Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro
professionals and cons
- Brilliantly brilliant and buttery {smooth} shows
- Laundry record of enjoyable, typically helpful AI options
- Nonetheless probably the most forgiving cameras in the marketplace
- Seven years of OS upgrades
- $100 worth bump for each fashions
- Characteristic exclusivity on the Professional is disappointing
extra shopping for decisions
This evaluation was initially revealed on October 11, 2023, and was up to date on February 22, 2024.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
With the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Google’s method to creating a smartphone stays, pushing the envelope little by little via algorithms and machine studying — and this time, it is leveraging AI in all of the locations: Search, Photographs, the Telephone and Digicam apps, et cetera. Which means greater than ever, you will be asking your self, “Do I want AI to assist me?” from whenever you’re capturing photographs to speaking with these round you.
Google’s given its newest flagship telephones sufficient upgrades to justify the $100 upcharge. In reality, even at its new beginning worth of $699, I would argue that the usual Pixel 8 is the very best telephone you should buy within the sub-premium market, particularly with the improved 120Hz show. As for the $999 Pixel 8 Professional, it in the end stands out from the competitors with probably the most forgiving digicam system in the marketplace — for those who don’t love a photograph you captured, repair it in put up. The Pixel 8 Professional additionally helps all of the Gemini Nano-powered AI options talked about on this evaluation, which, for a lot of, ought to supply some helpful help to on a regular basis duties.
Specs
Google Pixel 8 |
Google Pixel 8 Professional |
|
Value |
$699 |
$999 |
Show | 6.2 inches | 6.7 inches |
Decision | 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI | 3,120 x 1,440 pixels, 20:9 ratio, 513 PPI |
Cameras |
Rear: 50MP most important + 12MP ultrawide, Entrance: 10.5MP |
Rear: 50MP most important + 64MP ultrawide + 48MP telephoto, Entrance: 10.5MP |
Storage |
128GB/256GB |
128GB/256GB/512GB |
RAM/Storage | 8GB/12GB with 128GB/256GB | 12GB/16GB with 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB |
Battery | 4,355mAh | 4,950mAh |
Water and mud resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
How I examined the Google Pixel 8 Professional
I’ve spent 5 months with the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional, with my major SIM (T-Cell) within the Professional mannequin and an eSIM (Mint Cell) within the non-Professional mannequin. Whereas I took a brief break in the course of January to check the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, I additionally spent that point doing digicam comparisons and AI exams between it and the Pixel telephones.
My each day utilization included listening to podcasts within the morning and night time, utilizing Android Auto/GPS navigation throughout my commutes, regularly speaking by way of textual content message, emails, and Slack, taking the occasional meals/scenic photograph as a result of #newyorkcity, and spending a superb two hours on Reddit and YouTube. I additionally captured loads of photographs and movies with the Pixel 8 Professional throughout Chinese language New Yr, with fireworks and lion dances that put the telephone’s audio recording to the last word check.
What are the Pixel 8 Professional’s finest options?
A curvier design makes all of the distinction: Google made some delicate design shifts with this yr’s Pixel telephones, and you actually have to carry the 2 alongside the Pixel 7 collection to know the variations. Each fashions now function extra rounded corners which might be much less more likely to dig into your palms when held firmly, and it actually helps that the again glass curves into the sides for a pebble-like hand really feel.
The Pixel 8 in Rose (left) and the Pixel 8 Professional in Bay (proper). Kerry Wan/ZDNET
I am notably keen on Google’s materials decisions for the Pixel 8 Professional, choosing a satin/matte end versus final yr’s shiny. This alteration drastically reduces fingerprint smudges, particularly on the Obsidian (black) colorway. In reality, my matte black envy was actual after I noticed a fellow journalist unbox their evaluation unit quickly after we picked them up on the primary day.
Additionally: Google’s newest color for the Pixel 8 series surprised me in the best way
Happily, the Bay (blue) shade has grown on me; you would be doing the colourful hue a disservice for those who put something however a transparent case over it. It is also uncommon to discover a Professional/Extremely/Max handset with such playful finishes these days (learn: Apple’s iPhone 15 Professional colours are boring).
Vibrant and ultra-smooth Actua shows: The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional function Actua and Tremendous Actua shows, respectively, with the primary benefit being display screen brightness. This is among the most vital upgrades with the most recent Pixels, given how far more reliant I’ve turn into on smartphones when outside. From making certain the right framing of topics in photographs to scanning Google Maps whereas I scurry between conferences, a brighter, extra seen show goes a great distance.
I am nonetheless blown away by how easy it’s to design house screens with Android’s Materials You. Kerry Wan/ZDNET
The Pixel 8 Professional (2,400 nits) will get brighter than the Pixel 8 (2,000 nits), however I’ve had no issues utilizing the latter in direct daylight, which I could not say concerning the earlier generations of Pixels, not even the $1,800 one. Pixel 8 additionally will get a bump-up in refresh price, shifting it additional away from the cheaper Pixel 7a‘s 90Hz and in keeping with the Professional mannequin’s 120Hz. That is particularly price noting as a result of Google is charging $100 extra for this latest Pixels, so you will need all of the upgrades you may get.
Delicate digicam enhancements that matter: The Google Pixel has all the time been a camera-first handset, and the Pixel 8 and eight Professional can actually go face to face with competing flagships. On the {hardware} entrance, Google improved the sunshine sensitivity of each sensor, giving the 50MP most important digicam an f/1.7 aperture, the 48MP ultra-wide an f/1.9 aperture, and the 48MP telephoto lens — unique to the Professional mannequin — an f/2.8 aperture. Principally, count on extra element and true-to-life colours, particularly in low-light environments.
Additionally: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Which phone should you buy?
For instance, I captured this photograph on a shifting (and shockingly empty) New York Metropolis specific bus because it drove via a dimly lit tunnel. What impresses me is how the Pixel 8 Professional was in a position to seize the finer particulars, like the feel of the seats from the entrance row to the again and the textual content on the window stickers. Understand that the bus was shaking in all instructions as I used to be taking the image, so the digicam stabilization and HDR capabilities are on full show right here.
Captured with the Google Pixel 8 Professional with its 50MP most important lens Kerry Wan/ZDNET
This is one other shot that I took however with the 48MP ultrawide lens. The brand new Pixel telephones assist Macro mode, which means you may seize topics as shut as simply two centimeters away. Within the picture beneath of a potted planet, I just like the element and heart focus and the way the ultrawide lens creates a warping impact on the sides. It actually offers an in any other case uninteresting picture some added flare.
Captured with the Google Pixel 8 Professional with its 48MP ultrawide lens in Macro mode. Kerry Wan/ZDNET
And for one thing much more enjoyable, try this picture from a hen outing at my native park. Is not it cute? The picture to the appropriate isn’t a zoomed-in photograph, by the way in which, however as a substitute is the aftermath of repositioning and resizing topics with the brand new AI-powered Magic Editor, turning the little birdy right into a creature who’s clearly had sufficient of…every little thing.
Earlier than Magic Editor (left) and after Magic Editor (proper) Kerry Wan/ZDNET
My suggestion to Google is to robotically give topics a contact of sharpness when enlarged. That method, the hen within the modified photograph, for instance, will seem extra lifelike with the environment.
Google Tensor G3: Options like Magic Editor are made attainable by the Google Tensor G3 chip, which powers normal duties like app searching, multitasking, and watching movies, and AI-enabled companies like Google Assistant and Google Photographs. At a efficiency stage, I’ve but to expertise any main hiccups on each Pixel 8 units, even after I tried to push the Professional mannequin to its limits by modifying 360-degree footage whereas enjoying a YouTube video within the background.
Additionally: Your Pixel phone may automatically adapt its display for rain and other conditions soon
In reality, that was the one time when the Pixel bought heat to the contact. I have not skilled any overheating when charging the telephones or utilizing the cameras for a protracted time period, which can be a relief for newer telephone consumers. The telephones have additionally lasted me comfortably all through my days, and I contemplate myself a heavy person.
Google Assistant and AI
There’s lots to speak about with the brand new Google Assistant; what it is able to doing at the moment and within the close to future. Beginning with the Pixel 8 collection, Google positioned its Android units very like how Microsoft had done with Windows PCs, placing its AI-powered digital assistant entrance and heart.
Additionally: The best Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro cases of 2024
Naturally, you will come throughout a number of AI options on the Pixel as you go about your day. To maintain issues tidy, I’ve listed beneath the very best new AI options, together with my grading, based mostly on ease of use and practicality.
- Summarize (6/10): Google Assistant can now summarize webpages and articles in seconds. This function was particularly useful when FEMA ran its nationwide emergency alert test last week, and I needed a snapshot abstract of what it was, why it was essential, and the way I might cease the blaring notifications. The issue that I’ve with Summarize is consistency (or lack thereof). At instances, the bullet-point summaries have been too imprecise and would miss out on the precise key factors of an article, which defeats the aim of all of it.
- Learn Aloud (10/10): Learn Aloud is one other Google Assistant function that scans the on-screen textual content and dictates it with a natural-sounding voice. After I examined the function on a ZDNET article, I used to be very impressed with how human-like the Assistant sounded, and extra so by the way it knew to pronounce the publication as “ZEE-DEE-NET” and never “ZDUH-NET” or “ZEE-DEE-NEE-EE-TEE”.
Google Assistant can now summarize articles and paperwork, discerning key textual content from advert copy and logos. Kerry Wan/ZDNET
- Name Screening (8/10): The brand new and improved Name Screening on Pixel encompasses a extra context-aware chatbot that listens for the caller’s cause and presents you with fast responses. For instance, after I pretended to be a supply driver in a mock name, the Pixel gave me response choices comparable to “Give me a second”, “You possibly can go away it with the neighbor”, and “Inform me extra”. Like Learn Aloud, the Assistant responds in your behalf in a pure tone, even when it makes use of what appears to be a preset voice response for every immediate as a substitute of producing new traces each time.
Additionally: Tired of waiting on hold? One of the Pixel’s best features is coming to Google Search users
- Audio Magic Eraser (9/10): The identical noise-cancellation expertise performs a job within the new Audio Magic Eraser function, which distinguishes voices, music, and different noises in a video clip and allows you to decrease or elevate the amount ranges of every. I examined the Google Photographs software with a video of somebody enjoying piano on the road, and the way in which the Pixel discerned the performer from the bustling sounds of NYC was fairly outstanding.
- Greatest Take (7/10): Lastly, Greatest Take lets you choose different facial expressions in group photographs, as long as you’ve gotten a number of similar-looking pictures backed as much as your Google Photographs app. Whereas the function labored as described for me, I got here throughout two issues: 1) Customers who aren’t subscribed to Google Cloud might run into storage issues when backing up a number of photographs to make use of the function, and a pair of) Greatest Take solely seems when it detects sufficient different photographs to parse via, which means except you are the sort to snap a number of pictures at a time, you will not all the time get the choice to remix issues in put up.
Ultimate thought
After 5 months with each Pixel fashions, my shopping for recommendation stays the identical: Purchase the Professional mannequin for those who’re after Google’s finest, most fool-proof digicam system and the most recent AI options, together with Video Enhance and Summarize in Recorder. If the final software program expertise of a Pixel telephone is on the prime of your precedence record, the Pixel 8, at $699, will serve you simply as effectively and for $300 much less. Each fashions are regularly discounted by $100 to $200, so maintain an eye fixed out for these offers too.