When I finally got my hands on the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL, disappointment settled in as I realized the cameras on both phones are identical to last year’s models. Newer phones usually get some kind of camera hardware upgrade, but the specs don’t lie.
This was the driving force that eventually led me to think that they’re both even more overrated than last year’s models, especially given how the Pixel 10 now has a triple camera system of its own — complete with a dedicated telephoto camera that delivers a 5x optical zoom. You’d think that its zoom capabilities are similar to the Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL, but they’re actually not.
That’s because these new Pro models from Google have a secret weapon called Pro Res Zoom, which gets some AI-assistance to enhance zoom photos. I got to briefly test it out, and it might convince you that these new Pixel Pro offerings are the new king of zoom.
First of all, you should know that Pro Res Zoom, which can get up to a 100x zoom, is exclusive to the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. Although the Pixel 10 now has that dedicated telephoto camera, it has a different version called Super Res Zoom that tops out at 20x zoom — and it doesn’t use the same generative AI models that Pro Res Zoom is benefitting from. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold 10 won’t have this feature either when it ships in October.
I tested out Pro Res Zoom on a few different things, with the first being an Android figurine that was placed on the other side of the room. I switched over to 5x zoom in the Pixel 10 Pro camera app and proceeded to move it up until I maxed out at 100x zoom. Usually there’s a lot of shakiness at this zoom, but the Pixel 10 Pro’s stabilization kicks in well to mitigate them.
After pressing on the shutter button, it took a little more than 10 seconds for the Pixel 10 Pro to deliver the enhanced Pro Res Zoom shot. The wait was worth it because it transformed the fuzzy and indistinct Android figurine and added detail and definition that made it look like I was taking the shot in front of it with the main camera — but I was on the other side of the room, about 30 feet in my estimation.
I tried out a different target to see what Pro Res Zoom would do, so I pointed the camera at this blue flower that was again on the other side. Using the same exact process as before, the generative AI imaging models running on-device gave the picture clarity. There’s a button to preview the before and after images, so needless to say I was impressed with the results.
For my final test, I used the Pixel 10 Pro XL to capture a sign outside through a glass window in front of me. While I could still read out what was on the sign at 100x zoom without any enhancements, Pro Res Zoom simply cleaned it up by removing the artifacts in the original shot and defining the words on the sign.
I’m really eager to put Pro Res Zoom through more testing to see how much of a difference it makes, seeing that I only got to preview the photos on the phone itself and not on a computer when I can look at the images in full resolution to better spot any flaws.
Samsung established itself as the zoom king with the 100x space zoom in its Galaxy Ultra phones, but those days at the top could be numbered with this new Pixel 10 Pro feature. What I’m really interested in uncovering is how accurate it is, whether it’s the fine details of a person’s face or those fine print words on documents.
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