Google’s Pixel Camera Update Returns Quick Access Controls, and Folks are Happy

As a part of the December Pixel Feature Drop, Google rolled out an update to the Camera app on Pixel phones that should bring the version to 9.7. In this update, an old feature that was weirdly removed has made its return and folks are quite excited about it. We’re talking specifically about the Pixel Camera’s Quick Access Controls.

This was one of those unlisted changes that Google brought with the December Pixel update and has taken its sweet time in rolling it out. We know that because a whole bunch of folks at reddit got the update yesterday (8 days later) and appear to be very thrilled that it has returned.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Quick Access Controls were introduced as a way to quickly adjust white balance, brightness, and shadows when taking a picture through the Pixel Camera app on Pixel phones. You just needed to tap before taking the pic and sliders for each setting would appear. It was a feature we used quite frequently, since Google took its sweet time giving the Pixel full manual or pro controls.

For whatever reason, Google removed these sliders and as you can imagine, people weren’t happy. So yeah, they slyly re-added them in the December Feature Drop through Pixel Camera 9.7 without really mentioning the change. We’ll take it, but sheesh, Google.

To enable the Pixel Camera “Quick Access Controls,” you’ll need to be on v9.7. Once you are, you’ll open the camera, tap on the Settings icon in the bottom left, then “More settings” in the bottom right, scroll until you see a section called “Manual Controls,” and there you’ll find the “Quick access controls” toggle. Once on, you’ll simply tap the viewfinder when taking a photo to see these sliders appear.

Not seeing the update on Google Play? Same. Google’s slow roll scheme is still the worst.

Google Play Store: Pixel Camera