You Can Now Use Google Pixel 9 to Control Your GoPro
When the Google Pixel 9 series was released, it included a number of exclusive software features that attracted more people to upgrade, including pixelated screenshots and an “Add Me” tool for composite photos. The latest feature, exclusive to the Pixel 9, is called Connected Cameras. This means you can use any Pixel 9 series phone as a viewfinder and remote control for a compatible GoPro camera or another Pixel phone.
It’s easy to see why this could be useful: you can mount a GoPro on a helmet, or place another Pixel phone in a hard-to-reach spot (like on a high wall), and then control those cameras and see what they see from your Pixel 9 phone.
For this to work, you’ll need any Pixel 9 model to set up this feature, and then either a GoPro 10 (or newer) or Pixel 6 (or newer) as the camera to connect with. The setup process varies slightly depending on whether you’re using an action camera or a phone, and all your devices should have the latest software installed.
Connecting to a second camera
First, you need to enable the Connected Cameras feature. On the Pixel 9 that you want to use to control another camera, open Settings, then tap Connected Devices > Connection Settings > Connected Cameras . Read all the information displayed on the screen, then turn on the Use connected cameras toggle switch.
If you’re connecting to a GoPro, you’ll need to pair via Bluetooth. Back on the connection settings screen, tap Bluetooth and make sure it’s turned on. Then click “Connect a new device” . Put your GoPro into pairing mode (on recent models, swipe down from the top of the rear touchscreen, then swipe left and select + Pair device ) and it should appear on your phone as a Bluetooth device that you can connect to—just tap the GoPro name to connect.
To connect to another Pixel phone, they both need to be linked to the same Google account, and they both need to have Cross-Device Services enabled: To check if this feature is enabled, open Android Settings, then tap your name at the top and select All Services , then Multi-Device Services . If these two criteria are met, the connected cameras should work.
A few considerations to keep in mind: Only one remote camera can be used at a time, so if you want to switch, you’ll need to disconnect from the current remote camera first. The audio will come from the camera you’re connected to (as well as images and videos), but if you’re doing this via Bluetooth, you may notice some degradation in audio quality.
Capture content inside applications
Once you’ve connected the device, you’re almost there, but you can’t just launch the Camera app on your Pixel 9 and start shooting: you need to use an app that’s compatible with Connected Camera, and the eligible apps at the moment are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Each of these apps can capture images and videos, as well as set up live streams, and they all have a camera picker that lets you choose a camera other than the one built into the phone they’re running on. You can even switch between the Pixel 9 camera and the remote camera while recording or streaming video.
Open any of the five apps that support this feature, and whenever you get to the screen to take photos or videos, you should see a camera selection icon: it looks like a small digital camera on the side of the screen. Tap this and you’ll see a list of all connected GoPros, as well as an Add Pixel option (which will connect you to another Pixel phone – you’ll also need to confirm the connection on the other Pixel).
Once the connection is established, you can take photos and videos in the app as normal. To change the camera, simply tap the camera selection icon again. Based on my brief testing, everything works as advertised, although the Bluetooth connection to the GoPro may take a while to fully establish.