Google's Pixel 10 Pro Introduces AI-Powered Pro Res Zoom, Challenging Smartphone Photography Limits

This Pixel 10 Pro camera feature sets a high bar for the iPhone 17 Pro to beat

I love zoom photography, and I'm thrilled to see Google using AI to elevate zoom photography on smartphones in the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. I take a ton of photos on smartphones -- over 100,000 shots on iPhone and Android -- and over the years, a lot of them have become difficult to tell apart from the professional photos I shoot on Sony mirrorless cameras. But the phone shots that still don't quite measure up -- and where I still usually have to take out a big camera -- are the long-distance zoom shots. With the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL, Google is upgrading its Pro Res Zoom to capture much greater detail by using a combination of the new Tensor G5 chip and what Google calls its "largest AI model ever used on a Pixel Camera." Also: Everything announced at Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more This is an outstanding use of generative AI. Google characterizes it as an "all-new generative imaging model to intelligently recover and refine intricate details" and claims that it can fill in a lot of details in zoom shots up to 100x. If this works, it would be a great step forward for zoom captures on phones. And the early indications are that it's pretty good. ZDNET's Kerry Wan has already had the chance to test the Pixel 10 Pro a little bit, and below is a comparison he did of the new Pixel 10 Pro zoom versus the Samsung Galaxy 25 Ultra zoom at the same distance. The Pixel version is much more usable and doesn't look grainy and pixelated. I've been testing Samsung's version of its 100x "Space Zoom" since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and I currently use the S24 Ultra's zoom on a regular basis since it's my Android daily driver and my business phone. However, I only use the 5x and 10x zoom lenses on the S24 Ultra -- and I only use the 5x zoom lens on iPhone 16 Pro Max. Once you go beyond those focal lengths, the images on both phones get very pixelated and unusable -- at least for the kind of crisp, professional-looking photos that I'm trying to create. The photo below shows a comparison of the zoom quality of the S24 Ultra versus the iPhone 16 Pro Max that I took during an evening in New York. For the photographers out there, the 5x zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the equivalent of about a 120mm focal length on a full-frame camera, and the 10x zoom on the Samsung S24 Ultra is the equivalent of about a 200 mm focal length on a full-frame camera. Also: I went hands-on with every Google Pixel 10 model - and was surprised by the one I loved most So the 100x zoom that Google is talking about for the Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro models is a longer distance than any current standard lens that exists for a professional full-frame camera. So if Google can make those photos usable -- unlike the current maximum digital zooms on Samsung, iPhone, and other smartphones -- then it will be giving its phone a capability that not only other phones don't have, but professional cameras can't match either. Here's the example that Google showed of the 100x zoom in action during the launch event for the new Pixel hardware. That's pretty impressive, and ultimately pretty usable -- potentially with a little bit of post-processing. Let's keep in mind that this is clearly a daytime shot with some nice cloud cover. I'd like to see how well the Pixel's new Pro Res Zoom holds up in low light and imperfect lighting conditions. And I'll get my chance soon because I'm going to be testing it and reporting back the results here on ZDNET and on my Instagram. Also: Google's new AI tool makes photo editing as easy as asking - and Pixel 10 gets it first Even if Google's Pro Res Zoom isn't perfect at 100x, if it can effectively use generative AI to make digital zoom photography a more viable option for taking high-quality photos, then it will be a huge win. It also makes me excited to see if Apple is working on something similar in AI for its zoom photography when it announces the iPhone 17 Pro models in September -- because the only company that can currently compete with Google on computational photography is Apple.

This Pixel 10 Pro feature makes me super excited for the iPhone 17 Pro

I love zoom photography, and I'm thrilled to see Google using AI to elevate zoom photography on smartphones in the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. I take a ton of photos on smartphones -- over 100,000 shots on iPhone and Android -- and over the years, a lot of them have become difficult to tell apart from the professional photos I shoot on Sony mirrorless cameras. But the phone shots that still don't quite measure up -- and where I still usually have to take out a big camera -- are the long-distance zoom shots. With the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL, Google is upgrading its Pro Res Zoom to capture much greater detail by using a combination of the new Tensor G5 chip and what Google calls its "largest AI model ever used on a Pixel Camera." Also: Everything announced at Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more This is an outstanding use of generative AI. Google characterizes it as an "all-new generative imaging model to intelligently recover and refine intricate details" and claims that it can fill in a lot of details in zoom shots up to 100x. If this works, it would be a great step forward for zoom captures on phones. And the early indications are that it's pretty good. ZDNET's Kerry Wan has already had the chance to test the Pixel 10 Pro a little bit, and below is a comparison he did of the new Pixel 10 Pro zoom versus the Samsung Galaxy 25 Ultra zoom at the same distance. The Pixel version is much more usable and doesn't look grainy and pixelated. I've been testing Samsung's version of its 100x "Space Zoom" since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and I currently use the S24 Ultra's zoom on a regular basis since it's my Android daily driver and my business phone. However, I only use the 5x and 10x zoom lenses on the S24 Ultra -- and I only use the 5x zoom lens on iPhone 16 Pro Max. Once you go beyond those focal lengths, the images on both phones get very pixelated and unusable -- at least for the kind of crisp, professional-looking photos that I'm trying to create. The photo below shows a comparison of the zoom quality of the S24 Ultra versus the iPhone 16 Pro Max that I took during an evening in New York. For the photographers out there, the 5x zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the equivalent of about a 120mm focal length on a full-frame camera, and the 10x zoom on the Samsung S24 Ultra is the equivalent of about a 200 mm focal length on a full-frame camera. Also: I went hands-on with every Google Pixel 10 model - and was surprised by the one I loved most So the 100x zoom that Google is talking about for the Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro models is a longer distance than any current standard lens that exists for a professional full-frame camera. So if Google can make those photos usable -- unlike the current maximum digital zooms on Samsung, iPhone, and other smartphones -- then it will be giving its phone a capability that not only other phones don't have, but professional cameras can't match either. Here's the example that Google showed of the 100x zoom in action during the launch event for the new Pixel hardware. That's pretty impressive, and ultimately pretty usable -- potentially with a little bit of post-processing. Let's keep in mind that this is clearly a daytime shot with some nice cloud cover. I'd like to see how well the Pixel's new Pro Res Zoom holds up in low light and imperfect lighting conditions. And I'll get my chance soon because I'm going to be testing it and reporting back the results here on ZDNET and on my Instagram. Also: Google's new AI tool makes photo editing as easy as asking - and Pixel 10 gets it first Even if Google's Pro Res Zoom isn't perfect at 100x, if it can effectively use generative AI to make digital zoom photography a more viable option for taking high-quality photos, then it will be a huge win. It also makes me excited to see if Apple is working on something similar for its zoom photography when it announces the iPhone 17 Pro models in September -- because the only company that can currently compete with Google on computational photography is Apple.

Pixel just zoomed ahead of iPhone in the camera photography race

I love zoom photography, and I'm thrilled to see Google using AI to elevate zoom photography on smartphones in the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. I take a ton of photos on smartphones -- over 100,000 shots on iPhone and Android -- and over the years, a lot of them have become difficult to tell apart from the professional photos I shoot on Sony mirrorless cameras. But the phone shots that still don't quite measure up -- and where I still usually have to take out a big camera -- are the long-distance zoom shots. With the new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL, Google is upgrading its Pro Res Zoom to capture much greater detail by using a combination of the new Tensor G5 chip and what Google calls its "largest AI model ever used on a Pixel Camera." Also: Everything announced at Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more This is an outstanding use of generative AI. Google characterizes it as an "all-new generative imaging model to intelligently recover and refine intricate details" and claims that it can fill in a lot of details in zoom shots up to 100x. If this works, it would be a great step forward for zoom captures on phones. And the early indications are that it's pretty good. ZDNET's Kerry Wan has already had the chance to test the Pixel 10 Pro a little bit, and below is a comparison he did of the new Pixel 10 Pro zoom versus the Samsung Galaxy 25 Ultra zoom at the same distance. The Pixel version is much more usable and doesn't look grainy and pixelated. I've been testing Samsung's version of its 100x "Space Zoom" since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and I currently use the S24 Ultra's zoom on a regular basis since it's my Android daily driver and my business phone. However, I only use the 5x and 10x zoom lenses on the S24 Ultra -- and I only use the 5x zoom lens on iPhone 16 Pro Max. Once you go beyond those focal lengths, the images on both phones get very pixelated and unusable -- at least for the kind of crisp, professional-looking photos that I'm trying to create. The photo below shows a comparison of the zoom quality of the S24 Ultra versus the iPhone 16 Pro Max that I took during an evening in New York. For the photographers out there, the 5x zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the equivalent of about a 120mm focal length on a full-frame camera, and the 10x zoom on the Samsung S24 Ultra is the equivalent of about a 200 mm focal length on a full-frame camera. Also: I went hands-on with every Google Pixel 10 model - and was surprised by the one I loved most So the 100x zoom that Google is talking about for the Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro models is a longer distance than any current standard lens that exists for a professional full-frame camera. So if Google can make those photos usable -- unlike the current maximum digital zooms on Samsung, iPhone, and other smartphones -- then it will be giving its phone a capability that not only other phones don't have, but professional cameras can't match either. Here's the example that Google showed of the 100x zoom in action during the launch event for the new Pixel hardware. That's pretty impressive, and ultimately pretty usable -- potentially with a little bit of post-processing. Let's keep in mind that this is clearly a daytime shot with some nice cloud cover. I'd like to see how well the Pixel's new Pro Res Zoom holds up in low light and imperfect lighting conditions. And I'll get my chance soon because I'm going to be testing it and reporting back the results here on ZDNET and on my Instagram. Also: Google's new AI tool makes photo editing as easy as asking - and Pixel 10 gets it first Even if Google's Pro Res Zoom isn't perfect at 100x, if it can effectively use generative AI to make digital zoom photography a more viable option for taking high-quality photos, then it will be a huge win. It also makes me excited to see if Apple is working on something similar in AI for its zoom photography when it announces the iPhone 17 Pro models in September -- because the only company that can currently compete with Google on computational photography is Apple.

The first Pixel 10 Pro Res Zoom samples show up online, and they're pretty bad

Pro Res Zoom's apparent limitations are particularly evident in the 100x comparison. The Pixel 10 Pro XL generates artwork that looks like nightmare fuel, featuring sharpened blobs with no discernible faces or other characteristics. This extends to the Mario Kart World logo and text. In fact, the text doesn't even resemble the English alphabet. Meanwhile, CNET also posted some AI-enabled zoom shots from the Pixel 10 Pro series. The cityscape comparison, taken at 30x, seems to deliver a more defined, sharper picture that doesn't veer into horrible AI territory at first glance. This wouldn't be a surprise, though, as AI-based zoom solutions from other brands also tend to excel with buildings and general cityscapes. Furthermore, Google says its solution is best suited to wildlife, landmarks, and landscapes.

The New Pixel Camera's '100x Zoom' Is Basically Fancy Generative AI

During Made by Google yesterday, the Android and search giant briefly teased that its new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL phones could zoom in by 100 times. That's a massive improvement over the 30x zoom on the Pixel 9 Pro, but the company didn't really explain how it works. Well, it turns out "100 times zoom" might not be an accurate way to put it -- if you hadn't guessed already, Pro Res Zoom relies pretty heavily on generative AI. Here's what you need to know, including what Pro Res Zoom actually does to your photos, and how you can turn it off. Up until now, smartphone zoom has essentially come in two flavors -- hardware and software. Hardware zoom is the simplest, and also the most realistic. This uses a built-in telephoto lens to physically magnify a shot, but it can have pretty limited range. All the detail captured is genuinely present in real life, but on both the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro, it tops out at just a 5x zoom. That's where software zoom comes into play. In its simplest form, software zoom essentially crops your photos to fake a zoom in effect, but that has the downside of cutting into resolution. Crop too much, and you'll start to notice heavy pixelation -- traditionally, phones couldn't make up detail where there wasn't any to work with. This is what Pro Res Zoom is trying to fix, but it wasn't Google's first attempt to make software zoom better. Because the prior software zoom tech isn't going away, let's quickly explain the difference between it and Pro Res Zoom. Pro Res Zoom isn't replacing Super Res Zoom entirely, but because they sound pretty much identical to anyone but the most die-hard Google fans, it's worth going over, especially because you can still use it if you prefer. Debuting with the Pixel 3 all the way back in 2018, Super Res Zoom essentially takes multiple photos while you're zooming in, and then uses details from multiple distances and exposure levels to produce a better final shot. There is machine learning involved, but it's not generative AI as most people imagine it, as the only data the phone uses for this is what your camera has captured. It's not trying to create a brand new image using training data. The result, though, is that Super Res Zoom still runs into many of the same limitations as a standard crop-zoom, which you've probably noticed if you've owned a Pixel at any point over the past seven years. Google still leans on Super Res Zoom for the 20x software zoom on the base Pixel 10, but by default, the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL will instead favor Pro Res Zoom, even if there are still ways to use the old method. With Pro Res Zoom enabled, photos taken beyond the optical zoom limit will now use generative AI to enhance details, pulling from a local, on-device diffusion model "optimized specifically for Tensor G5." That means it'll use more than just your shots to fill in gaps, unlike Super Res Zoom, but also that you won't get much pixelation. The results, at least for now, have gotten a mixed response from my team. Google demonstrated Pro Res Zoom by showing off a landscape shot where the Pixel 10 Pro zooms into a heavily pixelated truck far into the distance, then uses AI to try to make it look more real. "That car looked like AI" was my editor's immediate response, with another colleague hopping in to say, "Really does." To be fair, that's about the best as can be expected from a "zoom in and enhance" feature, since the camera can only see so much of the original vehicle, and no amount of software is going to give it more raw resolution to work with. It's not surprising that an AI tool looks like AI, but the question is whether that artificial quality -- which isn't strictly accurate to real life and can look cartoony to some -- is worth the lack of pixelation. Is it "faking it" enough, if it can be distinguished with a naked eye? Really, it might be a bit misleading to call this a zoom -- the diffusion model seems to instead essentially be using the resolution it does have as a prompt, generating a truck that kind of looks like whatever it saw in your original photo, and then inserting it into your shot. Google says it's tuned the model to avoid hallucination, but if it's still noticeably unreal, I could see folks wanting to avoid it. Could you still say "saw this cool truck on my vacation" if the truck is, in fact, mostly made up? In essence, as my editor put it, "You can zoom in to what the algorithm thinks a car looks like." Take that how you will, but if you're as skeptical as we were, you're not out of luck. When you take a photo on your Pixel 10 Pro or Pro XL using software zoom, you don't have to put up with only getting an AI-ified shot. Instead, the phone will show you two images, one with Pro Res Zoom and one with, as a Google Rep told me, "the old algorithm" -- meaning Super Res Zoom. I haven't had personal hands-on time with the Pixel 10 Pro's camera yet, but I did get to see this in person at a demonstration after yesterday's Made by Google event. Here, a Google Rep zoomed into a prop in the distance, then showed me both the Pro Res Zoom and Super Res Zoom results. She said she hasn't come across a situation where she prefers the old method more, but here are both shots, for your comparison. Personally, I think there are merits to both, depending on your tastes in lighting and your tolerance in AI noise or smoothing, but the truth is that it might be a little early to tell how reliable Pro Res Zoom is. I was only able to capture her phone's screen, so I'll be able to give a more in-depth report after some hands-on time with the Pixel 10 Pro. At least the new option doesn't get rid of your ability to rely on the old one. On that note, Pro Res Zoom taking the zoom cap all the way to 100, but still letting you select photos that don't use AI, does mean you can now use Super Res Zoom beyond 30x (by simply selecting that option over the AI one), although you'll probably get diminishing returns at that point. While I haven't gotten to dive into the new Pixel 10 Camera app yet, Google did tell me you'll be able to turn Pro Res Zoom off in settings, if you'd rather not bother with it. That's a boon for anyone who doesn't want to deal with the extra click of dismissing the AI option whenever they take a photo that uses software zoom, but it does come with a drawback: Like on the Pixel 9 Pro, you'll be limited to 30x zoom. Since leaving Pro Res Zoom on still allows you to pick non-AI photos at zoom levels beyond that, you do technically lose out on a bit of functionality. But this will ensure you use Super Res Zoom for every zoom shot instead. While Pro Res Zoom certainly adds an element of unreality to your shots, it's worth remembering that this is far from Google's first camera feature to have people asking what a photo even is nowadays. Inserting AI generated imagery into a photo and pretending it's simply a zoomed in shot definitely has the feeling of crossing a line to some of us here at Lifehacker, but in an era of filters, automatic lighting adjustments, and even the frame merging of Super Res Zoom, it's worth remembering that few of the photos we see these days truly represent what the photographer saw with their own eyes. Still, if your gut reaction is "that looks like AI," the idea might still need a few years to bake before you can truly say it looks like a real "100x zoom."

Google Pixel 10 Pro's 100x Zoom Outperforms Samsung's 100x Space Zoom, Delivering Clearer, AI-Enhanced Photos At Extreme Distances

The Google Pixel 10 Pro has redefined smartphone zoom photography, surpassing Samsung's 100x Space Zoom with its AI-enhanced Pro Res Zoom feature. While both devices offer impressive zoom capabilities, Google's innovative approach delivers clearer and more detailed images, even at extreme magnifications. The Pixel 10 Pro's Pro Res Zoom makes use of on-device generative AI technology to reconstruct and enhance details in ultra-zoomed photos. This process, which previously took as much as a minute, now completes in just 4 to 5 seconds, producing images with enhanced clarity and reduced noise. In contrast, Samsung's Space Zoom, despite its 100x reach, produces grainy and less detailed images due to limitations in processing power and limited AI integration. YouTuber Parker Burton showed the 100x zoom capability of the Pixel 10 Pro, and it is surprising to see how a phone can manage to take pictures with immense clarity from such a distance. You can check out the YouTube short embedded below for more details. There are additional tests available on the internet, which will show you side-by-side comparisons, highlighting minimal noise, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra's zoom produces grainy and softer images that are less pronounced. Beyond the 100x zoom capabilities of the Pixel 10 Pro, it also houses a plethora of additional hardware upgrades, which include a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide lens, and a 48MP 5x telephoto lens, all powered by the company's custom Tensor G5 chip. The device also brings a boatload of AI-driven camera features, which include Camera Coach, Magic Cue, and much more. Altogether, these features work together to bring an enhanced photography experience for users. We have to take note that Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra offers impressive hardware, but the Google Pixel 10 Pro's advanced AI integration technology provides a more refined and user-friendly zoom photography experience. Furthermore, it all boils down to user perspective as well, so be sure to take the opinion with a grain of salt. We will be covering additional details on the new Pixel releases, so do stick around.