Google gets silly when explaining away the Pixel 4’s lack of 4K60 video
The Google Pixel 4 is missing quite a few features we’d expect from a 2019 flagship (or even a 2018 flagship to be fair). Whether it’s the tiny 2,800 mAh battery, the small 64GB of storage with no expansion, or the dual cameras with no ultrawide lens, it’s hard to justify Google’s decisions to cut major corners on an expensive flagship smartphone.
But one of the weirdest absences is 4K60 video shooting. Almost all flagships can do it. The iPhone 11 can do it on both the rear and front cameras, while the iPhone X could do it two whole years ago. So why does the purported mobile photography king lack this basic feature?
Hi, Pixel 4 supports 4k video recording on the rear camera at 30fps. We find that the majority of users stick with 1080p, so we focus our energy on improving our quality in this mode, versus enabling a 4k 60fps mode that could use up to half a gigabyte of storage every minute.
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 20, 2019
We’re not sure what to take away from this. Is it because of storage? It’s bad enough Google didn’t give us enough storage, but they’re using it to justify taking a major and important feature away. Is it because it’s not important? Google seems to like making decisions for us lately instead of offering the freedom of choice, like which camera lens we want.
More likely, Google couldn’t get it working right and just didn’t enable it in software. Last year’s Pixel 3 struggled to shoot 1080p60 video in many conditions (another really odd quirk of Pixel devices), so maybe the Pixel 4 just can’t muster 4K60 from its sensor and hardware. Of course Google wouldn’t admit that, but it makes the most sense.
Otherwise, 4K60 is better than 1080p in every way. We live in a 4K world. Our TVs are 4K. Many of our laptops are 4K. And most of all, 60 FPS is now the gold standard for video and going back to 30 FPS plain sucks. Oh Google, the Pixel 4 had so much more to give!
Via: Android Police