Zoom Enhance is now rolling out to the Pixel 8 Pro

After a protracted wait, the long-awaited Zoom Enhance function is supposedly rolling out for the Pixel 8 Pro right now.

In Google’s official blog post detailing some of the camera functionality of the Pixel 9 series, Zoom Enhance was briefly mentioned. The function is present on the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold right at launch but will be rolling out to the Pixel 8 Pro “starting today.”

If you’re unaware, Zoom Enhance was announced almost a year ago as “coming” to the Pixel 8 Pro during the Made by Google 2023 keynote. It utilizes AI to increase the quality of images at higher zoom levels. Google has not fully detailed how it works but offered the following explanation in the Pixel 9 AI features blog post:

Zoom Enhance intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details for high-quality, post-capture zoom results.

There was another example of Zoom Enhance in action, which showcased a photo gaining a little extra fidelity once a toggle has been activated:

This demo doesn’t show earth-shattering improvements to the image in focus, but extra detail is added without making things look too sharp or artificial. It appears that Zoom Enhance is there to augment rather than overhaul an image.

Google hasn’t fully detailed how Zoom Enhance will work in the camera application. However, thanks to a video from MilesAboveTech showing it in action, Zoom Enhance appears to be baked into the Google Photos application rather than into the camera UI. Any photos you have that lack fidelity can be enhanced by scrolling to the “Tools” tab, and – when available – you can use the “Zoom Enhance” option to clean up an image using AI.