Next-gen Google Pixel phones could get a significant camera upgrade

The Google Pixel made a name for itself through its camera skills. From the Pixel 3 onwards – which introduced Night Sight – this phone has pushed the envelope when it comes to camera skills, often being regarded as one the best phones for the photography experience. It looks like the next-gen Pixel phones could take this further.

Thanks to a leak reported by Android Authority, we've now learnt about new features coming to future Pixel phones. Specifically, it's reported that these features are being worked on for the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 devices, expected to launch in 2025 and 2026 respectively.

The Tensor G5 hardware has recently seen a run of leaks revealing powerful AI features, including "Video Generative ML". This suggests that the phone will be able to use machine learning when you edit video, presumably to help add or remove elements based on the content you've captured.

It's also said that the Tensor G5 will support 4K 60fps HDR video, a step up from the 4K 30fps currently offered.

Beyond that we learn that Google is working on a 100x zoom feature. That might not sound so amazing, because we've already seen 100x zoom in plenty of phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra). It's said that this will use machine learning again, so it's AI-powered – and it could be that it recognises the scene and uses generative AI to make up for the optical shortcomings to give you a clearer result.

On top of that there are new Cinematic Blur features coming, as well as Ultra Low Light video. The Pixel already offers Night Sight video and this could be an extension. Currently the system requires processing in the cloud which is really slow, but a move to on-device processing that's faster could be a great advancement. Currently, Night Sight video offers some excellent results, it's just too slow to be useful in that moment.

New health features coming to Pixel too

It's not just the camera that's due to get more powers on future Pixel phones – there are health features coming to future devices too. These are said to be powered by a new nanoTPU as part of Tensor G6 (so likely to be on the Pixel 11 in 2026) and could include features like the current cough detection, but focusing on sleep apnoea, sneezing, snoring, agonal breathing, as well as boosting functions like fall detection and gait analysis.

This could also extend to running features, presumably to feed data into the system to tell you how efficient your running style is, perhaps as part of a new coaching feature in cahoots with Fitbit.

It seems there's potentially a lot coming on the AI side of things from future Google phones – but it's going to be some time before these features arrive. Whether any will roll back to the Pixel 9 or older devices remains to be seen.