Google’s upcoming Pixel 8 series may have a new feature that will allow the phones to improve the visual quality of videos, similar to How to blur photo on Pixel 7 Pro.
It’s called Video Unblur and was first discovered by the team at 9to5Google (opens in new tab) who dug through the APK (Android Package Kit) file of the latest version of Google Photos. They were able to forcibly enable the UI for Video Unblur on the app. However, the team couldn’t get it to work. According to the report, the tool currently has no “noticeable effect on videos” as it is likely still under development. But once launched, 9to5Google states that the tool should work just like Photo Unblur by using machine learning to spice up videos shot with a Pixel 8 phone — probably.
The report adds that there’s nothing in the APK code that links Video Blur directly to Pixel phones. But if history repeats itself, the software could follow the same trajectory as Photo Unblur by remaining exclusive to Google’s phones. And speaking of app history, 9to5Google points out that this update follows the same pattern as the HDR effect on Google Photos, because that feature first supported images before moving on to video.
In addition to Video Unblur, the team also discovered a series of filters that users can apply to videos to add a bit of creativity. Those filters make their home in the new Overlays tab on Google Photos that appears when you start editing. Currently there are 14 visual effects, including the VHS filter, which is probably based on the old video format, and black and white, which is most likely a simple black and white effect.
Still in progress
As interesting as this may sound, don’t get too attached to the idea of them. As 9to5Google points out, there’s no guarantee that Video Blur or the filters will be released in their current state or at all. The only thing we know for sure is that Google is working on something with the chance that the final product will look completely different.
The big question is what the hardware powering Video Unblur will look like, assuming the feature is exclusive to the Pixel 8. There are some reports that Google’s upcoming flagship phone will come with a Tensor G3 chipset planned to be more powerful and efficient than Tensor G2 on the Google Pixel 7.
The launch date of the Pixel 8 line is currently unknown. Although if history repeats itself (and it probably will), we expect the release to be sometime around October 2023.