With an update to its camera software, Google has cut the astrophotography mode of its Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 smartphones. From version 8.1 the mode is only available in connection with the wide-angle camera. Since then, users who want to capture the sky with the ultra-wide-angle camera have received an error message and a message that it is necessary to switch to the main camera. Google does not provide a reason for this change, the changelog does not contain any information.

Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 only support the astromode with the wide-angle camera.

Google distributed version 8.1 of the camera app since mid-November 2020, but according to The Verge, the company adjusted the camera support page a few days earlier. Since the beginning of November it has been said there that astrophotography only works from zoom factor 1. Heise online was able to reproduce this behavior on a Pixel 5 (test): With version 8.0 of the camera app, the astro mode was available with both a zoom factor of 0.6 (ultra-wide-angle camera) and a factor of 1 (wide-angle camera). After installing version 8.1, only the message “Set zoom to 1x for astrophotography” appeared on the former.

Google’s Pixel Forum provides an indication of the reason for the change. Users of the Pixel 4a refer to it there 5G and Pixel 5 on the significantly poorer image quality of the ultra-wide-angle camera in astromode compared to the wide-angle counterpart. In addition to clear image noise, a greenish cast is particularly noticeable. Points that are also noticeable in the camera comparison with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro and Huawei Mate 40 Pro were noticed.

The update of the camera app does not affect the night mode. This is still available for both cameras in version 8.1. Pixel 4 and Pixel XL users can still use the astromode Use both built-in cameras – the quality differences between the wide-angle and telephoto cameras are small. Users of a Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 who have already installed the update can only return to the previous version by manually installing an older version in the form of the corresponding APK file. However, this is associated with risks, as Google does not offer the files itself.

(pbe)