PixelI Phones have had an astrophotography mode for several generations now, allowing users to take great photos of the stars at night. However, to access this mode you need to first activate the Night Sight feature, but this may change soon in an upcoming update.
The unofficial Google News channel on Telegram has discovered that it may be possible to manually enable Astrophotography mode on Pixel. According to the channel's findings, the change will be implemented with the release of version 9.5.118 of the Pixel Camera app.
To activate the feature, users will need to enter Night Sight’s quick settings menu and enable Astrophotography. Online reports say that switching modes on the fly can be done by moving the slider from “Auto” to “Astro” within Night Sight. It’s indicated by an icon featuring a crescent moon with a plus sign, and should be much easier to enable quickly.
Pressing the shutter button starts a five-second timer and this brief period allows you to position your phone in a stable position before you start taking long exposure photos of the night sky. This will last for about four minutes. Processing a final image can take some time and is reportedly dependent on the age of the phone and the “length of exposure.”
Android Authority says that users can change the timer from five seconds to three or ten seconds. Or, if they prefer, they can disable it entirely. However, it doesn't appear to be possible to shorten or extend the exposure time. 9To5Google, in its coverage, says that the four minutes is a fixed amount that can't be adjusted.
Keep in mind that your Pixel phone needs to be in optimal lighting conditions to take a photo of the night sky. While Astrophotography mode will help, it's not magic.
Sideloading the update
Officially, the update isn’t available to anyone; however, unofficially, it is. If you want, you can download Pixel Camera version 9.5. 118 APK (Android Package Kit) on your Pixel smartphone. Installing the software also gives you additional video tools and Pixel 8 Pro-exclusive features, such as Pro Controls for fine-tuning the rear camera system.
There are a couple of things you need to know. First, the Pixel Camera APK package is huge, weighing in at 500MB. 9To5Google says that you can't download the app's APK because you get a message stating that you're using an “invalid version of Google Camera.” Second, you need to have the APKMirror app installed on your mobile device, which is available on the Google Play Store.
Comments on the Pixel subreddit claim that the package is safe; however, downloading files from an unverified third-party source always puts you at risk of malware. We recommend waiting for Google to roll out the update, though that may take a while. If you understand the risk, you can find the package on the APKMirror website.
Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best Pixel phones for 2024.
