Google made 3 big mistakes with the Pixel 4's camera, and missed a golden opportunity to make it unbeatable

Google's first mistake was to double down on zooming because it's more "useful" instead of giving the Pixel 4 an ultra-wide lens, which the company said is just for "fun."

The company's rationalization for giving the Pixel 4 a zoom lens is because zooming is more "useful" and ultra-wide is mere "fun."

I strongly disagree. On recent phones with ultra-wide lenses, I have used their ultra-wide cameras far more often than their zoomed lenses. Ultra-wide cameras are more "fun," sure, but they're also more useful.

With an ultra-wide lens, I can capture more scenery and more of my surroundings, and it gives a better idea of where I and my subject are.

I would strongly argue that ultra-wide lenses are just as useful, if not more useful, than a zoomed lens.

As an example, here's a regular photo from the OnePlus 7T ...

... and here's an ultra-wide photo taken from exactly the same spot and time with the OnePlus 7T's ultra-wide camera.

There's some fish-eye effect, to be sure, but it doesn't ruin the photo, and you get a better view of where I was when I took the photo.

I'd send my friends and family this photo instead of the regular photo.

Google's second mistake is assuming that the Pixel 4's cameras and technology are so good, people will forget all about ultra-wide.

Google set out to make its zoom camera better than anyone else, and it succeeded. At high zooms like 6X, Pixel 4 photos look better than 6X photos from other phones. It's surely thanks to Google's digital zoom technology, known as "Super Res Zoom."

At the same time, the tell-tale signs of inferior digital zoom are still present on the Pixel 4's photo (above). There's way more detail in the Pixel 4 photo than the OnePlus 7T's photo (below), but you can still see the signs of digital zoom, like blotchiness and soft details.

As a result, I haven't forgotten that the Pixel 4's telephoto camera still uses digital zoom, and it doesn't give me enough confidence to use the zoom lens for anything meaningful.

And most importantly, it doesn't make me forget about ultra-wide.

Google's third mistake is to limit the Pixel 4 to two lenses.

Doubling down on zooming wouldn't have been an issue if the Pixel 4 also had a third ultra-wide lens. But since it doesn't, the Pixel 4 is lacking options and versatility compared to the competition.

Fine, the iPhone 11 and Galaxy S10e also have two lenses, neither of which are designed for zooming. But zooming can be "faked" by a regular smartphone lens by pinching out on the screen to zoom in. Even if that faked zoom isn't very good, it's still an option at least.

Ultra-wide photos, on the other hand, cannot be faked. You can't pinch in to zoom out from the regular camera. It's just not an option at all on the Pixel 4.

I'm not the only one who's disappointed that the Pixel 4 doesn't have an ultra-wide lens.

Marques Brownlee of the MKBHD YouTube channel alludes that adding a zoom lens instead of an ultra-wide lens was the wrong move.

The New York Times' Brian Chen said that the Pixel 4's value is diminished because it lacks an ultra-wide camera.

And the Verge's Dieter Bohn said he was bummed about the missing ultra-wide lens and said it means the Pixel 4's camera lacks the versatility of other phones.

But, to be fair, the majority of other outlets don't knock the Pixel 4 for lacking an ultra-wide lens. Some only lightly mention it, and others don't even mention the lacking ultra-wide camera, suggesting it's a non-issue altogether.

Google did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the camera on the Pixel 4.

At the end of the day, this is just my opinion. Someone, somewhere, prefers better zooming than taking ultra-wide photos. And for them, the Pixel 4 has the best camera for that.

Suffice it to say, then, that I miss the ultra-wide lens on the Pixel 4, especially after using other phones with ultra-wide lenses.

For those who haven't experienced ultra-wide cameras on smartphones, I suppose you wouldn't really miss it if you upgraded to the Pixel 4. But you're also missing out.

Unless, of course, you actively wished the zooming was better on your smartphones. In that case, the Pixel 4 is your best bet.