With impressive results, the latest telephoto lens on Google’s Pixel 4 series already makes 8x hybrid zoom, but it seems more is possible. A change to the Google Camera app allows the Pixel 4 to shoot with a slight catch at 16x zoom.
Another clever trick that works on the hardware of the Pixel 4 has been pulled off by the developer of the popular Gcam mod available for some time now. Using the Google Super Res Zoom feature, cstark27 was able to find out how to use the telephoto lens to increase the maximum zoom rate to a whopping 16x.
The folks at XDA-Developers shared the gallery below to show how the new feature works and how impressive the results are. The resulting 16x zoom is actually very usable using the Super Res Zoom feature on the Pixel 4.
However, it is very important to note that it is only possible for users who have a rooted device to use the 16x zoom with the telephoto camera at least for now. It’s a shame, but there’s also a bright side. It is technically possible for non-rooted users to have the telephoto lens enabled but it will take time to accomplish it.
Meanwhile, installing the modified Gcam app with the higher zoom levels will work on an unrooted Pixel 4, but it will only use the main lens. For sideloading, the modified Camera app is available.
