Snapchat and TikTok will support 10-bit HDR video on Pixel 7 series

The recently released Google Pixel 7 series features a few improvements over last year’s Google Pixel 6. One of the biggest for people who like to film on their smartphones is the introduction of support for 10-bit HDR video, increasing the number of colors that can be recorded in a video. Snapchat and TikTok will both support 10-bit HDR video on the Pixel 7 series, the first apps on Android to support it.

This isn’t a huge deal, but it will normalize 10-bit HDR video across the Android ecosystem and widens the door for those apps to support higher-quality video on more devices in the future. As noted by Mishaal Rahman of Esper, it is likely that this is why SDR dimming was introduced in Android 13 and also why the Camera2 API added HDR video capture support. Both Snapchat and TikTok make use of the Camera2 API, and the primary method of taking video in those apps is via the camera viewfinder from within those apps, rather than recording normally and importing it later.

Snapchat and TikTok will support showing 10-bit HDR videos recorded on the Pixel 7 series.

“We’ve even partnered with Snap, TikTok, and YouTube so your HDR videos look vibrant when shared on your favorite apps.” https://t.co/ZBpYaIslwS pic.twitter.com/9m8IFC2pK3

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 6, 2022

With this change, it makes it likely that other apps (that aren’t just TikTok and Snapchat) will be able to integrate and support HDR video as well in the future. Of course, the big deal is that not only can you record HDR video, but those videos will show in HDR when seen on a Pixel 7. SDR dimming is important as it means that other UI elements don’t seem blown out or way too bright in contrast to the rest of the display, as is often the case when viewing HDR content.

For now, though, it seems that this is a more exclusive improvement that is only open to companies that Google has “partnered” with. We’ll be waiting to see if more apps get it in the future, but given that TikTok and Snapchat are two pretty popular apps, it’s definitely a good start!