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Google's Clips camera now takes high-res photos on demand

It now behaves more like... well, a camera.

Google Clips' manual 7-second video bursts are fine if you're not a stickler for high resolution, but there are times when you just want to snap a quality still photo to share with friends. Why can't you capture both? Well, now you can: Google is delivering an update to Clips' Android app that lets you take a high-resolution photo alongside the video when you press the shutter button either on the camera itself or in the live preview on your phone. That could be more than a little helpful if you want to capture a sharp picture the moment something interesting occurs, rather than hoping you have time to take a separate shot.

You'll need a firmware update to change this functionality (it should happen the next time you connect your camera to its companion app), so be sure to check before going on a Clips photo safari.

The update also brings pinch-to-zoom cropping while you're in the edit mode. Previously, you had to drag corners to frame your shot -- this should make it faster and more intuitive. All told, it seems that Google is determined to evolve Clips' features rapidly and give the user more control, rather than depending solely on the camera's AI-guided capture to reel you in.