Google inexplicably removes wide-angle astrophotography from Pixel phones

Users of Pixel 5 and 4a 5G can no longer use their ultra-wide cameras to take photos of the stars: Google has apparently removed the lens’ astrophotography capabilities with the Google Camera 8.1 update. The feature was a selling point of the Pixel 4 and was available on the regular cameras and telephoto cameras. When the 4a 5G and 5 with new wide-angle lenses were announced, the feature was also added. Now it has been taken away.

The astrophotography feature lets users capture the night sky by pointing and holding their phone, either by balancing it on a nearby object or placing it on a tripod. The feature is still available on the other cameras of the phones, but if you go into Night Sight mode and go to the ultra-wide-angle camera, you will get a warning with the words “Zoom up to 1x for astrophotography.” Before the update it would say “Astrophotography on.”

Google did not respond to our request for comment and asked why it made the change, but did mention its Poor Photography Support Document to add the following caveat:

Important: On Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, astrophotography only works on zoom settings equal to or greater than 1x.

If we look at the Wayback machine, we can see that this change took place some time between November 1st and November 7th. This is a bit strange timing, as the update was only released a few days later.

For an explanation of why the feature may have been cut, you can visit this thread on Google’s Pixel Phone Help forum. It contains examples of two users showing the results of the astrophotography mode produced on the Pixel 5’s regular camera, compared to what the ultra-wide lens put out. I will allow you to judge the photos yourself. However, the forum message is still a bit time consuming – it was made days after the update feature had already started running.

Since the update was not available for a month and a half before most people really noticed that the feature was removed, it may be clear why Google thought it could get away without mentioning it in the exchange book. While a feature that will not be missed by many, it’s still a reminder that software features used to advertise a phone may be subject to change (just like the Pixel’s unlimited storage of original quality in Google Photos).