Unveiling the Astounding Ultrawide Astrophotography of the Pixel 8 Pro

Google has brought back the ability to take ultrawide shots in astrophotography mode, but for now, it’s only available on the Pixel 8 Pro. This feature was first introduced on the Pixel 4 in 2019 but was removed the following year. Now, with the Pixel 8a expected to be released in 2024, there is hope that ultrawide astrophotography will be available on future Pixel devices.

The Pixel Camera app will now offer shooting options at standard 1x, 2x, and 0.5x (ultrawide) magnifications when astrophotography mode is activated on the Pixel 8 Pro. However, this capability is not available on the Pixel 8 or the Pixel Fold.

The decision to bring back the ultrawide astrophotography feature is possibly due to the Pixel 8 Pro’s updated sensor for ultrawide shooting. The Pro model has a 48MP sensor with a wider f/2.0 aperture, capturing more detail and light compared to the vanilla Pixel 8, which has a lower resolution 12MP sensor at a smaller f/2.2 aperture.

While no official explanation was provided for the feature’s removal in the past, some speculate it was due to user complaints about the image quality in the wide perspective.

The Pixel 8 Pro has been praised for having one of the best cameras on any Android phone, thanks to its triple camera system and computational photography using AI to enhance images and videos, including spectacular astrophotography shots at night.

With the Pixel 8a set to release, it is hoped that ultrawide astrophotography will become available on more Pixel devices in the future.