Although Google’s branded smartphones of the Pixel family are very high-quality and interesting, you still can’t argue with the fact that these phones are mostly low-end devices. This is due primarily to the fact that they are officially sold in a scanty number of countries. But still, in some cases, if you have previously ordered one of the Pixel smartphones, but not the latest 5 models, then there is very good news for you. The bottom line is that the tech giant mentioned above has already begun rolling out version 8.1 of its own Google Camera app to all other Pixel phones besides the current flagship.
This fact, in turn, means that absolutely all owners of old Google Pixel smartphones will receive some functions and camera capabilities that were previously inherent only in the new Pixel 5. According to the authoritative profile publication 9to5Google, the version of Google Camera 8.0 was previously available only on Pixel 5 models, however, the new version, 8.1, although it will not introduce any significant changes in functionality, will still extend many nice features to previous branded phones, up to such old models as Pixel 2 and 2 XL.
It is also noted that the application, as a whole, has not undergone any major updates. However, some of the functions have been redesigned or simply modified to fit older, less technically advanced devices. Either way, the new enhancements include brand new zoom shortcuts along with the extremely useful “Audio Zoom” feature. If you are not in the know, the latter allows you to reduce background noise when activated, which is very useful when recording a video with one specific sound source.
Older models will finally also have a “new” video recording feature called Cinematic Pan, which debuted with the Pixel 5. This in turn allows for really beautiful, quality, and smooth panning shots. But here it is worth making a small note because the above-mentioned Cinematic Pan feature will only be added from older smartphones to the Pixel 4 and 4 XL. Other, older, and weaker devices will not get it. At the moment, the update is in the process of rolling out, and in a few days, you will certainly be able to try out on your old device those chips that were originally added exclusively for the Pixel 5 line.