Those who lamented the loss of the Photo Spheres feature on Pixel phones are in luck. Originally a staple of Google phones, this feature was introduced in 2012 and lasted until the launch of the Pixel 8, but quickly disappeared. Now, Google has brought the feature back with the latest Pixel Camera update.

Photo Spheres is essentially an evolution of Panorama, allowing users to create 360-degree images of just about anything. It does not require any special hardware, but it does require a steady hand as it moves around the object.

The change was discovered by Reddit user PourJarsInReservoirs following an update to version 9.2.113.604778888.19 of Pixel Camera. My Pixel 6 Pro installed the same update earlier this week and Photo Spheres is indeed alive in the camera app again.

Scroll right through the camera options, right next to Panorama mode, which Pixel 7 users should be able to find in the "Modes" section of the Pixel camera app, between Panorama and Lens.

The downside is that Google seems to have reverted Photo Sphere only to models that previously supported it; both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were released without Photo Sphere, so Google did not want to include Photo Sphere in this update. Photo Sphere in this update.

However, this is good news for those who have Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 series phones and have been mourning this loss since last October.

It is still unclear why Google discontinued the feature in the first place, but it is nice to see it back, probably due to fan demand. The only question is how long the revived Photo Spheres will be around, and whether they will be included in either the Pixel 8 or future Pixel phones like the Pixel 8a or Pixel Fold 2