Google’s Pixel Gets Unorthodox Zoom From AI
- New smartphone generation adds a Pixel Neural Core AI chip
- Company aims to prove software camera can beat better specs
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Google’s latest smartphone demonstrates how artificial intelligence and software can enhance a camera’s capabilities, one of the most important selling points of any mobile device.
The Pixel 4, the latest entrant in a phone line defined by its cameras, touts an upgraded ability to zoom in when shooting photos as its biggest upgrade. But the Alphabet Inc. company isn’t going about it the way that Samsung Electronics Co., Huawei Technologies Co. or Apple Inc. have done -- instead of adding multiple cameras with complicated optics, Google has opted for a single extra lens that relies on AI and processing to fill in the quality gap.