Google’s 8K Video Boost isn’t coming to its most expensive Pixel 9 model

Summary

• Despite being the most expensive Pixel 9 phone, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will lack some Video Boost features.
• Pixel 9 Pro Fold users will not have access to 8K upscaling or Super Res Zoom Video.
• The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now available for preorder starting at $1,800.

It’s still early days but phones from Google’s Pixel 9 lineup could end up becoming some of the best Android devices of 2024. Not only are you getting great hardware this time around, but the software is also top-notch as well. And if you’re someone who’s going to invest their hard-earned money, chances are, you’re going to want to have access to all the new features arriving with this release.

With that said, it appears that one of the new Pixel 9 phones won’t be like the rest. And let’s get the obvious out of the way here, as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold definitely offers a different form factor than the other models. But more importantly it’s also different in another way too. We heard early rumors about this at the beginning of the month and now, it’s been confirmed by Android Authority that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold won’t be able to take advantage of some highly coveted Video Boost features.

Disappointing considering the phone starts at $1,800

Google’s Video Boost tech was first introduced with the release of the Pixel 8 Pro. And while it was featured on the brand’s best hardware, what was interesting is that most of the enhancements were done in the cloud using Google Photos. The same also applies to the Pixel 9 series, with Google Photos doing the heavy lifting, which makes the recent omission from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a bit perplexing.

Of course, not all the magic happens in the cloud, and there are also some hardware requirements that are also necessary for it to all work seamlessly. And when you look at the camera comparisons, it’s easy to see that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is severely lagging behind the other Pixel 9 devices when it comes to its camera sensors. The Pixel 9 and 9 Pro series come equipped with 50MP Octa PD main and a 48MP Quad PD ultrawide cameras.

And while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does have an impressive triple camera array, the sensors are a step or two behind, with a 48MP Quad PD main camera and a 10.5 MP Dual PD ultrawide and telephoto cameras. All isn’t lost though, because the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will have access to some features of Video Boost like HDR+ and Night Sight. The bottom line here is that you just won’t be able to upscale video to 8K or make use of the Super Res Zoom Video feature.

Of course, if you were someone that was interested in the best photo and video quality from a Google phone, then the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL were always going to be the way to go. And if you want a foldable that is still pretty good when it comes to photography, then the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is going to be a great option. Unfortunately, despite the progress being made, even the best foldables still can’t offer the top technologies from a brand, which for now, means a product with compromise.