Google Removes Astrophotography Function From Pixel 4a 5G And Pixel 5

Via an update to the Camera app, Google has just removed the feature that allowed you to take ultra-wide-angle shots of a night sky. On Pixel 5 and 4a 5G, the quality of the photos was obviously not there.

It was in 2019 that Google unveiled a brand new astrophotography mode on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Thanks to this feature, it is possible to take nightly pictures of the sky and obtain superb photos of the stars using your smartphone, provided you are systematically equipped with a small tripod. Because this astrophotography function still has a big flaw: it is necessary to wait several minutes before the shooting is effective, as reported by Android Police.

Today, the shots taken by our smartphones are instantaneous in broad daylight or require only a handful of seconds when they are taken at night. But on the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, shooting a starry sky can take a while (at least 6 minutes in our tests last year). The astrophotography mode on the other hand produces excellent quality photos on these two smartphone models, which is undeniable. Except that since the release of the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, other models of Google smartphones have appeared, models that have an ultra-wide-angle sensor. And that’s where the trouble begins.

Google Removed ultra-wide-angle astrophotography mode on its Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5.

Recently updated to version 8.1, the Google Camera application has nevertheless seen the disappearance of the astrophotography function of the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 in ultra-wide-angle. However, it was well integrated into the two smartphones when they were released. But Google has obviously decided otherwise. The reason? A waiting time that can seem endless for the user and a quality that was really not there.

however, astrophotography mode has not completely disappeared: it is still available within the application, but only in classic shooting mode. As soon as you try to switch to ultra-wide-angle, a notification informs you that it is necessary to switch back to 1x zoom. If you absolutely want to keep this functionality, despite the quality of the photos produced, one watchword: do not update the Camera application anymore. Or, if you’ve already done so, download an APK from the previous edition, version 8.0. Finally, and it goes without saying: the Pixel 4 and 4 XL are simply not affected by this disappearance, since they do not have any ultra-wide-angle sensor.