Samsung Needs to Bring This Pixel 10 Camera Trick to Galaxy Phones

With the launch of Google’s Pixel 10 series, Samsung’s 2025 Galaxy S flagships will likely see some serious competition. The Pixel 10 family reportedly features an AI ultra-clear algorithm for telephoto shots, which allows users to capture zoomed-in photos with incredible clarity. Hopefully, the Korean firm will bring this camera trick to its premium Galaxy phones with a future update.

Pixel 10 series uses an AI algorithm to fine-tune telephoto zoom shots

The latest Pixel 10 lineup includes four models: Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. All of them come with a dedicated telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. This might disappoint Samsung fans, as the Galaxy S25 and S25+ offer only 3x optical zoom, and the S25 Edge lacks a dedicated telephoto zoom camera entirely. More importantly, Google’s offering goes beyond hardware with an AI-powered photo enhancement feature.

In a post on X, tipster @UniverseIce said, “Google adopted the AI ultra-clear algorithm in telephoto and kept the original photos”. This means that users can enjoy AI-enhanced zoomed-in shots while retaining the authenticity of their original shots. Unfortunately, this camera feature is missing from Galaxy phones. “Samsung is the only Android brand that doesn’t use AI ultra-clear algorithm on the camera”, the tipster noted.

However, it is unclear how that AI algorithm works — it could either rely on on-device AI processing or cloud-based processing. In any case, this feature shows Google’s effort to improve the quality of zoomed-in photos. While Samsung has made significant advancements in its AI innovation for smartphones, it is quite surprising that the firm has still not adopted a similar ultra-clear algorithm for telephoto photography.

There is no doubt that Samsung’s most premium flagship, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, can deliver pro-grade photography thanks to its 200MP sensor. Furthermore, it features two dedicated telephoto lenses: a 50MP with 5x optical zoom and a 10MP with 3x optical zoom. However, it is high time for the company to ditch that aging 10MP sensor in favor of a higher-resolution new sensor, and also adopt Pixel-like AI photography tricks.