What you need to know
- Google may introduce a new kind of sensor in the successor to the Pixel 7 series.
- The Pixel 8 series is rumored to have staggered HDR support, leading to less ghosting in photos.
- This suggests that Google’s upcoming flagship phone range may feature Samsung’s Isocell GN2 sensor, which offers spread HDR.
Google’s existing method of shooting HDR with Pixel phones requires a series of short exposures, which can lead to longer processing times and potentially blurry photos. The next Pixel series can remedy this shortcoming.
According to leaker and developer Kuba Wojciechowski (opens in new tab)does the Google Pixel 8 possibly include support for staggered HDR (via Android Authority (opens in new tab)). It’s a relatively new type of sensor that debuted last year with Samsung’s ISOCELL GN2 and promises rich details and vibrant colours.
When announcing the sensor, Samsung explained (opens in new tab) that spread HDR extends the dynamic range when shooting in mixed-light environments, which is ideal in high-contrast scenes. The technology “uses shutters over the same pixel arrays to capture multiple frames with short, medium and long exposures,” Samsung said at the time.
While modern image sensors capture just one image, staggered HDR captures three images of a scene at a time, preserving detail in both bright and dark areas. The result is an image with stunning dynamic range.
Staggered HDR is also more energy efficient, with the South Korean tech giant noting that it’s capable of reducing a sensor’s power consumption by up to 24% compared to the Samsung GN1’s real-time HDR mode. This means that GN2 is much more advanced than its predecessor, which Wojciechowski says does not support spread HDR.
Samsung GN1 is found in many of Google’s top Android phones, including the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 lineups. If Wojciechowski’s discovery materializes, we could be looking at a massive camera sensor upgrade for the Pixel 8 series.
The leaker also notes that staggered HDR “allows the same effect as regular HDR to be achieved, but without the longer shooting time”, implying that HDR shots are processed faster and thus have remarkably sharper images.
In addition to the aforementioned improvements, the Pixel 8 models can benefit from improved autofocus via Samsung’s Dual Pixel Pro technology and more vibrant photos via Smart ISO Pro.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro is equipped with the company’s latest Tensor G2 chip, which boosts the device’s performance. The Pixel 7 Pro’s iconic camera shelf includes a 48 MP primary lens and a 12 MP ultra-wide lens for photos that look as good as you remember them.