If you’ve been waiting against the hope that Google will launch a Pixel 5 XL this fall alongside the Pixel 5, consider your hopes frustrated. And it is Google that gave the last blow.
Google hasn’t announced anything official about its Pixel 5 plans, of course. Instead, you’re letting your software updates do the talking. And an update to the camera app included in the latest beta version of Android 11 lists the upcoming Pixel phones that will be able to run the updated software – the Pixel 5 XL isn’t among the list.
Credit 9to5Google with this detective job for digging deep into the Google Camera 7.5 update to see what’s coming to Google’s camera app. The Pixel 5 is mentioned in the app, as are the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a XL, which seems to confirm that all of those models will ship this year. Along those same lines, the absence of Pixel 5 XL apparently confirms that it is MIA.
Despite the occasional appearance of the Pixel 5 XL render, it’s been rumored for some time that Google is putting its largest Pixel in the cut block. Instead, the latest rumor suggests that it will be a 5G version of the Pixel 4a that will join the Pixel 5 later this fall. (Of course, for that scenario to happen, we’d have to see the Pixel 4a first, and that rumored release keeps going backwards.)
The Camera 7.5 update also includes hints of new features coming to Pixel phones, including upcoming Google releases. In the update there is a Motion Blur mode that will join other camera modes such as Night Sight and Portrait. Motion Blur looks like you will be able to focus on a specific subject, even if it is moving; Think of sports photos and other activities where the person you are photographing is not completely still.
An audio zoom feature in the Camera Update 7.5 sounds as if you are able to direct the phone’s microphone when shooting videos at the home of the person you have approached. Other features discovered by 9to5Google include an adjustable camera flash and the ability to share videos more easily. That last feature expands an already existing capability with still images where you can tap a button form within the viewer to share your latest shot on various sites and social media services. Camera 7.5 update lists 25 services that will be able to share videos quickly.
Google Pixel 4a will launch on August 3, which means we should only be a few days away from the reveal of Google’s next big phone. Those waiting for the Pixel 5 will probably have to wait until fall.
