Pixel’s Video Boost Feature Is Getting An Upgrade — For Better Or Worse?
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is changing the way Video Boost works on Pixel phones.
- Users are reporting on Reddit that Video Boost now remains on automatically, without the need for manual activation each time a recording is initiated.
- While this enhances usability, an always-on Video Boost could impact phone and backup storage.
Google’s Video Boost feature — exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL — uses AI to enhance video quality, particularly in low-light conditions and when additional stabilization is needed. Now, it appears the feature is getting a usability upgrade, as spotted by some Reddit users (and brought to our attention by our contributor Assemble Debug).
Previously, Video Boost had to be manually enabled in the Pixel Camera app before recording a clip. However, several Pro Pixel users are reporting that the feature now stays enabled automatically.
“Ever since video boost came out, I’d have to manually go into the settings and enable it before every video, which is super inconvenient, and almost ruins the feature. But sometime within the past few weeks, every video that I take has been automatically processing with video boost, which is such a major improvement,” a user wrote on Reddit.
Other users have confirmed that once enabled, Video Boost now stays on, even after closing the Camera app from the multitasking screen and reopening it.
While users are hailing this as a welcome change, always-on Video Boost could impact storage space on Pixel devices as well as backup servers. The feature records in 4K by default, and while users can switch to Full HD to reduce processing time and storage usage, remembering to do so for every video might be a challenge. Boosted videos anyway take up more space than standard 4K or 1080p recordings, meaning storage could fill up faster if the setting remains on.
That said, this new Video Boost behavior isn’t available to everyone just yet. Our Pixel 8 Pro, running the latest version of the Pixel Camera app, still requires manual Video Boost activation before each recording. It’s likely Google is rolling out the change in phases, as it does with new Pixel software features.
