I thought I wanted a new Pixel camera app, but I really just needed a new photo editor

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

It’s funny — when one of us here at Android Authority has an opinion, there’s usually someone else on the team who feels exactly the same way. So, when my colleague Dhruv argued that the iPhone 16 Pro’s Photographic Styles put him off from the Pixel 9 Pro’s straightforward image processing, I couldn’t help but agree with him. As much as I like what the Tensor G4 brings to Google’s latest flagship Pixel, sometimes I don’t want a final image that looks so true to life. I wished I had the adjustability of Apple’s color profiles with the reliability of Google’s processing and decided that something needed to change.

But if I was going to change something, what would it be? Would I look for a different camera app like Open Camera or ProShot? Or did I need a new photo editor like Lightroom or VSCO? Well, here’s how I decided.

The problem is that I really like the Pixel Camera app

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

Usually, if you’re looking to spice up your Google Pixel’s camera, you’re looking for one thing — manual camera controls. That was a valid issue for a long time, as Google simply didn’t offer them in any real form until it launched the Pixel 8 series. Even then, tweaks to the ISO, shutter speed, and shooting in RAW required you to splurge on the Pixel 8 Pro. However, I’ve never really cared about manual controls on my smartphone camera.

For whatever reason, I feel like the only member of the Android Authority team who would much rather snap away in automatic mode. I’m not a fast enough photographer to sit down and mess with the exposure triangle while I’m out for a day at the Smithsonian Zoo or enjoying a Friendsgiving ahead of the holiday season. If anything, I’ll lower the brightness before I snap a photo, but that’s simply because most images come out a bit too bright for my liking. Otherwise, I’m happy to let Google do the same clever processing tricks I’ve enjoyed since the Pixel 5.

Besides, if I were to ditch the Pixel Camera app, I’d also give up some of Google’s Tensor-powered camera features. Things like Add Me would get subtracted, and smooth shots of running water would require the patience for a proper long exposure. Google also just transformed its approach to panoramas for the better, and I have no desire to go back to the slow, tricky process of panning between two parallel lines. I’ve waited patiently for round after round of Google’s Feature Drops, and I’m not about to give up on them now.

Pixel Camera just has the right mix of controls and smarts, as far as I'm concerned.

That’s not to say there aren’t good alternative camera apps out there — there are. ProShot (which will run you $6.99) offers just about everything you could ask for, with pro-grade controls for photos and videos and long exposure modes for Light Painting, Timelapse, and Star Trails. However, it’s pretty much the opposite of what I want from a camera app, with a button-heavy layout that puts a settings wheel in one corner and another row of buttons across the top of the image preview. When I aim to shoot quickly and edit later, the clutter just doesn’t work.

And yet, I don’t want something too simple, either. The just-launched Zerocam app, for example, promises to be the opposite of today’s AI-powered cameras, but it might go a bit too far. It trades cluttered menus for a single shutter button, promising to ditch heavy post-processing so you can focus on the moment rather than your camera settings. It almost sounds great until you realize there’s no way to zoom or lower your exposure in bright scenes.

For me, Pixel Camera is here to stay.

I just want my Pixel to feel like a film camera

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

So, if I like Google’s camera tricks and the number of buttons in Pixel Camera, that must mean one thing — I need a new photo editing platform. After all, if I want my Pixel 9 Pro to feel more like an iPhone 16 Pro, and I want my iPhone 16 Pro to feel more like my Fujifilm X100V, then I must want my Pixel 9 Pro to feel like my trusty point-and-shoot. And honestly, there’s not a better way to sum it up. I want the images my Pixel puts out to match how I feel in the moment rather than to look perfectly true to life, if that makes sense.

With my Fujifilm X100V, I lock in my film simulation, narrow my settings to one or two tweaks per situation, and snap around whatever city I’m in. Then, I can save any actual editing for later, knowing that my preexisting settings have done a lot of the hard work for me. With the iPhone 16 Pro, I can do that using a Photographic Style. With the Pixel 9 Pro, I suppose I’ll need a new photo editing app.

It's easier to edit and re-edit photos than to go back in time to take a new one.

Anyway, now that I’ve narrowed that down, I think I have three options: Google’s own Photos, VSCO, and Lightroom Mobile. Photos would, of course, be the easiest option since it’s already on every Pixel I’ve ever used, but it’s the other two platforms that got me thinking. I’d largely laughed off VSCO as something that high school kids use instead of Instagram filters, and I thought Lightroom Mobile might be more powerful than I’d need. But, when Dhruv mentioned both in his original piece praising the iPhone 16 Pro’s Photographic Styles, I figured it might be time to dig in.

So, I did what anyone would do — I grabbed a few photos I’d snapped with the Pixel 9 Pro and set out to edit them on my three competing platforms. By the way, this is another reason I’m leaning towards a new editing platform over a new camera app: I can go back and punch up shots I took months ago. Here are the results of my quick testing:

Sunset over the bay

Neon sign downtown

Dunes with a wooden fence

After my quick set of tests, I thought I would be able to tell you definitively which photo editor was my favorite. I figured one would shine brighter than the others and earn a permanent place on my Pixel. Instead, I’ve found things I like and dislike about all three. VSCO, for starters, is incredibly limited if you’re not willing to pay for it. You essentially get access to a sliver of the overall presets, basic tweaks to exposure and white balance, and that’s it. Sure, the G3 and P5 presets look good, but there’s not enough flexibility without a fee.

Lightroom Mobile is very much the same way, but I’m willing to be a little more flexible because I’m already an Adobe customer. Because I use the desktop version of Lightroom almost every day, I automatically have access to the premium features within Lightroom Mobile, making it easy to tap into the same Auto Retro presets I often use, as well as a similar overall interface. It worked perfectly for tweaks like fixing the geometry of my shots — especially in straightening the Fred’s Tavern sign — and using the eye dropper to set my white balance. However, I can’t shake the fact that my shot of a fence running along the dunes looks a little bit washed out in Lightroom compared to the rest.

And then there’s Google Photos — the classic standby. In terms of ease of use, it’s tough to beat. As soon as you open an image in Photos, Google is right there to suggest how to edit it, usually making it sharper and more vivid or suggesting that you change the sky altogether. It worked pretty well for the sun setting over the bay, adding a green moodiness to my shot, but I was less impressed on the other two tests, with the dunes taking on a sepia tone that makes everything look a bit too flat.

If I had to pick a winner, I would stick with what I know.

Hello, Lightroom, my old friend

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

So, welcome to my setup, Lightroom Mobile — or at least a mixture of Lightroom Mobile and Google Photos. Even though Lightroom Mobile didn’t come out as a commanding winner across all three of my tests, it showed enough promise in fixing geometry and giving access to presets that I’m already familiar with that I’m willing to take more time to learn the platform. It’s certainly a different experience from using Lightroom on my MacBook Air, but it’s close enough that I feel like I’m starting closer to second base. With a little more practice, I imagine I can get close enough to the edits I want and do so without adding another subscription to my current pile.

Of course, if you really don’t want to pay for a new photo editor, you could probably get by with Google Photos on its own. Its suggested edits aren’t half bad, usually sticking to the basics like changing your depth of field or letting Gemini enhance your colors. You can also jump into a few simple filters as starting points for your edit, though they don’t take other settings like brightness, contrast, or saturation into effect, so you might have to spend a bit more time menu-hopping until you get your settings just right. It doesn’t seem like Google Photos lets you build a preset, either, so it won’t be as easy to get the same settings twice — another reason to give Lightroom Mobile at least half a chance.

If you do, you might find that it gets your Pixel 9 Pro as close to the iPhone 16 Pro — or even a mirrorless camera like the Fujifilm X100V — as possible. Google did plenty to cement its latest flagship as one of the best camera phones out there; I just think some clever edits can take it even further. You’ll have to overcome a bit of a learning curve, but it’s worth it for the finished product.