A couple of years ago, I lamented the Pixel 7 Pro’s poor panorama performance compared to my iPhone 12 Pro Max. At the time, I dissected every way Google’s camera was failing to deliver good panoramas and how Apple’s experience was much better. From compressing images down to only a few megapixels, removing all detail when zoomed in, and only working with the main camera lens, the Pixel 7 Pro’s panorama mode was a downright disappointment.
The Pixel 8 Pro didn’t change much last year, and the panorama mode became the most useless menu item in my Google Camera. But this year, Google promised a fully revamped panorama experience with the Pixel 9 series, so I had to go out and test it by myself. Is it really better? Or is there more room for improvement?