Pixel Magnifier 2.0 update adds manual lens selection, PiP mode, and Selfie Illumination

Pixel Magnifier 2.0 is now rolling out with some major updates since it was introduced in October last year. The changes were mentioned during the Made by Google 2024 event. Now, you have a “Manual lens section” toggle in the Magnifier settings that adds a picker above the shutter button. On a Pixel 8 Pro, you can pick between Ultrawide, Wide, Telephoto, and Auto. You can also set “Volume key action” in preferences to Shutter, Zoom, Flashlight, or None.

If you’re zooming in to 16x or greater, you now get a Picture-in-Picture window. You can turn it off in settings.

After taking a picture, “Find” will appear at the bottom of your screen. You can then “Search in photo” with Magnifier, while a different PiP appears in the top-right to show the location. Partial matches will also be highlighted. Of course, the quality of the captured image will matter for the quality of the search.

And last but not least, you get a Selfie Illumination when you switch to the front-facing camera. Basically, this turns the top and bottom bards white. I’d reckon this is to provide some light for your selfie (maybe acting as an impromptu ring light).

Magnifier 2.0 is available on Pixel 5 and newer. It is not available for Pixel Fold or Tablet, for some unknown reason.

These updates seem very useful additions to the Pixel Magnifier app. I especially like the PiP mode (I always love to be able to have more context), and the ability to manually pick which lens to use.