Hands-on with the Google Pixel 9's AI camera features: Add Me, Reimagine, Autoframe, and Zoom Enhance reshape reality, plus Video Boost and panorama get better

Add Me, Reimagine, Autoframe, and Zoom Enhance—these camera features allow you to alter your photos with zero technical know-how.

Wired 2024-08-14 Julian Chokkattu

Context & Ripple Effects

Google had already made computational editing a Pixel camera differentiator: Pixel 8’s Best Take face-swapping tool moved beyond conventional retouching, while Video Boost’s cloud-based video adjustments extended AI processing from still images into video.

The Pixel 9 broadens that approach from selecting a better capture to changing composition and scene elements. That matters because the tools are presented as accessible camera controls rather than specialist editing workflows, although subsequent coverage found the AI feature set inconsistent.

First-order effects

Pixel 9 users can alter group composition, framing, scene content and apparent detail with less editing expertise, making the phone’s camera output less tied to the original capture.
Google expands the Pixel camera’s AI feature set beyond Best Take and Video Boost, increasing the practical importance of its imaging software in the device experience.

Second-order effects

Rival phone makers face added pressure to match not only image quality but easy-to-use generative editing and post-capture framing tools.
As edits become routine camera features, viewers have less reason to assume a polished mobile image is a direct record of what the lens captured; provenance-oriented product design becomes more relevant.

Third-order effects

If such tools become standard across premium phones, smartphone-camera competition may shift further from sensors alone toward proprietary AI workflows and the distribution advantages behind them.
The line between capture and creation will continue to blur, increasing the case for clearer disclosure or provenance mechanisms where image authenticity materially matters.

The trend: This is part of the shift from computational photography that optimizes a capture to AI-native cameras that can reconstruct and reinterpret it after the fact.

Discussion

@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Google's Add Me is an actual pain point that exists! Using AI to fix this is great. Huge fan of this. https://www.zdnet.com/...
@sondesix Alvin on x
Google claims that the Pixel 9 Pro *with Video Boost* currently has the highest-quality video on a smartphone. [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
Google Pixel 9 Series also brings reworked panorama mode, with HDR+ processing and Night Sight. [image]
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
Along the theme of Google positioning Pixel as the most helpful implemention of Anroid, these @madebygoogle Pixel cameras may be the most useful camera out there on smartphones.
@richontech Rich DeMuro on x
Google is upgrading the quality of its panoramic photos on Pixel 9. Compared their quality to the iPhone [image]
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
The most interesting AI feature on the new Pixels IMO: “Add Me” Full video: https://www.youtube.com/... [video]
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Google literally invented generative AI while Apple pivoted to focus on it recently. Features like Add Me to add yourself into group photos, automatically summarizing phone calls and a better assistant than Siri (Gemini Live) are more advanced than anything Apple's announced.
@googlephotos @googlephotos on x
Magic Editor in Google Photos levels up on Pixel 9 devices with new features! ✨ 🪄 Auto frame: Expand your images or find the perfect crop effortlessly. 🪄 Reimagine: Describe your vision and see it come to life. #MadeByGoogle #GooglePhotos #Pixel9 #MagicEditor
@raywongy Ray Wong on x
Uhh... Add Me lets you use AR to “add” the camera person into a photo. This is really messing with reality and it's making me very uncomfortable. It's useful.. but like these are fake images #MadeByGoogle [video]
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
That @madebygoogle add me photos feature is pretty wild and fantastic!
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
User experience should be: - AI knows who I want to see - Knows that the person is coming - Knows that I'm available Or, for certain acts, I'm willing to cancel my other plans to attend.
@durreadan01 Adan on x
Google's Gemini live demo failed twice. 💀 This reminds me of when Face ID refused to work in iPhone X event. [video]
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
Even if it worked the first time, this is a ridiculous amount of work vs. me popping open my calendar. The bigger challenge - which amazingly isn't solved - is knowing 1/ I like her 2/ that she is coming to town.
@matthewberman @matthewberman on x
Google beat OpenAI to full voice functionality.
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Google Gemini Live sounds like a human, responds when you interrupt it like a human but @rosterloh doesn't want you to fall in love with it like a human. My full exclusive story and video on all the new AI features coming to Android and Pixels: https://www.wsj.com/...
@google @google on x
Rolling out today, Gemini Live is a more natural way to have free-flowing voice conversations with Gemini on your phone. Learn about it and more #ChatWithGemini updates from #MadeByGoogle ↓ https://blog.google/...
@google @google on x
We're introducing Gemini Live, a more natural way to interact with Gemini. You can now have a free-flowing conversation, and even interrupt or change topics just like you might on a regular phone call. Available to Gemini Advanced subscribers. #MadeByGoogle [video]
r/singularity r on reddit
Wtfff: “Google Gemini's voice chat mode is here”
r/singularity r on reddit
Meet Gemini Live: a new way to have more natural conversations with Gemini (Google DeepMind)
@technicallymims Christopher Mims on threads
ok contrary to everything I just said about not getting excited about new phones, now I want a new phone lol — RE: https://www.threads.net/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Google's Android chief sees the shift to AI writing letters like the shift from handwriting to email. [video]
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Google's Gemini Live AI voice assistant is coming to Pixel Pro earbuds. Just like Joaquin Phoenix's earbud in ‘Her.’ [video]
@googledeepmind @googledeepmind on x
Meet Gemini Live: a new way to have more natural conversations with Gemini. 💬 💡 Brainstorm ideas ❓ Interrupt to ask questions ⏸️ Pause a chat and come back to it Now rolling out in English to Gemini Advanced subscribers on @Android phones → https://blog.google/... [video]
@drjwrae Jack Rae on x
I find live mode to be a big improvement for voice interactions: graceful with interruptions and much lower latency to get a response.
@google @google on x
Gemini is the biggest leap forward since we launched Google Assistant. You can communicate more naturally because it better understands words and intent, thanks to Gemini models. It will give you personalized help across our apps, with your permission. #MadeByGoogle [image]
@geminiapp @geminiapp on x
Here's a first look at the vision for Gemini Live. In the future, it will be a multi-modal experience that allows you to explore the world in a whole new way and even connect to your apps during your Live conversation. Stay tuned. [video]
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
Gemini Live is ... live! That super cool, more conversational version of Gemini that Google teased us with at I/O is now here, along with new extensions and updates to the Android app. I've got some videos of these Gemini updates in the article linked👇 https://www.androidfaithful…
@ssamat Sameer Samat on x
Really excited about the Gemini experience on Android we just showed at Made By Google. Gemini is on hundreds of phone models, on dozens of OEM devices and supports over 40 languages today. #MadeByGoogle Learn more here: https://blog.google/...

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