Entire Pixel 9 lineup tipped for big camera upgrades

Almost every Pixel 9 model is changing for the better, but the Pixel Pro Fold camera changes may be less welcome

Google Pixel 9 Pro leaked renders
(Image credit: OnLeaks / MySmartPrice)
Carrie Marshall
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Quick summary

A new report says that all of the forthcoming Pixel 9 phones will benefit from better camera sensors and improved selfie cameras too. Low light shooting should be significantly improved.

There appears to be no end to the Google Pixel 9 leaks: yesterday the entire range leaked with spec details and lots of images both inside and out, and today new details have emerged of the camera setups in each of the phones. The cameras in the Pixel 8 range are already pretty impressive, but this new report says that we can expect some significant changes across the board with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold too.

The new report comes via Android Authority, whose source inside Google says that most of the new Pixels will get improved image sensors. The report also indicates an interesting change to the Pixel 9 Fold.

Pixel 9 camera upgrades: what we know so far

According to the Google source, the Sony IMX386 ultrawide sensor is being swapped for the newer Sony IMX858 for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. That's not just a more advanced sensor; it's larger too, so it should deliver significantly better low-light performance. 

The main sensor and the front-facing sensor are the same this time around, but the front-facing camera is improved: the standard Pixel 9 will get the same autofocus as the Pixel 8 Pro, so you should be able to take much better selfies. 

The changes to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are more unusual and potentially regressive. The ultrawide camera is moving from the Sony IMX386 to the Samsung 3LU, and the Sony and Samsung selfie sensors have been changed to the Samsung 3K1. These new sensors are smaller than before, most likely to help Google achieve a thinner case in its foldable. 

The other big upgrade here – which so far hasn't been confirmed – could be 8K video; while the Tensor G3 chip supports 8K Google hasn't implemented it yet. The Pixel Camera app is reportedly now supporting 8K video recording but as yet it's unclear which, if any, Pixel 9 models will benefit.

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

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