Google Pixel 6 could stabilize the camera game

The next Pixel smartphone from Google was tipped this week to get a camera system complete with next-level stabilization. Given Google's effective changing of the game with the first Google Pixel smartphone and computational photography, the device maker's work with cameras in each new Pixel device is worth paying attention to. While this is not the first time a gimbal system has been included with a smartphone's built-in camera setup, it could be the first time we get access to said feature on a smartphone here in the United States.

As we saw with the Vivo X50 Pro approximately one year ago, a gimbal in a smartphone camera array is, indeed, a realistic prospect. The inclusion of this feature on that smartphone hasn't exactly spurred the rest of the smartphone universe to follow along. BUT, as is often the case, once a company like Vivo does the work of including a feature like this in a real live phone, the rest of the market has the opportunity to make it happen in a more effective manner.

As noted by reporter @FrontTron on Twitter, the Google Pixel 6 will likely roll with a gimbal-like steady cam mode, a bigger Samsung sensor with Google custom NPU and ISP (better than Pixel 5), and "big improvements in video." We'd have to assume there'd be big improvements in video if a gimbal-like system is included – otherwise, what's the point?

Tron also pointed to a note from leaker Ice Universe about a <0.7μm 50MP ISOCELL camera system "coming soon". As suggested by Tron, it's entirely possible that a Samsung camera system is at the head of the full Google Pixel 6 array. If we take a peek at the imagery leaks of the Google Pixel 6 that've appeared in mid-May and late May, we see how Google's made clear they're not afraid of including a thicker-than-usual camera bump. We're calling that the camera bridge, since it runs from one side of the device all the way to the other.

What are you looking for in a smartphone camera system? Do you think you're in need of a stabilization system so that your video recordings are devoid of bumps and shakes? Do you feel like you use your smartphone's camera for video enough that such a feature is worth the effort?