[Android 0]

For years, Google Pixel phones have earned a reputation for being incredible point-and-shoot cameras. Sure, if you want to get down and dirty with prosumer features, Chinese OEMs have everyone else beat. But out of the box, it’s hard to argue that the Pixel makes it absurdly simple to get great shots, albeit with a caveat.

Google, by the very nature of its approach to imaging, has leaned hard into an aggressive HDR implementation. This can often mean flat-looking images with artificially lifted shadows and details that are just a bit too sharp for my liking.