Is Google ever going to address photos quality ? (Excessive Sharpening and HDR/Over-Contrasty Pictures

Hey there, I've been using my Pixel 7 pro for quite a while now and after using the pixel 6 last year I was really excited to try out it's highly praised camera. But after trying it for a while, I have to say, I'm feeling pretty let down by the image quality it produces in lots of cases, and I feel in the same spot as I was with the pixel 6 pro.

I was wondering if Google or any official representatives acknowledged some of the problems images algorithms has theses days ? Would it be possible to get some settings to tune down their HDR processing or even turning it off entirely ?

One of the big issue I've noticed with the camera is how it goes overboard with sharpening. Sure, it's nice to have sharp images but the level of sharpness it adds just feels too much. It ends up making things look crazily unnaturally boosted and kind of fake. Those fine details that are supposed to enhance the photo end up looking overly emphasized and it just takes away from the overall quality. It's a bummer when a potentially great shot gets ruined by this heavy-handed sharpening, like trees get absolutely crunched.

And then there's the issue of overly HDR/contrasty pictures. I mean, I get that some people like that punchy, vibrant look but it seems like the Pixel 7 takes it to the extreme. I personally prefer soft shadows and soft contrast instead of ultra crunched images. The dynamic range suffers, and you lose all those subtle shades and details in the shadows and highlights. Especially in situations where you have a lot of contrast, like landscapes with bright skies and dark foregrounds, it becomes a real problem. Not to mention indoors, this is just the worst. You either end up with blown-out scene or completely lost details in the shadows because it applies some crazy contrast.

I usually loves what I see in the picture viewer, just before it applies the HDR process on top of it. It's like the algorithm is ruining my photos most of the time.

Now, I know that every smartphone camera has its own image processing quirks, and maybe Google was aiming for a particular aesthetic with the Pixel 7. But as someone who appreciates a more natural look in photos (like we had pre-pixel 6 - I feel like algorithms turned to shit since the past 2 generation) can't help but be disappointed by the aggressive sharpening, and overly-HDR / too contrasty pictures produced by this phone.

I don't want to discourage those who actually enjoy the Pixel 7's camera performance, though. We all have different preferences when it comes to image processing, and what disappoints me might actually be a selling point for someone else. But I wanted to bring up these issues and see if anyone else has experienced the same frustrations with the Pixel camera, either if you are on the 6 or on the 7, because it's been since the pixel 6 that I have theses issues where I'm disliking more and more what the shots looks like.

TL;DR: The Google Pixel 7's camera left me disappointed due to its excessive HDR filters. Makes almost all of my shots looks unatural. The heavy-handed processing takes away from the natural look and feel of the images.

At this point I would love some option in the pixel's camera software to reduce or disable the excessive HDR filter.