TL;DR Google tells us the Pixel 10 can record videos using the VP9 and AV1 codecs, helping to save valuable storage space.
Support for the AV1 format is especially noteworthy, as it can reduce video file sizes by up to 30% compared to the current default H.265 with no quality loss.
VP9 and AV1 codec support is thanks to the Pixel 10’s Tensor G5 chip, but users should be aware that these newer video formats may not be compatible with all devices or platforms.
When you spend over $1,000 on a new flagship phone, you’ll understandably want to take full advantage of its camera hardware by recording videos in the best possible quality. The downside is that you’ll run out of storage space faster, potentially forcing you to pay for more cloud storage. While this issue affects every phone, the new Google Pixel 10 series has a solution to help mitigate it: the ability to switch to a more efficient video recording codec.
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Put simply, a codec is an algorithm for compressing and decompressing digital media. It consists of two parts: an “encoder” that compresses the data to create a smaller file and a “decoder” that reads the compressed file for playback. Video codecs vary in how they balance quality and file size; some are also royalty-free, while others require licensing fees.
On paper, the best codec produces the smallest file size without a noticeable drop in video quality, but the reality is more complicated. As complex algorithms, codecs require significant processing power. Many older devices and even some modern media players lack CPUs powerful enough to decode complex codecs in real time, resulting in sluggish playback. Even on devices with capable CPUs, the high power consumption of software decoding can be impractical — a major concern for battery-powered devices. For this reason, smooth playback typically requires a device to have a dedicated hardware accelerator for the specific codec in question.
This is why H.264 is still the most widely used codec, even though it was released in 2003. It may not be the most efficient algorithm for compressing videos, but nearly every device has hardware support for decoding it. Its successor, H.265, has grown in popularity in recent years as it offers roughly 50% better compression at the same quality. While hardware support for H.265 might not be as ubiquitous as for H.264, the gap has closed significantly since H.265’s initial release in 2013. It’s even used by default in the Pixel Camera app for recording videos, though Google warns that it “may not be supported on some platforms.”
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The "store videos efficiently" setting in the Pixel Camera app allows you to store videos in the H.265 codec.
Indeed, due to its restrictive licensing, H.265 is not nearly as widely used as H.264. That’s why Google created the VP9 codec in 2013 as a royalty-free alternative. VP9 offers roughly the same efficiency gains as H.265 but without the licensing requirements, which is why it’s used extensively by video platforms like YouTube and is supported by most major web browsers. However, hardware acceleration for VP9 is less common than for H.265, which has limited its adoption outside of these streaming ecosystems.
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