enhanced by Google’s algorithms. If you’re using the Pixel 7, Pixel 8, or something like the Pixel 8a, the max Super Res Zoom is 8x.

Is Super Res Zoom actually good?

Now, the next question on your mind is whether Super Res Zoom is actually good and usable. Thankfully, the answer is optimistic despite the nuances.

Quality significantly drops once you cross the camera system’s maximum optical zoom. In the latest Pro models, 5x zoom is entirely handled optically, while values above 5x are handled through Super Res Zoom. Does that mean Super Res Zoom is terrible? The answer is no.

This is just physics and photography concepts at play here — optical zoom will always get you the best results, and a drop-off in quality is naturally expected once you start digitally zooming in. However, Super Res Zoom salvages the results of digital zoom, and they are better than what they would have been had no AI processing been applied. They are not better than if it was actual optical zoom, though.

As long as you have ample light and a stable subject, Super Res Zoom will deliver photos that remain fun to share on social media, at least up to a certain limit. In the case of the Pixel 7 Pro, we think 10x is about the sweet spot. There will be a noticeable softness, and you can spot signs of smoothing as the AI algorithms work their magic to reduce noise levels. But the photos themselves are pretty good.

Beyond 10x zoom, the results will be progressively worse, and how usable the photo is remains entirely a question of your shooting conditions, and your expectations. Even for shots beyond 5x zoom, your results will be poor if your lighting is sub-par or your subject is in motion. However, these results will still be slightly better than what you could have achieved with a full crop, thanks to the magic of computational photography through Super Res Zoom.

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