Since the announcement of the Google Pixel 6, everyone’s favorite search giant has nestled even more comfortably among the most competitive smartphone makers like Samsung and Apple. For some time now, it’s been easy to call them the big three of the mobile tech world.
Since 2016 when the first Pixel launched, Google has continued to deliver some of the best photos taken on a phone and software has always played an important role in making them a reality. That being said, shooting videos just wasn’t up to the quality you could get from a Pixel Snap.
What is Video Boost on Pixel 8 Pro?
Boost video on Pixel 8 Pro is a new feature that further enhances a video, visibly improving image quality using Google’s cloud infrastructure and AI (artificial intelligence) models.
How does Video Boost work on Pixel?
Let’s start with how to film with Video Boost. It’s actually quite simple: you just turn on the camera and switch to Video Boost in the settings. Enabling Video Boost will allow the phone to produce two copies of the video that was shot: a standard copy with a smaller file size with your usual on-device editing applied, and another with a larger file containing more information stored. which is sent to Google’s cloud infrastructure.
Once the video is ready, it will automatically appear in your Google Photos library. Of course, you need a connection for this process to happen.
During the Google event, we had the opportunity to ask additional questions about Video Boost. One thing we learned is that although you will be able to record using the Video Boost feature on Pixel 8 Pro in 4K and 1080p, you won’t be able to change the frame rate, which is locked at 30fps. However, it was indicated that there were plans to change this situation in the future.
Additionally, we were also told that you can shoot using Video Boost with any camera, including the 50 MP main snapper, 48 MP telephoto, and 48 MP ultra-wide!
Night Sight for video enabled by Video Boost
Night Sight is the name Google gave to its low-light mode in the Pixel’s camera app, and it’s been available since the Pixel 3 (released in 2018). But until now, you could only use Night Sight when taking photos. Now, Video Boost on the Pixel 8 Proalso automatically activates Night Sight for video!
As you can see, the image becomes better lit, with the darker areas going from complete black to actually showing detail. And the best part is that this happens without brightening the darker parts of the shot too much, so the scene recorded during the night still shows that it was. Highlights are also preserved and contrast is increased so that everything stands out.
One small thing we noticed is that the “boosted” image is cropped a bit, which is probably done to increase stabilization. This is a small detail but one that the user should probably be aware of and take into account when shooting.
When is Video Boost coming to the Pixel 8 Pro?
Google hasn’t said exactly when we can expect Video Boost to hit the market. Pixel 8 Probut he said we can expect it “later this year”, so our honest guess is December.
