Video Boost: A Promising Yet Frustrating Pixel Feature
Video Boost has been a notable part of the Pixel camera experience since its introduction, designed to enhance video clarity, stability and zoom quality in challenging shooting conditions. Despite its potential, many Pixel users, including myself, have found the feature to be inconsistent and somewhat inconvenient. Initially, I embraced Video Boost when it launched on the Pixel 8 Pro, especially appreciating it during concert recordings. However, over time, the feature’s limitations and slow processing have made it less appealing for everyday use.
Key Limitations and User Frustrations
One of the main annoyances with Video Boost is that it must be manually enabled every time the Pixel Camera app is opened. Unlike other settings such as flash or HDR, Video Boost does not retain its activation after closing the app. Although there was a brief period in early 2025 when this setting persisted, Google reverted to the previous behaviour, forcing users to remember to turn it on repeatedly. For frequent video shooters, this is a significant inconvenience and leads to many missed opportunities for enhanced footage.
Another critical drawback is that Video Boost cannot be applied to videos after they have been recorded. This means if you forget to enable the feature beforehand, you cannot retroactively improve the video’s quality. Google originally explained that Video Boost requires capturing more data at a higher bitrate, processed locally by the Tensor chip before being sent to Google’s cloud for enhancement. While this technical explanation made sense at launch, advancements in AI and phone processing since then suggest that this limitation could be addressed to allow boosting of existing videos.
Processing Delays and Privacy Concerns
Despite being on the market for two years, Video Boost still relies on cloud processing rather than local enhancement on the device. This results in a lengthy wait time, sometimes several hours, before the boosted video is returned to the phone. While the original unprocessed video is immediately available, it often suffers from graininess and poor colour grading, making it less shareable. This delay discourages users from employing Video Boost for quick captures, as the convenience of instant video sharing is compromised.
Moreover, sending videos to Google’s servers raises privacy considerations that some users may find uncomfortable. A more practical solution would be local processing that provides a usable first draft of the video immediately, with enhanced versions following later. Given the power of modern smartphones, it seems feasible for Google to develop this capability.
Performance Challenges in Low Light
Video Boost’s effectiveness also diminishes significantly in low-light scenarios. For example, attempts to film seals on a dark beach with the Pixel 9 Pro XL resulted in blurry, unfocused footage. Despite the phone’s ability to capture impressive Night Sight photos under the same conditions, the video remained grainy and lacked clarity. This highlights a fundamental limitation of current smartphone video technology and suggests that Video Boost is not yet the solution for challenging lighting environments.
Fragility and Quality Downgrades
Additional frustrations arise from the fragility of the Video Boost process. If a video is deleted and restored or trimmed before the boost is complete, it loses its boosted status and will not be processed further. Users must therefore be cautious not to alter videos until the enhanced version is received. Furthermore, enabling Video Boost reduces video resolution to 1080p, even when 4K recording is normally available. This downgrade occurs because Google Photos’ storage saver backup limits both original and processed videos to 1080p, which can be confusing and disappointing for users expecting full-resolution footage.
Looking Ahead: What Google Needs to Do
Google has made significant strides with its Pixel camera, but video capture remains a weaker area in comparison to competitors like Apple. Video Boost, while innovative, feels more like a stopgap than a comprehensive solution. As video content becomes increasingly central to social media and everyday life, Google must prioritise improving video quality and usability on its devices. Future iterations should focus on making Video Boost faster, more reliable, and capable of local processing. Additionally, allowing the feature to remain enabled by default would greatly enhance the user experience.
For now, Pixel owners hoping for seamless, high-quality video capture will need to be patient and mindful of Video Boost’s quirks. It remains to be seen how Google will evolve this feature in upcoming Pixel releases, but the demand for better video capabilities is undeniable.