Pixel 10 Pro’s 100x Pro Res Zoom Disappoints in Early Tests

Google’s big marketing push for the Pixel 10 Pro and its much-hyped 100x Pro Res Zoom is starting to look shaky. Early samples suggest the feature is more gimmick than game-changer.

While Google leans heavily on AI and its Tensor G5 chip to reconstruct details at extreme zoom levels, the results are far from convincing.

The feature itself is ambitious: zoom up to 100x with AI-generated detail filling in the gaps. On paper, it sounds like a rival to Samsung’s long-established Space Zoom. In reality, early tests show a different story. A Reddit user who tried the Pixel 10 Pro’s zoom at a Best Buy demo unit found the results underwhelming. The phone could indeed magnify distant objects, but the final images looked like odd AI collages, not realistic photos.

One striking test involved zooming in on a Nintendo Switch 2 game pack. Without AI, the picture was a blurry mess. With Pro Res Zoom, the image was sharper but surreal – almost like a digital painting where characters on the box melted into each other. The AI did its best to guess the branding and text, but the end result looked unnatural and artificial.

To be fair, no smartphone can cheat physics. Without massive lenses, real lossless zoom beyond 10x is almost impossible. What Google is offering is more of an experiment in computational photography than true optical performance. Still, pitching it as a revolutionary leap may leave buyers disappointed.

There are positives: Google’s camera app remains intuitive, with features like quick 10x shortcuts and Video Boost across all lenses. But the 100x Pro Res Zoom needs major refinement. With time and more training data, the Tensor G5 chip could improve results through software updates. For now, though, the so-called breakthrough feels more like a beta test than a polished feature.