The Pixel 9 series introduced a new feature called Zoom Enhance, available on the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold (unfortunately, not on the standard Pixel 9). It has also been rolled out to the Pixel 8 Pro via a Google Photos update. In this article, I’ll show you how to use Zoom Enhance on your Google Pixel phone. But first, let’s understand what it does.
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What is Zoom Enhance?
Zoom Enhance lets you crop your photos without worrying about them getting blurry. It uses AI to make the cropped parts look sharp and detailed, even if you zoom in a lot. You can crop in on something far away, and the AI will add details to make it look clearer than the original photo.
It’s similar to Google’s Super Res Zoom, which also uses AI to make zoomed-in photos look good. The difference is that Super Res Zoom works in real-time at the time of taking the photo, and Zoom Enhance works on photos you’ve already clicked.
Unlike many Pixel AI features that require internet, Zoom Enhance runs entirely offline and on-device. However, its processing demands are too high for the standard Pixel 9 and Pixel 8, which have only 8GB of RAM, making it unavailable on those phones.
How to Use Zoom Enhance
The Zoom Enhance feature is available out of the box on Pixel 9 Pro phones. Pixel 8 Pro users will receive it via a Google Photos update. Here’s how to use it:
- Open Google Photos on your Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, 9 Pro Fold, or Pixel 8 Pro.
- Select the photo you want to crop and enhance (even the ones you clicked from a non-Pixel camera).
- Tap on Edit.
- Tap on Tools and choose Zoom Enhance.
- Pinch out to zoom in on the photo as much as you want and adjust the frame.
- Once you’re ready, tap Crop and enhance.
- Wait a few seconds for the image to be processed.
Once you get the enhanced image, you can decide whether to save it as a copy or reset and start over (in case you’re not happy with the results or if there’s some weird artifacting). Don’t worry; the images are always saved as new copies and do not overwrite the original.
If You Cannot Find Zoom Enhance in Google Photos
If you’re unable to locate the Zoom Enhance option on your phone, please check the following:
- Ensure you’re using a supported phone, that is either of Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, or Pixel 8 Pro.
- Make sure your Google Photos app is updated to the latest version.
- Zoom Enhance is not compatible with 50-megapixel photos. If you’ve taken any high-resolution photos on your Pixel, you’ll need to crop them to a resolution lower than 12.5 megapixels before using this feature.
Tips for Using Zoom Enhance
Zoom Enhance, like any AI tool, isn’t perfect, and its results may vary. Sometimes it works great; other times, it might have minimal impact or even add unwanted artifacts. The outcome heavily depends on the image itself. If you’re not happy with the result, you can always retry.
The AI typically reduces noise in the image, sharpens it, and adds missing details between the pixels by predicting what could be there. This usually works well, but it can sometimes struggle when trying to generate content to compensate for something that’s completely blown out or too complex to begin with.
I’ve used it to zoom in on text, objects, and people. It’s particularly effective with text, making it readable even when it’s far away and somewhat blurred. However, if the text is completely invisible, it might generate gibberish.
Results with objects are generally fine, as they’re usually predictable—cars, buildings, etc.—but results with people can be less consistent. In some cases, it might only apply a simple Photo Unblur effect. To give you a better idea, here are some samples:
You can further check the samples shared by Google below:
