Google Pixel 8 gets photo sphere-inspired panorama mode with latest camera update

Google Pixel 8

Google has quietly rolled out a new Panorama mode to the Pixel 8 series, bringing back elements that closely resemble the old Photo Sphere experience. The feature arrives via an update to the Pixel Camera app and was previously introduced alongside the Pixel 9 lineup, making this a notable camera upgrade for last year’s flagship phones.

The updated Panorama mode is designed to be more guided and precise than the traditional sweep-style panoramas users are familiar with. Once activated, the interface presents a series of dots on screen, along with contextual prompts that tell you exactly how to move the phone. A built-in level indicator is also integrated into the viewfinder, helping users maintain consistent alignment while capturing a scene.

This approach clearly borrows from Photo Sphere, a feature Google phased out starting with the Pixel 8 in 2023. As you move the phone during capture, the camera app shows a small stitched preview above the viewfinder, giving immediate visual feedback on how the panorama is coming together. This makes it easier to spot misalignment early rather than discovering stitching issues after the capture is complete.

Additional controls are tucked away in the settings menu, accessible via the gear icon in the bottom-left corner of the camera interface. From here, users can choose the capture direction, either left or right, and can also switch to vertical capture by rotating the phone to landscape orientation. This flexibility allows for tall panoramas as well as wide scenes, expanding the creative use cases of the mode.

One of the more interesting aspects of the new Panorama mode is its integration with Night Sight. Users can set Night Sight to Off, Auto, or On while shooting panoramas, making the feature usable in low-light environments where panoramic photography has traditionally struggled. This combination suggests Google is treating panoramas more like a serious photographic mode rather than a novelty.

Google also offers specific guidance on how to get the best results. Instead of rotating your body while shooting, the company recommends standing in place and rotating only the camera. This technique reduces perspective shift, a common cause of jagged edges and uneven stitching in panoramas. By keeping the camera’s pivot point consistent, the software can create smoother transitions between frames.

Behind the scenes, this new Panorama mode works differently from earlier implementations. Rather than relying on video capture, the system uses the Pixel’s HDR+ pipeline and standard photo processing pipeline to stitch together still images. This allows the camera to capture more data per frame, improving dynamic range and overall image quality compared to video-based panoramas.

The feature appears to have rolled out to the Pixel 8 series with version 10.2 of the Pixel Camera app, which began deploying in early December. Interestingly, the same update does not currently enable the new Panorama mode on the Pixel 7 Pro, suggesting the feature may be limited to newer hardware for now.