Did you know that the new Pixel 8 and 8 Pro were going to be able to record video in 8K? Google’s new flagships were unveiled last October 4 through its “Made By Google” event and have managed to win over the public. Although much of their appeal lies in software features such as Magic Editor, it has been discovered that the Pixel 8 was going to bring even more new features than were finally included.
Google has published the source code of the Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2 and the community has set to work to examine it thoroughly. Specifically, it has been Kamila Wojciechowska and Mishaal Rahman, two of the most prominent Android “detectives”, who have publicly exposed hidden features and curiosities that were not announced at the Google event.
No desktop mode or 8K recording
We know that one of the productivity features that Google ended up scrapping was desktop mode. Last June, Kamila revealed that the new Pixel 8s would support DisplayPort via USB-C connection. Thanks to this, we would have been able to connect the device to an external monitor and enjoy an experience similar to the one provided by Samsung Dex, Samsung’s desktop mode.
But, as we can see on the Pixel 8, this feature didn’t make the cut. This is certainly something strange, especially when its direct competitor, the iPhone 15, is able to duplicate its display when connected to another monitor. It remains to be seen if future mods or updates could “bring back” this feature to the Pixel.
Another section that was affected by the cuts was the camera. When the camera specifications of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were leaked, it was said that the sensor would be able to record video in 8K at 30 FPS. However, it was already warned that this feature “might not reach users” and finally, that is what has ended up happening. At the moment, the Pixel can only record up to 4K at 60 FPS. One of the causes of this discard would have been the software, which was not yet ready for it. Also, Google has not abandoned its goal of reaching 8K and are working on it to include it in future generations of the Pixel.
As for slow motion, Google planned to enable the possibility of capturing scenes at 480 FPS in 720p. The company quickly discarded the idea and they were left with what we have now, recordings at 240 FPS in 1080p quality.
