The Pixel camera color shift is frustrating users

Pixel camera color shift is the latest headache hitting Google’s smartphone lineup—and it’s not just a Pixel 9 Pro problem.

A Reddit thread recently gained traction after one user noticed something odd. The image in their Pixel 9 Pro’s viewfinder looked great, but the final photo was washed out, with colors that looked completely different. The kicker? It still happens even when Ultra HDR is turned off.

Turns out, they’re not alone.

Other Pixel users—including those with the Pixel 8 and even Pixel 7—have chimed in with the same issue, so this isn’t a one-device bug. Toggling settings like resolution or Google’s “Rich color in photos” doesn’t seem to help either.

The prevailing theory is that Google’s camera software overprocesses final images with aggressive HDR tweaks. That would explain why colors shift after you press the shutter, but look fine in the preview. The frustrating part? There’s currently no way to fully disable HDR in the Pixel Camera app—not to be confused with Ultra HDR, which is a separate setting.

Until Google addresses this, your best bet might be to use Top Shot. This feature captures a burst of images and lets you pick a frame that isn’t mangled by the default processing. In many cases, choosing an alternate frame avoids the color shift entirely.

It’s not perfect, but it beats being stuck with dull or overprocessed photos.

If you’re a long-time Pixel user, this kind of thing might sound familiar. Google’s computational photography is powerful, but sometimes, it overreaches. Hopefully, a fix is coming soon. Because when the camera is the main reason people buy a Pixel, messing with colors is not a good look.

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