- The Pixel Camera 10.2 update is rolling out now
- Contrary to initial reports, it doesn’t appear that much has changed
- The Pixel 10 uses the camera app a little differently
The main reason many people choose one of the best Pixel phones is to take advantage of the ability to take pictures – something these handsets are known for – and the default Pixel Camera app is now being updated to version 10.2.
On the face of it, this is a fairly innocuous and minor update – but according to 9to5Google, there seems to be some confusion over an adjustment to the quick settings sliders, which you can use to adjust white balance, brightness and shadows.
Initially, it appeared that Google had returned these sliders back to their original positions after a tweak in Pixel Camera 10.1 which put shadows over the brightness on the right side. It’s undoubtedly a bit counter-intuitive, as you’ll probably want to adjust the brightness first and then the shadows afterwards.
However, as noted in the 9to5Google report, it looks like the version 10.1 change didn’t actually happen: the Shadows top/brightness bottom configuration was actually exclusive to the Google Pixel 10 series at launch and hasn’t changed in version 10.2. All other Pixels still show brightness at the top, either on version 10.1 or version 10.2.
Hold up on the back
It’s all pretty confusing and begs the question why Google would do something different on the Pixel 10 compared to every other Pixel in the exact same app. I’ve checked the Pixel Camera 10.1 app on a Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the brightness slider is actually above the shadow slider on the right, which presumably won’t change with v10.2.
These quick access sliders appear when you tap the viewfinder while taking a photo, but you need to enable them first: in the Camera app, tap the gear icon (bottom left), then tap the three dots, then enable Fast access control. These were actually rolled out last year with the v9.7 update.
Long story short, those sliders aren’t changing, despite reports to the contrary that seem to be based on the 9to5Google article before it was updated. If you see anything different when you get the v10.2 update, let me know in the comments.
So if the quick settings sliders haven’t changed in Pixel Camera 10.2, what has? Not much, it seems, aside from bug fixes and stability improvements, with some Pixel 10 users hoping for a fix for a previously reported video stabilization issue.
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