Ever since the Pixel 7 series was announced back in 2022, there’s one button I’ve wanted the Google Camera app to have: a 10x zoom. This was the first time a Pixel phone had a powerful enough 5x telephoto lens that was sufficient enough to crop out a smaller 10x shot without losing on quality and clarity. It simply made sense that Google, who was marketing this longer zoom range, would also make it more accessible in the Camera app, but it didn’t.
The Pixel 8 series and then the Pixel 9 series followed, and, as much as I hate to admit it, the 10x zoom is still nowhere to be seen in the Google Camera app. I thought I’d be over this by now and accepted this oversight as another “Google shrug” moment. Still, as I was walking around the Beauval Zoo last weekend, zooming in on the lions, tigers, and elephants, I kept lamenting the lack of this button over and over again.