The first Google Pixel 8 camera leak point in the major upgrade

Google phones have long offered HDR+ photography as a support mode, with both this Nexus and Pixel line using a multi-frame HDR solution to improve dynamic range and reduce ghosting when taking regular shots.

Now, tipster and developer Kuba Wojciechowski has revealed references to 2023 pixels you get interlaced HDR support. Wojciechowski researched the Google Camera Go app and found references to this feature for 2023 devices.

The tip also rightly notes that the main Samsung Isocell GN1 sensor used in Pixel 6 And the Pixel 7 series It does not offer interlaced HDR support. However, the Isosil GN2 It already offers this capability, suggesting a major camera upgrade could be on the Pixel 8’s cards.

How does that compare to current Google technology?

Google’s original HDR+ solution took a series of short exposures. But the company has switched to HDR+ with brackets from the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G and beyond. This technology sees five short exposures taken before the shutter is pressed and one long exposure when the shutter button is tapped.

Interlaced HDR, meanwhile, is more recent than Samsung’s take on HDR photography. This technology takes three separate exposures (short, medium and long) in very quick succession, then combines them into the final image. So medium exposure in particular seems to be missing from Google’s HDR+ solutions, for example.

Samsung noted at the time of the GN2’s launch that Amazing HDR brought richer details and more vibrant colors than the GN1’s Real-time HDR mode, adding that it reduced power consumption by up to 24%. The company has it too has been confirmed With other sensor launches, graded HDR is faster than traditional HDR solutions, though we’re not sure if this compares to the GN1 mode or previous HDR implementations.

Of course, speed is life when it comes to HDR capture. So any speed improvement here should also translate to less ghosting and less time looking at the dreaded “processing” screen. Throw in the other upgrades mentioned above and the Pixel 8 could deliver more efficient, higher-quality HDR footage if it relied on this solution.

However, the biggest takeaway here is the fact that Google could upgrade the main camera sensor in the Pixel 8 series. Switching to a sensor like the Isocell GN2 would also open the door to improved low-light performance thanks to larger pixels and improved autofocus via Dual Pixel Pro technology. .