Google’s best new camera feature goes beyond 100x zoom

There aren’t many things more exciting than a packed list of new Google Pixel camera features. It’s about as close as I get to the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning — just, you know, in late August. So, when Google unveiled everything from increased maximum zoom to Auto Best Take to a Camera Coach to help compose images, I felt it had pretty much checked off my list for Santa.

But then, as I looked closer, I realized that one Pixel 10 camera feature would probably outweigh all the rest. It’s the one piece of Google’s new camera setup you’ll use every day, but you won’t find it in any settings menu. Here’s why the new Pixel ISP is the real game-changer for the Pixel 10.

Since I’ve already established something of a Christmas metaphor (but don’t worry, I’m not wishing away the exciting months of techtember/techtober/techvember), let me stick with it a little longer. Features like 100x Pro Res Zoom and Auto Best Take feel like exciting new triple-A titles you pick up for a new console. They’re the ones you’re excited to unwrap under the tree and then spend your whole day exploring.

Google’s Camera Coach? Easy, that’s your classic book full of cheat codes and strategies to make the rest of the game easier. Maybe you feel confident enough in your skills that you won’t need it, but it’s always there to get you out of a jam. I’ll admit that I used a GameShark in my Gameboy Advance back in the day, so you can bet I’ll be using Google’s cheats, too.

The thing is, though, none of these features — exciting as they may be — is essential. If Google’s Pro Res Zoom is anything like Samsung’s 100x Space Zoom, it’ll be great for a few things, like far-off buildings and parked sports cars, but it won’t fare nearly as well with people, animals, or small objects. Auto Best Take will probably (definitely) be great, too, but when most of my phone photos are of my cats… I probably won’t need it very often.

I’m sure I’ll use all of it here and there to show off just what my Pixel 10 Pro can do, but I’ll probably spend the bulk of my time at a much more comfortable zoom range, trusting Google’s excellent processing around 5x and 10x zoom in the same way that I’ve replayed Skyrim about a hundred times. I’ll buy a triple-A title, but good luck prying me away from the classics.

What ensures that I can still love those classics, though, is the Pixel 10 feature that I’m genuinely excited about. If I dip back into my video game-filled Christmas metaphor, I’m excited for the new graphics card I’m about to unwrap and slot into my otherwise pedestrian gaming setup. Yes, the brand-new Pixel ISP is where it’s at.

Now, this is where I should probably shed my metaphor because equating the new ISP to a graphics card isn’t really going to help anyone. So, instead, let me briefly explain what an Image Signal Processor, or ISP, does. Essentially, it’s a piece of the Tensor G5 chip that takes the raw image data and transforms it into the polished image that ends up in your camera roll — yes, exactly the thing I’ve loved on Pixels since the very beginning.

This time, the upgraded Pixel ISP seems like it’ll be better at everything. On the video side, it supports motion deblur and 10-bit video at up to 4K resolution at 30fps in low light, which sounds like the concert-going upgrade I’ve been waiting for. I tend to get a little competitive at shows, trying to capture better photos and videos than my iPhone-toting friends, and a new ISP seems like the perfect cheat code to pair with the Pixel 10 Pro’s reliable primary sensor.

In the same vein, the Pixel ISP is just as important for still photos, especially regarding Google’s enhanced Real Tone. I already thought the Pixel was the most accurate when recreating people of color in good lighting, but I’m hoping the update makes it better in challenging lighting conditions, too. For now, though, I’ll have to wait until I get another concert on my calendar.

Of course, the Tensor G5 and, by extension, Pixel ISP are also behind all the triple-A features I mentioned. So, while I’m treating it like a top-secret feature, I know it isn’t one. I know it’s behind everything from Pro Res Zoom to the Camera Coach, and it’ll bring new polish to the features I’ve been using since the Pixel 9 launched, like Add Me and Magic Editor. But, while those fun, clever features nab all the headlines, I’ll be here to shout out the hardworking little guys.

Thank you for your service, Pixel ISP. I can’t wait to make you my best friend.