Will Google choose the right kind of second lens for its Pixel 4 smartphone camera?
The Pixel 4 ought to come with an ultrawide lens rather than a zoomed lens, says Antonio Villas-Boas
We know that Google’s Pixel 4 smartphone will come with more than one camera lens, with the consensus arriving at two camera lenses compared to the single lens on Pixel phones so far.
The most solid rumour surrounding the extra lens on the Pixel 4’s rear comes from XDA-Developers, who say one lens will be used for “telephoto” zoomed photos. 9to5Google expands on XDA-Developers’ findings by suggesting the Pixel 4 will have a regular camera with 12 megapixels, and the telephoto camera will have 16 megapixels.
To me, that seems like a waste. Instead of a zoomed lens, I hope the Pixel 4 will come with an ultrawide lens. Here’s why:
Zooming can be ‘faked’ with a single lens, but ultrawide shots can’t be faked.
Pretty much every smartphone already has zooming. It’s “digital” zooming, which doesn’t offer the best quality photos, but that’s something Google has addressed to some degree with its AI and software smarts in its Pixel phones.
Zooming can be faked with digital zooming. But you know what can’t be faked? Ultrawide photos. Not even Google’s AI can fake scenery and details that are out of reach of a normal smartphone camera lens. To get that extra scenery and detail, you need a lens that will actually capture them: an ultrawide lens.
That’s why I say dedicating an entire lens to zoomed photos – something that every smartphone can already do – is a waste.
Ultrawide lenses
