Image: Google
This year’s Pixel 5 includes two rear-facing cameras; a 12.2-megapixel main sensor, and a 16-megapixel ultrawide with a 107-degree field of view. Google chose a configuration that’s similar to recent Samsung and Apple devices, which have prioritized ultrawide over telephoto cameras on dual-camera handsets like the Galaxy A51 and iPhone 11. Fine.
But the funny thing about Google’s decision is that it contradicts what the company said just one short year ago at the launch of the Pixel 4. “While wide-angle can be fun, we think telephoto is more important,” Google Research’s Marc Levoy said onstage last October while promoting the Pixel 4’s telephoto lens.
But a lot has changed in the last twelve months. Levoy has since left Google, the…