What is the story?
Google unveiled the Google Pixel 8 at its October 4 Google Pixel 8 occasion, the place we bought to see the cellphone and its sensible options in motion. However it comes at a price.
The corporate’s new normal smartphone – the Google Pixel 8 – resembles its predecessors however sports activities a extra rounded design, an upgraded digital camera and the corporate’s newest Tensor G3 chipset – with considerably upgraded AI capabilities. it begins at $699 / £699 / AU$1,199 for a mannequin with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, which is £$100 / £100 / AU$200 costlier than its predecessor, the Google Pixel 7.
What do I must find out about it?
Google has hit a stride of launching two flagship Pixel telephones every October – one normal mannequin and one Professional mannequin – which is bigger, sports activities an even bigger, sharper display screen, a extra capacious, faster-charging battery, a further telephoto digital camera and some different extras. Right here we’re specializing in the usual Google Pixel 8.
Just like the Professional, it runs a fresh-faced Android 14 expertise out the field, boasts a brand new, wider-aperture 48MP main digital camera (accompanied by a well-known 12MP ultra-wide, as on the Pixel 7) and runs on the corporate’s newest Tensor G3 chip, which guarantees important advances in AI processing.
A extra closely rounded design than the Pixel 7 – out there in three colours (Obsidian, Hazel and Rose) – means a smaller 6.2-inch show with diminished dimensions to match. The newly-named ‘Actua’ Full HD+ OLED panel lastly pushes previous 90Hz to a brand new peak refresh fee of 120Hz, consistent with key rivals just like the Samsung Galaxy S23, granting extra respiration room for a Pixel 8a by way of {hardware} differentiation, which that cellphone presumably launching subsequent 12 months.
Whereas digital camera decision hasn’t modified, each the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional lead with a brand new 48MP sensor that sports activities a wider aperture, the Pixel 8 additionally good points the earlier Professional’s Macro Mode capturing, and there is now an Audio Magic Eraser to eradicate particular sources of undesirable background noise in your movies.
As for that new Tensor G3 chipset; whose strengths lie in AI skills, in response to Google, “the most important machine studying mannequin on Pixel 8 is 10x extra advanced in comparison with Pixel 6,” which is to say, it must be markedly extra succesful at pulling off spectacular photo-editing methods. The brand new Magic Editor is one instance that’ll allow you to transfer topics round in a photograph after seize, whereas smarter name screening is a part of the Pixel 8’s characteristic set too.
Launching with Android 14, Google has additionally prolonged the Pixel line’s software program assist promise to a powerful seven years overlaying OS updates, Pixel Characteristic Drops and safety updates (the Pixel line previously topped out at as much as 5 years of safety updates).
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What can we consider it?
In our hands-on Google Pixel 8 assessment, Lance Ulanoff enjoys the entire upgrades that the corporate has delivered to this 12 months’s mannequin, however the hole between at and the Pixel 8 Professional feels significantly distinguished; extra so than with earlier generations.
Nonetheless, the worth/efficiency stability it strikes at beneath $700 with the brand new Tensor G3 working the present is undeniably interesting.
The digital camera upgrades fall extra to processing and AI than uncooked sensor potential, however that is all the time been Google’s robust go well with, and whether or not key options just like the Magic Editor will make their strategy to older Pixel fashions stays to be seen at this level.
The promise of seven years of software program updates is understandably glorious too, nonetheless, there’s nonetheless ambiguity round whether or not that is explicitly safety updates that’ll be seeded for the period or whether or not OS updates are coated by that very same promise too, wherein case it will be a powerful bounce from three to seven, lastly taking the crown again from Samsung and even beating Apple on this division. We have reached out to Google for clarification on this level.
In order that the Pixel 8 appears to be like like a strong Android smartphone however we won’t assist really feel the elevated worth stings a bit, particularly when the price of residing has rocketed and the Pixel 7 was keenly-priced. Google’s Pixel 7 will should be on its prime kind to now win a spot on out finest Android telephones record.
Additional studying
- 1-minute information: Google Pixel Watch 2 is smarter, quicker and longer-lasting
- 1-minute information: Google Pixel 8 Professional arrives with large digital camera upgrades and a complete lotta AI
- Google Pixel 8: every thing you want to know
- Google Pixel 8 Professional: every thing you want to know
- Google Pixel Watch 2: every thing you want to know
- Google Pixel 8 preorders
