The Pixel 10 Pro’s AI-powered zoom, known as Pro Res Zoom, brings generative AI directly into the camera app to enhance digital zoom up to 100x. Unlike optical zoom, which uses physical lenses to magnify a scene, digital zoom simply enlarges pixels from a smaller image, often resulting in blurry, pixelated results. The Pixel 10 Pro combats this by using AI to predict and fill in missing details, effectively guessing what the image should look like at higher magnifications. To test how well it performs, a side-by-side comparison was made with the Nikon Coolpix P1100, a dedicated ultrazoom camera with a true 3000mm equivalent optical zoom. Because it captures real optical data, the P1100 doesn’t need to guess — it just processes the image with noise reduction, sharpening, and color correction. This makes it a strong benchmark for what a high-quality long-range image should look like. When photographing the moon from a distance, the Pixel 10 Pro’s AI version appears moon-like but has a strange, spongey texture that doesn’t match the crisp, defined craters seen in the P1100’s shot. The AI seems to over-smooth and hallucinate details, especially in low-contrast areas. Photos of distant buildings like Lumen Field and Starbucks headquarters show both strengths and weaknesses. The AI makes text readable and sharpens edges, but it can erase fine textures like metal cladding and misinterpret architectural features — turning real structures into something surreal, like a Salvador Dalí painting. Writing is especially problematic, often being distorted or replaced entirely. On a sunny day, the Space Needle was photographed from about three miles away. Heat haze — caused by hot air rising off asphalt — created wavy distortions. Both cameras struggled, but the P1100’s image was still more natural. The Pixel 10 Pro’s AI attempted to correct the distortion but produced a warped, almost cartoonish version, reminiscent of Tim Burton’s style. However, in extreme cases like heat haze, the Pixel 10 Pro’s AI actually outperforms traditional methods. Because the distortions are random and unpredictable, standard editing tools can’t fix them. Here, AI’s ability to infer structure and content from patterns and context gives it a real advantage — possibly making it the only viable option for such challenging shots. While Pro Res Zoom isn’t perfect and frequently makes mistakes, it represents a major shift in how cameras work. Generative AI isn’t just for post-processing anymore — it’s now embedded in the capture process itself. This marks a turning point in mobile photography, where the line between real and imagined image data begins to blur. As AI models improve, these tools may become essential, not just for fixing flaws, but for enabling photography in situations once considered impossible.