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If you peeked into the Google Camera app settings on your shiny new Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro, you might have noticed a new wide P3 color gamut toggle. That's one of the new photo quality features that comes with Android 14 and the other is Google's touted Ultra HDR image format.
While those may not be the sole reason for the giant half-a-gig size of the Camera app there, they are exclusive to Google's Pixel series for now, even though ostensibly part of the new Android 14 features list. What gives?
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Google's newest mobile OS version brings with it improved photography on all Android phones with it, dubbed Ultra HDR, but what exactly does it do? As the name suggests, the option shoots an enhanced version of photos with high dynamic range that fit both shadows and bright objects equally well into the frame, but Google now promises a more natural and less processed look, too.
"Ultra HDR helps your photos look their best by bringing out vibrant colors, brighter highlights and darker shadows," tips Google's Product Manager behind this new Android 14 feature. "Plus, thanks to the great HDR screens available on many of today’s phones, Ultra HDR takes and displays high-definition photos without altering the original quality of the image," they add.
Does Pixel 8 take better photos with Ultra HDR?
The shadow and light promises of Android 14's developers are all fine and dandy, but the proof is in the pudding, namely Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro photos taken with and without Ultra HDR like with those shaded birds and shiny water surface in Mishaal Rahman's example below:
Pixel 8 Ultra HDR sample
Notice a difference even on your standard range display? There is, and Google even has a handy graph that explains the SDR-to-HDR-to-Ultra HDR transition advantages.
Android 14 Ultra HDR feature vs standard phone camera HDR
According to display analyst Dylan Raga, Google has made strides in more natural high dynamic range photography looks with the Ultra HDR option in Android 14:
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With Ultra HDR, the image processing for the full HDR output can use a lot less tone mapping, making them look much more balanced and natural while improving contrast. Browser support in Chrome is also a huge step forward in making these types of photos the norm, and SDR dimming means you don't need to turn up your screen brightness just for HDR content to look correct.
Unfortunately, here comes the caveat. Ultra HDR is an end-to-end high dynamic range solution, from taking the photos with all the requisite gain maps and recording it in the respective new JPEG-R format, to displaying it on supported premium phone, tablet, laptop, or TV displays. Even the image processor has to support the new format and Google says it worked with Qualcomm on Snapdragon chipset support.
Google's control of the process aims to achieve a more natural photo look than the standard processed HDR images with overly excessive tone mapping. There are, however, a number of conditions and challenges that have to be met or overcome in order to enjoy the full beauty of Ultra HDR images as Google intended.
How big are Pixel 8's Ultra HDR images?
Needless to say, the new Ultra HDR feature of Android 14 brings with it a new image file format, JPEG_R. Fortunately, it is backward compatible with common JPEGs and with any standard dynamic range display.
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro seemingly shoot in Ultra HDR by default, while the P3 gamut toggle in the Google Camera app settings is for a separate new Android 14 feature. The photos don't seem to have any excessive file size, and even with the P3 toggle on the difference is negligible as can be seen from these full-sized samples from the Pixel 8 Pro.
What apps support Ultra HDR editing on Android 14?
Adobe Lightroom 9.0
For now, Adobe Lightroom has announced full Ultra HDR support in the latest 9.0.0 version of its photo editing app for Android 14. On supported devices from the Google Pixel 7 series with Android 14 installed it will show an Ultra HDR toggle that allows editing of the extra highlight info shown on a histogram. If your phone doesn't support Ultra HDR, that portion of the histogram will be displayed in red.
Product Manager Lisa Ngo is here to introduce the latest updates in Lightroom What's your favorite new feature? pic.twitter.com/3sxdtXtUbg
The Google Chrome platform or a Chromium-based browser has full Ultra HDR support and allows viewing the images in their full glory on the following devices:
Pixel 7 and up phone running Android 14.
Windows PC with an HDR display.
Mac with an HDR display.
Android 14 Ultra HDR support and takeaways
As you can see, there are many puzzle pieces that have to fall into place in order to enjoy the end-to-end Ultra HDR photos that come with Android 14 and debut on the Pixel 8 series. Everything, from the chipset through the browser or app platform, to the display specifications has to be wired for Ultra HDR to be captured and displayed properly. Popular social media apps like Instagram have yet to support Ultra HDR content, for instance.
For now, this means exclusivity to newer Pixels and limited support on other devices, but Google's new Ultra HDR format that solves the puzzle of an overly processed HDR photo looks is still in its nascence, and its importance can only grow from here.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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