Google design director revealed that the Pixel 4 has a 20x zoom capability, but it turns out to be a “trick”.

Yesterday, Google’s chief designer Claude Zellweger posted a photo on his personal Twitter page. It would not be special if Claude Zellweger did not respond to a colleague’s comment below, that the photo was taken by a Pixel smartphone and using a 20x zoom.

Immediately, tech sites around the world believe this picture was taken by Pixel 4, and Google’s upcoming smartphone will have a 20x zoom feature. The reason is that the current Pixel 3 only has a maximum zoom capability of 10x, and because it is a digital zoom, it cannot reach the level of detail like this photo.

According to previous sources, the Pixel 4 will be improved with the rear dual camera, while the Pixel 3 only has a single camera. Therefore, Google may be equipped with a telephoto lens with 20x optical zoom capability for its smartphone. And if this is true, this will be a new breakthrough in camera technology on smartphones.

But it turned out to be just a “trick”, which Claude Zellweger confirmed that he only teased his colleague. In fact, this photo was taken with a Pixel 3A smartphone and crop again, not taken with 20x zoom technology at all.

Default zoom, zoom 6x and 10x zoom on OPPO Reno.

Even the current OPPO with impressive 10x zoom is also just the technology of hybrid zoom (hybrid between optical zoom and digital). Or Huawei is also trying hard to bring impressive 5x optical zoom technology to the P30 Pro. Therefore, 20x optical zoom on current smartphone is impossible.

Reference: Theverge