Here's what you need to know about Action Pan support on the Pixel 8a

If you recently bought a Pixel 8a hoping to use Google’s Action Pan feature, you might be in for a disappointment. This feature, which allows you to capture dramatic motion shots by blurring backgrounds, was initially listed as available for the Pixel 8a. However, users have since discovered it’s not included. 

When the Pixel 8a launched, Google’s official support documentation mentioned Action Pan as one of its camera features. Some users, excited by the promise of creative photography tools, bought the phone expecting it to include the feature. One user on Reddit shared an archived version of the webpage as proof that the feature was listed.

I’ve taken a screenshot of the section for reference:

After buyers started reporting that Action Pan wasn’t available on their devices, Google quietly updated the webpage to reflect the correct information. What upset the OP further was how Google support handled the situation.

They claim that the support agent initially acknowledged the mistake and even offered €30 in store credit as an apology. However, since trade-ins weren’t available in the user’s country, the offer didn’t provide a real solution.

In later interactions, other support agents reportedly dismissed the claims by pointing to the updated webpage, acting as though the error never existed. This back-and-forth led to frustration.

Some buyers in the EU and UK have questioned whether this situation violates consumer protection laws, which require products to match their descriptions. Of course, that’s going down a never-ending rabbit hole. 

Unfortunately, it seems that Pixel 8a users won’t be getting Action Pan anytime soon, if at all in the future. But it’s worth pointing out that support documentation and initial marketing material can be prone to errors. Last year, OnePlus made headlines for falsely marketing the OnePlus 12R’s 256GB variant as having UFS 4.0 storage, even though it had UFS 3.1 storage.

So if you aren’t sure about a newly launched device’s capabilities, the best thing to do is wait for reviewers to get their hands on the devices or try getting in touch with the company’s support team for clarification.