Pixel 11 gets in on the digicam trend
On The Vergecast: A deep dive into the Pixel 11 cameras, a blockbuster week for Brendan Carr screwups, and more.
On The Vergecast: A deep dive into the Pixel 11 cameras, a blockbuster week for Brendan Carr screwups, and more.
by Aug 21, 2026, 4:27 PM UTC
Jacob Kastrenakes is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
I recently looked back at a photo I’d taken on a smartphone in 2014, and I was struck by just how good it looked. The details were soft, the shadows were dark. It was the kind of photo I felt like I hadn’t seen out of a phone in years. That might be changing, though. The Pixel 11 includes a suite of new photography features called Camera Looks that allow those who really care about those things (hi, it’s all of us) to dial in their preferences and get rid of that modern over-processed look.
On today’s episode of The Vergecast, David Imel joins us to discuss his time reviewing the Pixel 11 Pro and how he’s thinking about its new approach to computational photography. After that, we’ve got a super-sized edition of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, everyone’s favorite podcast with a podcast. It was a big week for bad telecom policy, and we’re giving it the time it deserves. Finally, we’ve got a Lightning Round, where we’re talking Apple’s AirPods leak, Fairphone heading to the US, and YouTube changing how it counts video views.
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If you want to read more about the topics we’re discussing, you can check out our stories below:
- Google is making the Pixel cameras better by making them worse
- Revealed: FCC chair Brendan Carr’s close coordination with White House and rightwing media
- ABC sues the FCC over Trump and Carr’s campaign of threats
- FCC abolishes gigabit speed goal, suggesting it is unfair to slower technologies
- Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods appear in leaked video
- Meta glasses are a workplace menace
- Apple reportedly won’t launch AirPods with cameras until next year.
- Fairphone’s latest repairable phone is going on sale in the US
- YouTube is changing how it counts views to give the numbers a boost
- YouTube is reportedly offering channels “millions of dollars” not to cross-post videos on Netflix.
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