October is the month of recent Google Pixel telephones, and this 12 months, we obtained the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. I’ve been very intrigued with Pixel telephones ever since their inception within the late 1900s, simply kidding, the primary Pixel launched in 2016. Feel outdated but? I used to be too poor to afford the unique Pixel, though it wasn’t an costly telephone to start with. Fast ahead to Pixel 3, and I used to be in a position to get my first Pixel, and I’ve been an avid Pixel person ever since. The digicam was and nonetheless is the perfect a part of the Pixel expertise, aside from the software program.
I’ve been utilizing the Pixel 8 for nearly a month now, and this is what I consider it.
Pixel 8 worth in India
The Google Pixel 8 will get a number of upgrades, together with one to its price ticket. In India, the 128GB Pixel 8 is priced at Rs. 75,999, which is Rs. 15,000 greater than the Pixel 7’s launch worth of Rs. 59,999. There’s additionally a 256GB variant of the Pixel 8, which is on the market at Rs. 82,999. At this worth, the Pixel 8 is now on the costly aspect of the spectrum and likewise priced equally to the iPhone 15. Are all the brand new upgrades well worth the worth hike? Let’s discover out.
Pixel 8 Review: Design and show
If you pixelate the Pixel 8 and place it subsequent to the Pixel 7, you will not actually be capable to inform any distinction.
Pixel 8 is smaller in measurement when in comparison with the Pixel 7
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Google’s Pixel 8 shouldn’t be a serious change from the Pixel 7 when it comes to design. The search large has made small modifications to the design, however that has diminished the scale of the handset. It additionally makes the brand new telephone far more comfy to carry. The Pixel 8 will get a glass again and a matte aluminium body, similar to final 12 months’s mannequin. However, this time round, the corners and the sides of the rear glass panel characteristic a deeper curve. The digicam bar on the again is thicker than the one on the Pixel 7, and the digicam cutouts are additionally bigger. The LED flash and rear microphone are just about in the identical location as earlier than.
At the entrance, the Pixel 8 now will get extra uniform aspect bezels, with the underside chin slimmer than the Pixel 7. It’s nonetheless not fairly uniform throughout, however it’s a step in the appropriate path. The quantity and energy buttons are on the appropriate body, nonetheless very clicky, and the SIM tray is on the left-hand aspect. At the underside, you will discover the speaker, USB Type-C port, and microphone. You additionally get a 3rd microphone on the high of the telephone.
Google has all the time tried to supply a particular design with its Pixel collection, from the two-toned colors within the Pixel 2 and three to the now well-known digicam visor. The Pixel 8 gives a novel design when in comparison with different telephones out there. The digicam bar additionally means the Pixel telephones do not wobble once you maintain them on the desk. You may even use the digicam bar to relaxation your finger when utilizing the telephone.
The Google Pixel 8 comes with a 6.2-inch full-HD+ OLED show with 120Hz refresh fee
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One of the principle new options on the Pixel 8 is the 6.2-inch Actua AMOLED show protected with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus. The panel gives as much as a 120Hz refresh fee, both at 60Hz or 120Hz. When you first activate the telephone, the refresh fee is 60Hz. If you need to save battery, you’ll be able to maintain it as is, however when you’re used to excessive refresh fee screens, then 120Hz mode is the best way to go. The panel additionally gives larger brightness as much as 2000 nits and 1,400 nits in HDR mode. All of those are glorious upgrades in comparison with final 12 months’s Pixel 7, which supplied a 90Hz panel with a peak brightness of 1400 nits. In out of doors circumstances and beneath vibrant daylight, the brand new Pixel is a lot better to learn. The show on the Pixel is now correct flagship degree.
Google has included an IP68 water and dirt resistance ranking, which signifies that you should use the Pixel 8 within the rain. However, I would not suggest utilizing the telephone within the rain or underwater for lengthy durations. A fast dip to take some images within the swimming pool is completely nice, however utterly keep away from taking the Pixel 8 underwater throughout a dive. Overall, I appreciated the marginally up to date design, because it makes plenty of distinction in real-world use. Now, if solely Google introduced again the matte rear glass, which surprisingly is current on the Pixel 8 Pro.
I’d additionally like to speak in regards to the audio system on the telephone. Like all of the latest Pixel telephones, the Pixel 8 comes with a hybrid two-speaker setup, one on the underside of the telephone and the second that additionally works because the earpiece. There is not an enormous distinction between the sound stage on the Pixel 8 when in comparison with the Pixel 7. There’s a little bit extra bass, and it does get fairly loud.
Pixel 8 Review: Performance and Software
The Google Pixel lineup was by no means identified for efficiency, however they are not gradual both. Google focuses extra on AI and software program prowess far more than simply brute efficiency, and that reveals. The Pixel 8 will not win any benchmark scores or give the very best body charges on video games, however you will not face any hiccups or lag when utilizing the telephone day by day. While software program optimisations are nonetheless not on the extent of what you see on an iOS machine, fundamental UI navigation, animations, app switching, app opening, and all the pieces in between are fairly clean.
Google Pixel 8 is provided with the Tensor G3 SoC, and whereas that is an enchancment over the Pixel 7’s Tensor G2, you actually will not be capable to inform them aside when it comes to efficiency. The Tensor G3 is a 4nm chip that makes use of a nona-core structure, which implies there are 9 cores. It is paired with 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and an Immortalis-G715 MP10 GPU. For storage, there are 128GB and 256GB choices obtainable.
Let’s get into the software program aspect of issues now. Since the Pixel is a Google telephone, you get the cleanest Android software program. I’ve all the time cherished the inventory Android appear and feel of the Pixel software program, a lot in order that I’d all the time attempt to set up Pixel Experience ROMs on all my Android telephones. You do get some additional options, although, that are unique to the Pixel lineup. There’s the superior Now Playing characteristic, which may auto-detect songs enjoying round you. With Android 14, you additionally get a number of new add-ons, akin to Lock Screen customisation, new Clocks, monochrome themes, and extra. Google has additionally improved Face Unlock with extra safety, and it now works for funds, sign-ins, and helps banking apps.
Pixel 8 additionally brings a bunch of recent AI options, akin to the brand new Audio Eraser, Best Take, and Magic Editor. Google has additionally introduced that it will quickly combine its Bard chatbot with Google Assistant. This ought to allow the Google Assistant to supply richer outcomes through the use of knowledge from different Google apps.
The Audio Eraser characteristic is fairly cool, and I examined it totally. It does precisely what it says and erases distracting sounds out of your audio recordings. I recorded some wind chimes with visitors noise within the background and was in a position to take away the visitors noise with the faucet of a button. Then there’s Best Take, which might be actually useful at group gatherings. Take a bunch of group selfies or images, and you’ll then use Best Take to pick out the precise faces of every particular person within the picture.
Magic Editor is a sophisticated model of Magic Eraser, and it helps you to change a picture altogether. You can crop the themes out and transfer them round, you’ll be able to change the background, and you’ll change the sky. This labored fairly effectively more often than not, and I used to be in a position to transfer objects round, change the sky, transfer the topic, and, in the end, change the complete composition of the picture. It is certainly Magic except you have used Photoshop. A degree to notice is that you’ll want to add the picture to Google Cloud to make use of the Magic Editor characteristic, which signifies that this characteristic does not work in your telephone and requires an web connection. Real Tone, Google’s expertise to precisely detect pores and skin tones, is now obtainable on video.
There’s additionally a brand new AI wallpaper characteristic that allows you to create your personal customized wallpaper based mostly on preset inputs. You can get plenty of cool wallpapers with the characteristic, and there might be so many variations that you could be by no means run out.
With the Pixel 8, Google has additionally introduced 7 years of OS upgrades. Yes, that is proper, your Google Pixel 8 collection now helps 7 years of Android and safety updates. That’s essentially the most anybody has ever supplied on the Android aspect of issues. Even Apple solely gives 5 years of software program help for the iPhone. Will the Pixel 8 survive these 7 years? Maybe, when you take excellent care of it, you may get 7 years out of the Pixel 8 collection.
In the couple of weeks I’ve been utilizing the Pixel 8, I didn’t face any points with the software program. Although Pixels are additionally identified for bugs, this time round, there weren’t any but. Gaming, watching movies, and utilizing varied apps have been clean and quick. However, I did discover some minor heating when utilizing the Camera and enjoying video games for greater than 25 minutes.
Pixel 8 Review: Battery Life
The Google Pixel 8 comes with a barely bigger battery in comparison with the Pixel 7, however it didn’t fare that a lot better than the predecessor. You get a 4,575mAh battery that lasted for about 20 hours in our HD video loop check. With common utilization, the telephone lasted me greater than a day, however that is with out gaming. When I used the Pixel 8 to look at some YouTube movies, take images, and play a few video games, I used to be left with about 25 p.c battery life on the finish of the day. That would’ve lasted me a complete night time after which some, however I’m unsure why Google nonetheless hasn’t found out how you can enhance battery life when the display screen is off.
As for charging, the Pixel 8 now helps 27W quick charging help, which ought to end in quicker charging occasions. I examined the Pixel 8 with an 18W Google charger, and a full cost took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Meanwhile, half-hour of charging bumped the battery share to 38 p.c, and an hour of charging gave the telephone 71 p.c juice.
Pixel 8 Review: Cameras
Now, let’s get to the half that most individuals relate Pixel telephones to: the superior cameras. Ever since experiencing the Pixel digicam with my Google Pixel 3 5 years in the past, it has been actually onerous to love something aside from a Pixel telephone for cell pictures. I made a quick visit iPhone land, however that did not final, and I missed the Pixel terribly. Google has been enhancing its cameras with each new Pixel launch, and the Pixel 8 carries the same components.
The Pixel 8 includes a 50-megapixel main rear digicam
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The Google Pixel 8 includes a 50-megapixel main rear digicam with a brand new f/1.68 aperture lens that may now let in 21 p.c extra gentle in comparison with the Pixel 7. It additionally options Dual Exposure, which takes two photographs with totally different exposures, helps scale back noise and makes images and movies sharper. The ultra-wide 12-megapixel sensor additionally will get an replace and now comes with autofocus and 22 p.c wider FoV (125.8 levels) in comparison with its predecessor. And for the primary time, the smaller Pixel additionally will get a Macro mode, because of the brand new up to date digicam.
Google additionally introduced alongside a redesigned Camera app on the Pixel 8, now obtainable on older Pixel telephones. The app now has a devoted Video and Photo mode, which incorporates all of the totally different modes tucked away neatly. However, Google did transfer the Shadow, White Balance, and Brightness sliders to a toggle beneath, which is form of annoying now. On the Pixel 7, it is nonetheless on the viewfinder and far simpler to make use of. The Pixel 8 additionally does not get the Manual mode obtainable on the Pixel 8 Pro, which, once more, is annoying, as each telephones use the identical chipset and the principle main sensor and will technically be capable to use handbook mode.
Pixel 8’s digicam app gives simple mode switching
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The Pixel 8 now additionally helps picture seize in Display P3 color house, which implies that you could now get a larger vary of colors when viewing the images on a appropriate show. The choice is about to sRGB as default, which signifies that you will want to go to Advanced Settings within the Camera app to allow Display P3 color house. Another new software program characteristic is the power to seize additional metadata info that’s used within the Photos app to supply Ultra-HDR help.
You won’t be dissatisfied with the Pixel 8 when in involves images and movies. You get glorious excessive dynamic vary, sharp particulars, nice low-light images, and the video is healthier than final 12 months, an improved ultra-wide digicam, and all of the AI goodness that I discussed above. I’ve nearly all the time come out very impressed with the images that the Pixel 8 takes, even in some tremendous tough circumstances. I’d nonetheless take the Pixel 8 over the newest iPhone or Samsung for images and low-light pictures. Google has additionally managed to enhance the ultra-wide digicam this time round.
The main 50-megapixel upgraded sensor on the Pixel 8 takes glorious images in daylight. You won’t see any main enhancements over the Pixel 7, however images at the moment are barely sharper. Google likes to have punchy distinction, brighter highlights, and cooler color tones, and a extra pure white stability in its images, and I like that. It’s the traditional Pixel look, and it nonetheless is the perfect amongst flagship telephones.
Moving on to the ultra-wide, which has a wider FoV than the Pixel 7 and gives a Macro mode, now takes sharper and extra detailed photographs. The Macro mode is sort of good, when you’re into macro pictures. The mode activates routinely once you get very near a topic. Google has additionally added auto-focus to the ultra-wide digicam, making it extra dependable for panorama images. Overall, I discovered the ultra-wide images from the Pixel 8 to be higher than the Pixel 7.
(Top) Macro mode on Pixel 8 (Bottom) You can get actually near the article
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One of my favorite modes on the Pixel telephones is Night Sight and Astrophotography. Things are barely higher with the Pixel 8 this 12 months, however principally, it is the identical glorious low-light photographs that I used to be used to with the Pixel 7. Thanks to the brand new Tensor G3 chip, although, the processing occasions at the moment are quicker. I did not actually get to check the Astrophotography mode, however I doubt there have been any main modifications, as Google did not actually communicate a lot about it in the course of the launch.
The Pixel 8 gives a number of picture modes, together with Action Pan, Long Exposure, Portrait, and Panorama. All these have been already obtainable on the Pixel 7 and carried out just about the identical. Again, I did discover some enchancment within the picture course of occasions, particularly in Portrait mode and Long Exposure. You get 1.5x and 2x zoom in Portrait mode, with the default being 2x. Portrait photographs are well-detailed, with good publicity and pores and skin tones.
Pixel 8 takes portrait photographs in 2x and 1.5x (cropped in from major digicam)
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Coming to the selfie digicam, the Pixel 8 includes a 10.5-megapixel sensor that provides 1x and 0.7x choices. The 0.7x is the ultra-wide native FoV of the digicam, whereas 1x is cropped in. Selfies come out nice in daylight, and it’s also possible to get some good photographs in low gentle, because of Night Sight. It would’ve been good if Google added auto-focus to the entrance digicam, which is on the market on the Pro mannequin.
Pixel 8 gives 0.7x and 1x modes for selfies, with the 0.7x being its native FoV
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In the video division, the Pixel 8 can file as much as 4K 60fps on all cameras, however the perfect output is clearly from the first rear digicam. There’s 24fps and 30fps video recording, and all video is stabilised. You can get some actually good footage from the rear main digicam in daylight, particularly when you have 10-bit HDR enabled. The footage has loads of element, glorious stabilisation, nice dynamic vary, and the colors are well-balanced with a touch of saturation. Even in low gentle, the Pixel 8 can file handsome footage with nice dynamic vary and hues, though you’ll discover some downgrade in high quality. The ultra-wide digicam, alternatively, does not carry out that effectively, though you do nonetheless get glorious stabilisation. However, I’d suggest avoiding taking pictures movies with the ultra-wide as a lot as potential.
Pixel 8 Review: Verdict
The Pixel 8 is an enormous improve over the Pixel 7 because of Google rounding off plenty of issues. You get a brighter and flagship-level show, an excellent comfy and compact design, improved cameras, and loads of enhancements. Then there’s the brand new AI digicam options, akin to Best Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Eraser, that make life simpler. The new Tensor G3 chipset, which, though is not an enormous enchancment, is loads for all types of duties. Battery life is sweet too, however nothing to put in writing dwelling about.
However, all of those enhancements additionally include an enormous worth hike. Is it well worth the worth hike? Well, to be sincere, I would not suggest the telephone for anybody seeking to purchase a flagship Android all-rounder, however when you’re a Pixel fan and are coming from an older Pixel telephone, then it’s best to positively improve. Pixel 7 customers, I’d say finest to attend for the following Pixel.
