Google is updating the Camera app on Pixel Watch, giving users the ability to, on their paired Google Pixel phone, jump between photo and video modes on the fly.
The company made no effort to inform people about the patch as a formal announcement was never made. Even the official help page on Google's support website doesn't mention anything. We only found out about this after 9To5Google discovered it. According to their report, users can access the new Modes section by first opening the Settings menu. By tapping the submenu you will be able to see what it contains now. In total, there are six individual states ready to be activated at any time.
Night Sight allows you to take photos in low light. Portrait, as the name suggests, allows users to take photos in vertical alignment. Photo is your basic way of taking photographs. Video offers control over when to record images. Slow motion is for recording videos in slow motion. Time Lapse, as Google explains it, gives people a way to “record changes that [occur] slowly” like the sunset.
Pretty basic stuff, but it introduces a nice level of utility that the Pixel Watch didn't have before. Before this, you had to open the Camera app on your phone if you wanted to switch between the different modes. The Pixel Watch can only be used to set a timer or switch the camera feed from the front lens to the rear lens and vice versa. Speaking of the timer, the patch now allows owners to extend the duration of said timer from three seconds to 10.
Lingering questions
Since Google did not make a proper announcement, we have several questions; i.e. is this update exclusive to Pixel phones? 9To5Google mentions seeing the same modes present on its Pixel Fold, however, they say nothing about other Android mobile devices. News site Android Police thinks you'll need to have a Pixel phone, but it's not entirely sure.
We've reached out to the tech giant for clarification on the launch: will the Pixel Watch 2 receive the same changes and will the update be widely available?
It is unclear if this is something that all units will receive or if it is something exclusive to a select few. It's probably the latter because 9To5Google claims that the changes started rolling out last December as part of the Pixel Camera 9.2 patch. The problem was that no one knew until recently. The launch has been quite confusing, so we'll update this story as soon as we hear back.
Until then, check out TechRadar's guide to the best smartwatches for 2024.
