Nothing is official yet, but if we had to make an educated guess, we’d say the Google Pixel 8a is going to be unveiled on the first day of Google I/O 2024, which is May 14. Now two new leaks have given us more of an idea about what to expect from the handset.
To begin with we’ve got leaked renders of the Pixel 8a courtesy of Android Headlines. There are four colors on show here, apparently called Mint, Porcelain, Obsidian, and Bay (or light green, pale gray, dark gray, and light blue, as they’re otherwise known).
These colors are similar to the ones we saw for the Google Pixel 7a, though Mint appears to have replaced Coral (orange). Mint is an option on the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro, though here it looks a lot more garish – which might just be due to the way the image is edited.
As Android Headlines points out, we also got a paler Mint color with the Google Pixel 6a in 2022, so this wouldn’t be a first for the mid-range series. We noticed that the Pixel 6a was recently removed from sale on the Google Store, leaving space for the Pixel 8a.
A design for life
This could be the Pixel 8a (Image credit: Android Headlines)
The renders we can see here back up previous leaks: the design is similar to the Pixel 8 and indeed the Pixel 7a. It’s possible that the corners are going to be slightly more curved, but there’s not a lot in it, and this is a phone that still looks very much like a Pixel.
Google may have already revealed the Pixel 8a design in an advert for Google Fi Wireless, and the picture in that ad does match the renders from Android Headlines. The colors seem plausible too – provided that green gets toned down a bit.
Elsewhere in Pixel 8a leak news, serial tipster Evan Blass has spotted some Pixel 8a tutorials have gone live on the website of a US carrier – not ideal from Google’s perspective. How long they remain up remains to be seen.
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Another potential upgrade we’ve heard about is a bump to a 120Hz screen, though the Tensor G3 chip may be underclocked to keep the phone below the Pixel 8 in terms of performance. In around a month’s time, all should be revealed.
Google next month will make its latest AI-powered photo editing feature available to all users of Google Photos on iOS, the company has announced.
Magic Editor, which featured heavily in last year’s Google Pixel 8 series marketing blitz, uses generative AI to perform complicated photo edits, such as filling in gaps in a photo, repositioning subjects, and additional foreground/background adjustments like making a cloudy, grey sky look blue.
The edits mimic the kind of possibilities afforded by more professional editing tools like Photoshop, except Magic Editor achieves its automated results via AI, rather than the user having to do them manually.
To editing tool debuted as one of the headline AI features on the company’s flagship phone when it launched six months ago, and has since been exclusive to Google Pixel 8 owners and Google One subscribers. The tool will become available to all users of Google Photos starting May 15.
Google Photos for iOS and Android will include 10 Magic Editor saves per month. To use more than that, users will need to buy a Premium Google One plan, which starts at 2TB of storage for $10 per month or $100 annually.
In addition to Magic Editor, Google is bringing several more editing tools to Google Photos, including Photo Unblur, Sky suggestions, Color pop, HDR effect for photos and videos, Portrait Blur, Portrait Light (plus its add light/balance light features), Cinematic Photos, Styles in the Collage Editor, and Video Effects.
To use the AI features, Apple devices must be running iOS 15 or later. Google Photos is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store.
• Original review date: October, 2023 • Google adds circle to search and Gemini to Pixel 8 Pro • Launch price: $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 • Lowest price on Amazon: $749 / £670 / AU$1,699
Update: April 2024. We’re only in the first of Google’s seven years of promised updates for the Pixel 8 Pro, but the phone has already seen considerable new features. When the Samsung Galaxy S24 was launched in January, 2024, Google added circle to search and other new AI features to the Pixel 8 Pro, and eventually the Pixel 8. Since then, we’ve seen Google’s Gemini LLM with the Gemini Nano model, capable of producing written text using only the phone’s onboard resources. Google has also launched its Find My Mobile network, and the Pixel 8 Pro has the hardware to find Google’s new Nest location tags.
Philip Berne
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Two-minute review
The Pixel 8 Pro is a sleek update to Google’s venerable Pixel lineup, and while I’ll be ready for a new look and feel this year, I’m happy to report that this is Google’s best-looking Pixel yet.
This is also Google’s most ambitious Pixel yet, with some serious camera upgrades that will satisfy even pro photogs, and a Tensor G3 chipset custom built to run Google’s machine learning features. Google is so confident in this phone’s performance that it is promising an unprecedented seven years of major updates, longer than any other phone maker supports its phones, currently.
That said, this is a very, very odd device. If Google had simply released a generic smartphone with the Pixel 8 Pro’s cameras, display and design, it would have had a simple winner, capable of making an argument against not-quite-flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus or the Apple iPhone 15 Pro. Instead, Google is pushing deep into machine learning territory with generative AI features that will offer new experiences on your phone.
Some of these, like the amazing new call-screening assistant, work wonderfully, and are set to become an enduring part of our smartphone experience. Others, like the new photo editing features, border on frightening. Most, like AI wallpaper, seem like simple distractions and additions that could have been an app you download, but instead are now part of the Android-on-Pixel experience.
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
This is a decidedly Android phone, for better but mostly, these days, for worse. It’s a confusing mess. You’re faced with setup screens that never seem to end, notifications that never seem to disappear, and Settings menus that are layered deep enough to strike magma.
The good news is that Google has plenty of time to fix Android, and if it does, Pixel 8 Pro owners will benefit from those improvements for seven years, if Google lives up to its promise.
This is very good news indeed. In fact, it’s some of the best news I’ve heard from the Android camp in quite some time. If Google really delivers on seven years of major OS upgrades, Pixel feature drops, and Security updates, the Pixel 8 Pro will be the first Android phone to beat Apple in terms of longevity.
Will the Pixel 8 Pro be worth owning in seven years? Decidedly not, not if you’re buying one today. But, when it comes time to sell your Pixel 8 Pro in a year or two, the person you sell it to will know they aren’t buying an unsupported lemon. They’re buying a phone that could last them, and possibly someone else after them, for years.
If you’re firmly encamped with Google on Android territory, the Pixel 8 Pro is a great choice for your next phone. Software-wise, Google has a lot of catching up to do against iOS 17 before I’d recommend buying it over the iPhone 15 Pro, but Google’s phone is fun and unique enough that I’d consider this phone if you can’t spring for a truly fancy foldable or the mighty Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Of course, the real fun begins when Google starts slashing prices, and it can be liberal with discounts, especially around the sales season. More than with any other brand, I recommend waiting for a deal when you’re considering a Pixel phone, because as good as the phone is now, it feels like an even better buy for a few hundred dollars or pounds less.
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for 128GB storage
Available with up to 1TB of storage in the US, 512GB globally
Costs $100 / £150 / AU$400 more than the 128GB Pixel 7 Pro
The Pixel 8 Pro costs a bit more than the Pixel 7 Pro, when I was expecting that Google would drop the price. That’s because, frankly, the Pixel 7 Pro didn’t age very well in terms of performance and value, and rumors suggested that the Pixel 8 Pro wouldn’t offer much benefit over its predecessor. However, as it turns out there’s much more value to be found in the Pixel 8 Pro, and it holds up nicely against competitors in its price range.
The most promising way Google has added value to the Pixel 8 Pro is with its promise to support the phone for seven years of major software upgrades, security updates, and Pixel feature drops. Android phones have traditionally been lacking in terms of longevity and long-term value, and no Android phone maker has ever offered this level of long-term support. Even Apple stops supporting iPhones with new OS upgrades after about five years.
The Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t have the best performance, so its prospects as a long-term device are questionable, but at least we know Google won’t ignore it and let it rot on the vine.
Of course, you probably won’t keep your phone for seven years, but when it comes time to trade or sell it, it should hold its value better because of Google’s support commitment. Time will tell; and there are other reasons why this phone is worth more than last year’s model.
The Pixel 8 Pro has a fantastic display, brighter and sharper than those on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Plus. The phone also has the largest battery of the bunch, and battery life lived up to Google’s promises during my review period.
The cameras are better in many ways, but the specs can get a bit esoteric and hard to explain. Needless to say, they take much better photos than before, and the new AI editing tools are incredibly impressive. Scary, impressive, and I mean that sincerely.
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Google Pixel 8 Pro prices
Storage
US price
UK price
AU price
128GB
$999
£999
AU$1,699
256GB
$1,059
£1,059
AU$1,799
512GB
$1,179
£1,179
AU$1,999
1TB
$1,399
N/A
N/A
If you have this much to spend, I’d still recommend the iPhone 15 Pro; not for the cameras or the hardware, but because iOS 17 is leaps and bounds ahead of Android 14. Apple’s software experience isn’t just simplified, it’s elegant and polished. Android has gotten unwieldy again, and it’s hard to recommend even the best Android phone over a comparable iPhone.
That said, the Pixel 8 Pro offers great value against the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, although if you can spend more (or get a great contract deal), both Samsung and Apple have even fancier phones with more cameras to sell you, while Google hits its ceiling with the 8 Pro.
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Specs
Check out the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s full specs below:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Google Pixel 8 Pro specs
Header Cell – Column 1
Dimensions:
162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8mm
Weight:
213g
OS:
Android 14
Screen size:
6.7 inches
Resolution:
1344 x 2992 pixels
Chipset:
Google Tensor G3
RAM
12GB
Storage:
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Rear Cameras:
50MP main; 48MP 5x tele; 48MP ultrawide (macro)
Front Camera:
10.5MP
Battery:
5,050 mAh
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Design
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Yup, it still looks like the Pixel 6
Matte finish and nice color choices add some class
Is this how every Pixel is going to look in the future?
What is there to say about a phone design that has barely changed in three years? Like this year’s iPhone 15 series, the Pixel 8 Pro is a bit more curvy than last year, with new colors and a matte finish. It is decidedly nicer than the Pixel 7 Pro if you care about the fine details, which I do.
The Pixel 8 Pro is more rounded on the corners, and more flat on the display. This makes the phone easier to hold, while also giving you a better view of your content. The finish is lovely, and the colors are more classy and inviting than unusual and modern. Most folks love the Bay blue best, but I’m into these cream-colored phones that dominated 2023, so I asked for a Porcelain sample from Google for my review.
This is the nicest Pixel phone Google has made so far, which is good because it has largely made the same phone three times now, with two more A-series models in between. I feel like these refinements could have come last year, and this year we could be looking at something even more evolved.
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
I don’t mind the Google Pixel camera bump. It adds a distinct touch of flair, and on my Porcelain model it has the slightest golden hue that gives it a nice glint in the sun. It’s a very pretty phone, especially if you’ve never held a Pixel before.
If you are a Pixel owner, especially if you own an older Pixel, you’re probably eyeing this phone for an upgrade. It’s too bad that Pixel 6 owners, ready to upgrade now, have only this slightly refreshed-looking version of their older phone to buy. I’d like to see something more novel next year, especially if the Pixel remains at this higher price level, on par with the titanium iPhone 15.
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Display
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
The standout feature – it’s brighter and sharper than before
Even brighter and sharper than the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Slightly thicker bezel than the iPhone
The Pixel 8 Pro display is a standout feature this year, and Google has even endowed it with its own branding: Super Actua. The Pixel 8 is plain old Actua, you see. In practical terms, it seems this refers to the display’s brightness, because it is incredibly bright. The Pixel 8 Pro can reach 2,400 nits at peak brightness, and still pumps out 1,600 nits when you aren’t in direct sunlight.
In almost every way, the Pixel 8 Pro display beats that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. In terms of brightness, total resolution, and sharpness (pixel density), the Pixel has the better screen. Side by side, it was much harder to see a difference, though the Pixel was definitely brighter in some cases, especially when viewing a purely white subject.
That’s when I had the Pixel display set to the more vivid ‘Adaptive’ mode, which the iPhone lacks. When I set the Pixel display settings to the ‘Natural’ screen color mode, I got colors and brightness levels that looked much more like I’m used to seeing on an iPhone.
The bezel on the Pixel 8 Pro is just a hair thicker compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max bezel, but the smaller punch-hole camera is much less intrusive than Apple’s Dynamic Island, no matter how much Apple makes it dance and sing.
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Software
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Great call screening feature is useful and natural
Many features are missing at launch
Some important features are hard to find
There are a few bright spots in the Pixel 8 Pro’s software improvements, couched in the machine learning and AI direction that Google is taking. The new call screening feature works impeccably well. I tried calling my Pixel 8 Pro from another number and the voice sounded natural, if a bit too casual, but that’s a good problem. Better a casual robot screening my calls than a stilted digital voice.
The new AI wallpaper is surprisingly interesting. It seems limited at first, since it isn’t actually a free-for-all generative AI creating images. Instead, it gives you a MadLibs-like selection of categories and prompts. You might choose an ‘Imaginary’ scene of ‘A surreal bicycle made of flowers in shades of pink and purple.’ The bicycle, flowers, and color options are all part of a multiple choice menu. Instead of a bicycle, I might have chosen a boat, a lamp, a lighthouse, or a UFO.
There are 12 options for objects; 30 different material choices, including flowers, fleece, and rhodochrosite (a crystalline mineral); and seven different color combinations. The AI offered me three different fleece lighthouses in coral and tan. By my math, that means the Imaginary category alone can create around 7,500 wallpapers. There are 12 categories, including Imaginary, X-ray, and Volcanic.
Is it a gimmick? No, but it feels like something a really good third-party app could pull off just as well, maybe with even more options. It is generative AI, after all, so the sky’s the limit, and then whatever the computer decides comes after sky. The bottom line is that the wallpapers were pretty, and cool, and unique, and fun to play with. So that’s a win.
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
On the Pixel 8 Pro web page, Google says you can “personalize your experience with AI wallpaper,” and that is the heart of the problem that I have with much of Google’s software on the Pixel 8 Pro. I’ve used AI to create a wallpaper, but is it personalized? I chose some options, and swiped through the results. Who is this person?
Google describes its machine language features as if they are created by a real human being disturbingly often. When the machine does the creation, there is no person involved, and there is no experience for a human. When I use Google’s software to write a whole email, or create a group photo that never existed, am I personalizing that email? Have I personalized that photo?
No, I’m using a machine as a tool to help me create or complete a task. And that’s great! That’s useful! But that is not how Google is positioning the Pixel 8 Pro and all of its new AI features. Google is not saying ‘you can create an image,’; it’s saying you can ‘combine’ photos, or ‘reimagine’ photos. There is something missing in that explanation, and it feels like what’s missing is honesty.
The photo-faking tools aren’t the only AI issues I have. Google is pushing the Pixel 8 Pro’s ability to read and summarize web pages for you. That feature will soon come to its Recorder app, so its AI will summarize your past conversations, or lectures you couldn’t attend, perhaps.
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
I tried the summarization feature on a story I wrote about taking a family photo at home. Google’s summary got very basic facts wrong. It said that my family visited a photo studio, even though I never mentioned a photo studio, and in fact I explicitly say that my dad hired a professional photographer to come to our house. If I can’t trust a summarization feature the first time I use it, I will never trust it again.
Many of the other new features are simply hard to find. Google’s new call screening feature is great, but it’s hidden under a submenu that you can only find if you open the Phone app; it’s nowhere to be found under the Settings menu.
Even worse, Google has had a Safety Check In feature on its Pixel phones for years, similar to the new Check In feature that I love on iOS 17. Google’s own site gives instructions for the ‘Personal Safety’ app, but my phone doesn’t have an app called Personal Safety. It’s just called Safety, which sounds like it could be a software security suite, or a health and readiness app. It could be an app for the Boy Scouts, for all it stands out.
I’ll stop complaining, because I’ve run out of features to complain about. See, Google is launching the Pixel 8 Pro without a number of key features ready to go. The camera will get Zoom Enhance, Video Boost, and Night Sight video features, after images have been uploaded to Google’s cloud services for Google to work its magic off-device. Recorder summaries are also coming, as well as the smart reply feature, though I’m skeptical of those AI features, as I’ve made clear.
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Cameras
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Great photos with improved macro quality
Upgrades on every camera, especially telephoto
Not as good at night shots as the iPhone 15 Pro
The main camera on the Pixel 8 Pro is considerably better than the camera on the Pixel 7 Pro, but the improvements can be hard to explain.
The lens on the camera has a f/1.65 aperture, which is wider than the f/1.9 aperture in last year’s lens, and while the number is lower, a wider aperture is better because it lets in more light, and the improvement is exponential and not linear.
The f/1.65 lens on the Pixel 8 Pro is an amazIng feat, while the f/1.9 aperture on last year’s Pixel 7 Pro was a thoroughly unimpressive spec. See, the numbers are confusing, and it’s just not an easy spec to boast about. The iPhone 15 Pro uses an f/1.8 lens on its main camera, which won’t let as much light through, but of course there are plenty of other factors to consider.
Compared to my iPhone 15 Pro Max, some photos looked better when shot with the Pixel 8 Pro, but others, especially night pics and low-light images, looked better taken with the iPhone. That’s surprising, but there are still some reasons for Google to brag.
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(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Macro photography is better on the Pixel 8 Pro than on the iPhone, and even if you aren’t going for a macro look you can still get closer to your subject with the Pixel. The Pixel 8 Pro also handled food photos much better than the iPhone. That natural look the iPhone tends towards can make dishes look unappetizing in bad lighting. It’s better to have a camera that can do some enhancements.
Speaking of enhancements, not all of the enhancements coming to the Pixel 8 Pro are ready yet. The Night Sight video enhancement will eventually upload and improve your night-time videos, but it’s not here yet. Neither is the zoom enhancement for the telephoto and main cameras. Those features will presumably come in a feature drop, hopefully before the end of the year.
Once you’ve taken your photos, it’s off to Google Photos to edit them, and Google Photos on the Pixel 8 family is a special app. It has features you won’t find on other Pixel phones, Android phones, iPhones, or even on the desktop.
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
We’ve seen Magic Eraser before, but Google is taking this functionality to a new level with Magic Editor. When you launch Magic Editor by tapping the enticing, colorful button, Google opens a new suite of generative AI tools to help you fake your shots like a pro. You can still erase, and here Google does a much better job of creating a background to replace what’s now missing.
You can also easily manipulate objects in your photo. You can move things around, make things larger or smaller, and generally make the image look completely different. If you stop talking to somebody, you can cut them out of the group photo. If you want to say you caught a bigger fish, you can just grab the fish in the photo and spread your fingers to make it grow. Reality doesn’t matter, as long as you have the right tools.
While the results can be somewhat creepy and uncanny, they aren’t flawless. I erased tourists from a shot of the Statue of Liberty, as an example, and it’s clear where the guardrails were drawn incorrectly to compensate. I erased a shadow from my photo of some ice cream at night and a portion of a sign went missing, replaced with a blank, white wall.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Gee, I wish this guy would move his head
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
With Magic Editor, the problem is solved
There’s reason to be cautious and reason to be disturbed by the ease and capriciousness with which Google launches these powerful machine learning features, but for now the quality doesn’t quite justify the fear. It’s possible that some day my phone will be able to make a believable fake that could stand up to scrutiny. For now, though, I’d say Google is just focused on trying to get its promised features out the door.
Google Pixel 8 Pro camera samples
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(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
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(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Performance
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
No problem running my favorite apps and games
Still lags behind older competitor phones
Machine learning features run slowly with delays
Performance is tough to measure on a Pixel phone. In terms of raw performance, pushing games and graphics to new heights, the Pixel 8 Pro does just fine, but it won’t win any competitions. It handled all of my favorite games and ran high-resolution videos smoothly, but everything looked better on phones like the iPhone 15 Pro or even older Android phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra (which can be found for around the same price as the Pixel 8 Pro, now that it’s eight months old).
On the other hand, the Pixel 8 Pro is an all-around solid device, especially compared to other phones in this price range. Battery life is excellent, thanks to a larger battery and better power management, courtesy of Google’s Tensor G3 chipset. The display is snappy and smooth, and it makes Google’s interface design pop when you want, or mimic the subdued and natural iPhone tones if you prefer.
There is a temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro, and I cannot figure out why. It is only accurate up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (around 150 Celsius), so it isn’t actually useful for checking the temperature of pans while cooking, as Google suggests. I need my frying oil to be around 350 degrees, and I want to check my oven up to 500 degrees or more. Try again, Google.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
When the Pixel 8 Pro is running Google’s special machine learning features, it stumbles quite a bit. When you edit photos with the new Magic Editor it takes a while to open the app, then longer to create the edits, and it frequently crashes while saving a copy. The AI wallpaper feature is cool, but it took several seconds to create a single set of wallpapers.
I hope to see these features improve over the next seven years as Google upgrades this phone with software improvements, which begs the question: this phone won’t possibly be capable of handling Android 21. Will this phone really be a viable phone in seven years? Google has promised this will be a seven-year phone, the first ever. How will the Google Tensor G3 stack up in seven years, compared to every phone that comes after it?
It’s far too early to say, but I have serious reservations about Google’s promise. First of all, the Tensor chipset already feels like it’s behind the curve compared to Qualcomm’s best Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips, and no phone maker using Qualcomm is offering more than five years of major software updates. And the Tensor doesn’t even begin to compare to Apple’s A17 Pro chipset, which actually feels like it could last seven years, though Apple has never made that explicit promise.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Second, Google has a terrible track record when it comes to supporting its own products and keeping promises. Google offered a Pixel Pass upgrade program with the Pixel 6, promising an upgrade after 24 months if you subscribed to the program. It killed the program within two years, and nobody got an upgrade. The Pixel 8 should have been the phone subscribers received.
Maybe Google will support this phone for seven years, for real, giving it every software upgrade and every new feature that it invents between now and 2030. Or maybe this phone will only get a portion of those upgrades, and new features every now and then. Or maybe Google will invent an entirely new class of Android for old phones like this one; some disappointing, stripped-down version that will work with the oldest devices.
We just don’t know – and Google hasn’t established a record of trust when it comes to longevity and long-term support.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Battery life
(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Improved battery life lasts all day, no sweat
Aggressive power management and adaptive display
Faster charging would have been nice
Battery life on Pixel phones gets better every year (as long as you avoid the A-series), and I’m happy to report that the Pixel 8 Pro had no trouble lasting through a full day of use. That should come as no surprise, since it has a larger battery than either the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus or the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. Google really packed in the biggest cell it could fit, and you’ll need to buy a gaming phone to find bigger.
The power management can be quite aggressive. That screen is bright, but Google keeps it dialed down to a healthy brightness that won’t strain your eyes or drain the battery too much. There are plenty of baked-in power management features, as well.
You can choose the Standard battery saver or the Extreme battery saver, which limits more apps and background processes. There’s also an enigmatic adaptive battery feature that’s turned on by default. All the better, because that battery really lasts.
The Pixel 8 Pro charges at a respectable 30W, which meant I had a full battery within an hour, and 50% in 30 minutes. Still, there’s some room for improvement, especially if the battery is going to keep getting bigger.
Google includes a USB-C cable in the box and, oddly, a USB-A to USB-C adapter, but no wall charger. You need to buy a compatible Power Delivery charger or wireless stand. I used an Anker Nano charger, which can handle the fastest charging the Pixel can accept.
Should you buy the Google Pixel 8 Pro?
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Google Pixel 8 Pro score card
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Value
More expensive than last year, but still competitive compared to other Android phones, especially with longer software support.
4 / 5
Design
The same old look, now refined with a matte finish and nicer colors. It’s the nicest Pixel yet, but the Pixel look is getting stale.
4 / 5
Display
The standout feature on the Pixel 8 Pro, this bright and sharp display is just as good as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and maybe better.
5 / 5
Software
The good stuff is useful, but some AI features cross the line, when they actually work, and other features are too hard to find.
3 / 5
Camera
Great all-around camera features, with some unique AI editing tools that are more like Photoshop creation than photography. Still, undeniably good pics.
4 / 5
Performance
Good enough performance for now, but it’s unclear if this phone will live up to Google’s seven-year promise, or if Android will cut corners to fit into the Pixel 8 Pro in the future.
3 / 5
Battery
Excellent battery life thanks to a very large cell inside and solid power management keeping that bright display under control.
4 / 5
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Also consider
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a fun and unique phone offering features only Google can give you, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best phone for everyone. Here are the best alternatives in the same price range.
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Google Pixel 8 Pro
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus
Price:
$999 / £999 / AU $1699 for 128GB
$999 / £999 / AU $1849 for 128GB
$999 / £899 / AU $1399 for 256GB
Display:
6.7-inch, 120Hz, 2,400 nits peak
6.1-inch, 120Hz, 2,000 nits peak
6.6-inch, 120Hz, 1,750 nits peak
Cameras:
50MP main (1.2µm pixels); 48MP tele; 48MP ultrawide/macro
48MP main (1.22µm pixels); 12MP tele; 12MP ultrawide/macro
50MP main (1.0µm pixels); 10MP tele; 12MP ultrawide
Battery:
5,050 mAh
3,274 mAh
4,700 mAh
How I tested the Google Pixel 8 Pro
I took the Pixel 8 Pro to homecoming, but my kid wouldn’t let me use any of the photos I took for my international website. I used the Pixel 8 Pro for a week leading up to this review, using the phone as my only device with an active SIM card during this time. I used it for all of my personal and professional needs.
I used the Pixel 8 Pro to take photos, to navigate with maps, and to play games. I used it for phone calls and messaging of all sorts, including RCS messages and various messaging services, including Slack and WhatsApp. I also used Google Assistant to send messages using voice commands, especially while I was driving and using Android Auto.
I played games extensively with the Pixel 8 Pro, and I tested it with a number of streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, and Max.
Normally, I would benchmark a phone using benchmark apps, but these apps are not whitelisted for download on the Pixel 8 Pro before launch. It should be noted that Google makes the final decision about whitelisting apps on the Play Store, so Google is keeping pre-launch reviewers from benchmarking this phone.
I tested the Pixel 8 Pro with various accessories, including the new Pixel Watch 2 and the Fitbit Charge 6. I also used it with Pixel Buds Pro, my MX Master 2 mouse, and an SD card reader. For battery testing, I recorded my usage during the day and noted the times the phone died. I timed the phone during the charging process to verify charging claims.
I had three flagship phones on three different tripods all aimed at a sun rapidly being crowded by a nuisance moon, and all I wanted was one or two excellent eclipse shots.
Turns out that photographing a solar eclipse with your smartphone is not that easy. In fact, figuring out a repeatable process without cauterizing your retinas is downright challenging. But I did it. I grabbed some of the best smartphones money can buy, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and prepared for 180 minutes of celestial excitement.
That last selection might turn a few heads. It is, after all, a now aging flagship Android phone that does not have the latest image processing or even the fastest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip found in the Galaxy S24 Ultra (the S23 Ultra has the Gen 2). However, one thing it has that none of my other flagship smartphones offer is a 10X optical zoom (not even the S24 Ultra has that).
Throughout this endeavor I committed to not using any enhancements, leaving the phones’ zoom lenses to do their best work without digital magic. I never pinched and zoomed. I just pointed each phone at the eclipse and hit the shutter.
Making an adjustment
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Except as soon as I did this, I realized it wasn’t going to work. The sun naturally blows out the exposure on all the phones. It’s not that I haven’t taken pictures of the sun before. I’ve snapped quite a few with the iPhone and to get over the blowout, I tap the sun on screen and that speeds up the exposure to lower the light and bring out the sun’s definition.
An eclipse wreaks havoc with a smartphone’s exposure controls, and the more the moon occludes the sun, the sharper that light becomes. My solution was simple and likely one you’ve seen elsewhere. I took my Celestron eclipse glasses and carefully placed the film of one sunglass lens over each phone’s zoom lens. If you ever have trouble identifying which camera is the zoom, just open the camera app, select the max optical zoom, and put your finger over each camera lens until you see your finger on the screen.
Three phones, three tripods (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The solar sunglasses helped with cutting down the massive glare. After that, I tapped on the screen and adjusted the exposure until I could see the sun getting the Pac-man treatment from the moon. In most cases, the result was a very orange-looking sun.
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For the next hour or so, I shifted from one phone to the other, repositioning my tripods, lining up the sun, and snapping away.
There were some non-smartphone-related glitches, like cloud cover right before our peak totality (90% where I live) but I was more successful than I expected and the smartphones, for the most part, were up to the challenge.
Not all smartphone cameras are created equal
As you can see, the Ultra’s 10X zoom gets you closer. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
You’ll see some of my comparisons above and below (I’ve used the best from all the phones in the above shots) which I did not resize or enhance, other than cropping them where possible to show them side-by-side.
While the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro shoot at 12MP (the latter is binned from a 48MP sensor, meaning four pixels combined into each one), the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 10X zoom camera is only 10MP. I think those numbers do factor into the overall quality.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Google Pixel 8 Pro matched the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom and sometimes seemed sharper than either the iPhone or Galaxy S23 Ultra, but I also struggled the most with the Pixel 8 to capture a properly exposed shot. It was also the only phone that forced a long exposure after the peak 90% coverage. The good news is that some of those long exposures offered up the most atmosphere, managing to collect some of the cloud cover blocking my full view of the eclipse.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Things got more interesting with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and its 5x Tertrapism lens. The eclipse appears a little closer than on the Pixel 8 Pro, but also more vibrant. There are a handful of iPhone 15 Pro Max pictures where I can see the clouds and it’s quite beautiful. As with all the phones, this image capture process was a bit hit-and-miss. Colors shifted from orange to almost black and white, and sticking the focus was a challenge. When I did manage to capture a decent photo, I was thrilled.
One of the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s best eclipse photos. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom pulled me thrillingly close to the eclipse. It was certainly easier to get the exposure and focus right. At a glance, the S23’s images are better but closer examination reveals significant graininess, so much so that some appear almost like paintings and rough canvas.
As I dug deeper into all the photos, I noted how each phone camera used ISO settings to manage the image capture and quality. The iPhone 15 Pro Max ranged from ISO 50 (very slow light capture) to ISO 800 (super fast for ultra-bright situations and action shots). Naturally, those at the upper end of the spectrum are just as grainy as those from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which ranges from as low as ISO 250 to 800.
Sometimes the comparison came down to a matter of taste. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Google Pixel 8 Pro has the widest range from as low as ISO 16 to an astonishing ISO 1,536. It used that for a capture of the 90% eclipsed sun behind clouds. Aesthetically, it is one of the better shots.
If I had to choose a winner here, it would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra by a nose. That extra optical zoom means you have more detail before the graininess kicks in.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a very close second, but only because it was easier to capture a decent shot. I also think that if it had a bigger optical zoom, the iPhone’s powerful image processing might’ve outdone the year-old Galaxy.
Probably my favorite iPhone 15 Pro Mac eclipse shot. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Google Pixel Pro 8 has some great shots but also a lot of bad ones because I couldn’t get it to lock in on the converging sun and moon. It also suffered the most when it came to exposure. Even so, I am impressed with the ISO range and the sharpness of some shots.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro also deserve special mention for producing my two favorite shots. They’re not the closest or clearest ones, but by capturing some of the clouds, they add an ethereal, atmospheric element.
If I live long enough to see another eclipse (there’s one in the American Midwest in 2044), I’ll look for special smartphone eclipse filters and give it another try. By then we could well have 200x optical zoom cameras with 1,000MP sensors.
If you’re a discerning mobile photographer in the market for a new shooter, our best camera phone roundup should be your first port of call, but, if you’re interested in how the best of the best actually perform, read on. I decided to pit the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra against one another in an extensive shootout to see how these top-ranking photographic champs compare.
For those not so familiar with this trio of mobile titans, here are some of the highlights. The Pixel 8 Pro – Google’s latest and greatest – delivers the company’s best AI smarts yet, thanks to its in-house Tensor G3 chip. This helps with everything from screening calls to ensuring everyone’s smiling and looking at the camera in that photo from your auntie’s 60th birthday (a feature known as Best Take).
Where photography is concerned, the 8 Pro’s hardware falls to a 50MP main sensor – boasting superior low light compared to the Pixel 7 Pro’s primary camera, a 48MP ultra-wide with a tuned macro mode and a 48MP telephoto that offers 5x optical zoom and helps facilitate the phone’s max 30x Super Res Zoom.
Apple, by comparison, hasn’t yet gone hard on branding every feature under the sun with AI, but that doesn’t make the iPhone 15 Pro Max any less of a cutting-edge powerhouse. It has one of the most capable mobile chips on the market in the company’s own A17 Pro SoC, alongside the first periscopic telephoto camera ever on an iPhone, with a unique tetraprism 5x optical zoom.
Sapphire crystal lens cover, Adaptive True Tone flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 5, LiDAR scanner, Apple ProRAW, Dolby Vision HDR recording at up to 4K 60fps, LOG video recording, Academy Color Encoding System, Cinematic video recording
Pro controls, Ultra HDR, Magic Editor, Best Take, Photo Unblur, Motion Mode, Real Tone, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Top Shot, Live HDR+, Video Boost
ProVisual Engine, Reflection removal, Generative fill, Astrophotography, Pro Mode, Dual Recording, Nightography, Instant Slow-mo, Photo Assist, Super HDR, Super Steady video
Then we have the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It looks like its predecessors but boasts the best performance of any Android phone currently on the market, thanks to a custom-tuned Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, a truly stunning 6.8-inch 120Hz display, a killer quad rear camera and, for a unique touch, Samsung’s iconic S Pen stylus.
Galaxy AI features can be found all over the Ultra experience, translating phone calls in real-time and letting you reframe photos with generative fill. However, like the last Ultra, camera versatility remains one of its biggest strengths.
In line with its rivals, there’s now a 5x optical zoom to work with but through some clever sensor cropping, the Ultra actually affords you six lossless focal lengths, from 0.6 to 10x zoom, as well as still capture at up to 200MP, thanks to its main sensor (not to mention up to 8K 30fps video capture too).
So with the specs and features detailed, let’s get on with testing those cameras in the real world.
Note: the camera being used is noted in the bottom left corner of each camera sample.
Main sensor
Starting with standard photos, shot using each phone’s main snapper. These are the results from simply opening the camera app and hitting the shutter button – no settings tweaks and no lenses or modes changed first.
Tower Bridge & Millennium Bridge
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
We shot on a characteristically bright and cloudy day in London Town; starting with these shots of Vic against Tower Bridge (above) and later Millennium Bridge (below).
The Pixel adopted perhaps the most striking results in this well-lit scene, with strong contrast and colors. It also served up the most true-to-life colors for Vic’s skin and hair. However, the rest of the scene adopted a slight magenta tinge that looked unnatural in comparison to the other two phones.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The iPhone captured a nicer, brighter image – with softer contrast and a cooler overall look – and the most balanced dynamic range processing, bringing up the darkest parts of the image without making the entire scene appear flat.
The S24 Ultra – like the Pixel – miscolored the overall scene, with a slight green tint this time, but otherwise applied good color and contrast to Vic herself. The phone’s large sensor and lens resulted in a slightly wider shot with shallower depth, applying a pleasing, natural softness to the background. The end result does, however, looked a little washed out.
So while all three have specific strengths, I’d give this one to the iPhone.
Shoes
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Next up, Vic’s blue suede shoes, captured outside with a strip of bright, cloudy sky directly above between buildings that rose high on either side.
Here, the Pixel clinches it for blending the high contrast and great detail capture – also seen on the iPhone, but with more accurate colors.
Uplighting
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Removing natural light from the scene and relying on what was predominantly this strong uplighting, like the Tower Bridge shot, the Pixel spit out the most striking and high-contrast image, with a lot of shadow detail on the brickwork.
With Samsung’s move away from its former heavily-processed approach to photography, I think it managed the most true-to-life and visually pleasing result of the three phones here. That said, I wish it had applied the iPhone’s processing when it came to dynamic range. Apple’s phone was the only one of the three to avoid blowing out the skin on Vic’s hand, even if the shot was comparatively too cool overall.
High contrast
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
One of the first sample shots taken on the day was this high-contrast scene, as I thought it would be a great way to assess how these phones handle metering and dynamic range processing. Sure enough, the results presented a lot of variation.
The Pixel’s preference for contrast is exacerbated here, with its attempts to stop down the scene in order to capture anything beyond the arch. This left the shot underexposed, overall, while the light sources still appeared blown out. It made for the most dramatic final image but the weakest of the three.
The iPhone took second place, serving up great colors and contrast, and managing to rescue some of the brightest parts of the shot in the back of the scene. Not quite as well as the S24 Ultra, though, which produced a similar result but did an amazing job more correctly exposing the entire scene. It kept all the detail beyond the arch, as well as all the lit brickwork in the foreground.
Zoom
Now let’s talk zoom. While all three of these phones have large main sensors and periscopic 5x telephoto cameras, they all handle zoom a little differently.
Samsung (above), unsurprisingly, served up the greatest versatility. Its combination of a secondary dedicated 3x telephoto sensor and sensor cropping gives you lossless shots at 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x magnification. In addition, that insane 100x Space Zoom feature, which might seem useless on first impressions, means you’ve got more headroom at distances between that 10x and 100x that the other phones struggle to match.
As for consistency and overall quality, I think the iPhone (above) deserves a pat on the back, as it doesn’t overextend like the Samsung. Even at its maximum zoom range, 25x lossy shots still held an impressive amount of detail and information that’s wholly usable.
The Pixel (above) didn’t disappoint in this test but it just received a participation award here. It served up consistent and usable shots but they don’t turn heads like the other two.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Also, don’t fall for Apple’s 24mm, 28mm, 35mm lens marketing (above), it’s just cropping on the main sensor, which I’d advise you do in post instead, for greater control.
Low light
While all three phones can deliver in conventional low light shooting scenarios, like nights out and at dusk, I wanted to see what work the image processing and sensors have to do when the lights get low. As such, we shot in a windowless room with the door almost completely shut – to the point where I could only just make out the plants on the wall with the naked eye.
First, here’s the scene with the lights on, to serve as a baseline for what each phone’s low light and Night modes are striving for.
The scene before the lights were turned off (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Night mode off
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Low light capture without Night mode proved (unsurprisingly) challenging for all three phones. The iPhone cranked the ISO up to retain the most sharpness and detail, at the expense of exhibiting the most sensor noise.
With Google’s well-established prowess with Night Sight, the Pixel didn’t even try here; creating a sort of pink sludgy shot with such underwhelming detail and color information that it looked like it was shot using infrared.
The S24 Ultra made the best of a bad situation, offering sharper detail than the Pixel and less noise than the iPhone in exchange for its characteristic green tint across the scene.
Night mode on
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Flipping to Night mode, the Samsung showed the least improvement; struggling to recover much color detail or improve exposure much over the standard low light sample.
The iPhone boasted the fastest Night mode capture time and produced a usable shot with good detail but poor dynamic range. Not to mention it added a yellow hue to the scene.
The Pixel, meanwhile, moved from the back to the front of the pack, by being able to render a shot that looked like it was taken in a lit room. It’s still dim, sure, but there’s clear definition in the subject, tangible detail in the shadows and you can tell that the leaves on the plants are, in fact, green.
Portrait mode
Portrait mode using the main cameras on each phone yielded some interesting results. Both Android phones struggled to segment Vic from the background cleanly, while the iPhone over-softened her slightly in both scenarios.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
In all three phones’ images, the level of bokeh looked too extreme as standard, with the iPhone offering the most effective adjustment over this attribute after capture. The Pixel won the award for subject detail, while the S24 Ultra managed the most accurate colors.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
While all three phones crop in by default, the Pixel locks you into a 1.5x zoom as standard. You can punch much further out with the Galaxy and iPhone.
Selfies
All these shots are taken using each phone’s front camera, with a mix of Portrait mode enabled or disabled, depending on the sample.
Image 1 of 12
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The Pixel’s tendency to increase contrast and under-expose in bright conditions carried across to its front 10.5MP camera. The iPhone and Galaxy’s 12MP selfie snappers were brighter and retained more face detail in direct comparison.
The S24 captured the narrowest field of view and had that characteristic green tint but offered the best overall composition – covering color, contrast and detail capture. The iPhone once again won for edge detection around challenging elements like hair and offering the most natural-looking bokeh, even if shots erred on the cooler side once more.
Video
Finishing with video capture, our 4K 60fps test footage revealed that, while close, the iPhone’s stabilization and autofocus tracking ruled supreme, but that color and contrast take a nosedive compared to the still shots the phone can produce.
The S24 Ultra over-exposed and over-sharpened footage but did the best job at filtering out wind noise. The Pixel came out on top, even without leaning on its AI-enhanced Video Boost feature.
Not only did footage more closely match still photo quality and fidelity, but provided you’re happy with the degree to which it punches in, you get a warmer and more filmic image overall, with attractive depth of field from that main 50MP sensor.
It’s worth noting that if you’re looking for a new phone to slot into a content capture workflow, the iPhone arguably has the best codecs and toolset, with Samsung’s flagship offering has the highest degree of control at capture.
Conclusion
So with these titans thoroughly tested, we can’t say there’s a clear-cut champ but rather the winner depends on which photographic qualities matter most to you. Are you a fan of the Pixel’s Night mode photography, or more a lover of the iPhone’s bokeh? Perhaps the sheer breadth of features and versatility offered by the S24 Ultra gets your vote.
Whichever device made the most convincing argument, just know that you’re getting one of the industry’s best right now.
But Apple doesn’t simply ape the tech of others. While it may be slow at adopting the features of others, think 120Hz displays and USB-C, it tends to offer better implementation; though one might argue Apple didn’t do enough with the move to USB-C on its iPhone 15 models.
So that has me thinking of how Apple could use generative AI to stand out from the rest of our picks for the best phones. Some of the below may be wishful thinking and wild speculation but other bits are born out of educated hypotheses.
Generative AI built into Siri
(Image credit: Apple)
I’ve never been a big Siri user, preferring smarter and more capable virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. But Siri has been getting smarter and I feel there’s an opportunity to give the assistant a shot of smarts by injecting it with generative AI.
With phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra, generative AI is implemented into select apps or exists as a dedicated tool – think Circle to Search or the Magic Editor. But you can’t ask the likes of Bixby or the Google Assistant to edit a photo for you or provide natural language descriptions of what’s happening on screen; at least not yet.
But if Apple could bake generative AI models into Siri, we could have an assistant who could answer such queries as “come up with a plan for my day based on my emails” or “draw me a picture of a dog on the moon”, or more likely “edit this photo for me”.
Doing that not only makes using such AI features feel seamless, it could also go some way to demystify the use of generative AI for non-tech-savvy users. And knowing how Apple presents and markets such tech, I could see such a move proving very popular.
Smart video editing
(Image credit: Apple)
Magic Editor on the Pixel 8 and Generative Edit on the Galaxy S24 phones are two powerful, if not perfect, generative AI tools. They let you recompile a photo without needing Photoshop knowledge. But arguably people are so skilled with mobile photography and built-in editing tools that such a feature could be mildly redundant.
So Apple could blaze a path by using generative AI with videos. Imagine smartly generating clips from a video either by using an AI-powered editor or simply asking Siri to create a reel out of video footage; such a feature could be massively useful for content creators.
Since iPhones tend to lead the way for videos in the smartphone arena, I can absolutely see Apple using generative AI to keep its lead and continue to be the video champion of our best camera phones list.
(Image credit: Apple)
AI-powered language translation isn’t new, but generative AI has helped deliver better and real-time translations via phones like the Pixel 8. Apple lags behind here somewhat, so it would make sense to embrace AI live transactions at a granular level, with the ability to translate verbal conversations.
But it could go further, say, with Siri automatically detecting different languages and serving up responses. Or perhaps AI tech could smartly switch the language of a phone to that of a native speaker when showing someone an email or block of text.
Clever call screening
(Image credit: Ronstik / Shutterstock)
Call screening with generative AI-powered responses is something some of the best Android phones can offer. So it’s about time Apple did the same.
I adore using my iPhone 15 Pro Max, but as some spam calls make it through, I’d appreciate a smart call-screening feature that could serve up polite but direct responses without my intervention.
Supercharged Maps
Apple Maps is no longer the dud it used to be when compared to Google Maps, but I’d still like it to have smarter features.
In this case, I’d like generative AI built in so I could pose natural language queries to the app and get back recommendations and guidance based on what I want to see, where I am, the time I have to spend, and my budget. Such tools could even see me drop my use of Google Maps, something I’d never normally entertain.
Google Pixel phones look set to get a new smart feature called “look up” which allows you to identify unknown callers.
Tipster Assembler Debug spotted the feature in the Google Phone app beta version 127.0.620688474, and explained how it captures an unknown number in the ‘Recents’ tab of the app, which when selected prompts users to select an appropriate app like Google Search to check the web for the number.
This should then serve up results for an unidentified number query and help users discover who’s been calling. For now, the look up feature appears to work best for finding businesses that have listed details online rather than private individuals and scam callers.
This currently limits the feature’s use, but hopefully we’ll see the integration of features like automatically filtering and blocking untrustworthy calls in the final version, like those seen in apps like Truecaller, which prevent potential fraudsters.
The look up feature went live in Japan as part of the March Feature Drop and could roll out globally in the next drop, which is expected to be around May/June.
Google Pixel Phone app to get ‘Lookup’ feature to identify recent unknown callers and some UI tweaks for the emergency in-call screenRead – https://t.co/QSHpOqzlV1🏳️ Flags are shared in the post for rooted users ✓#Google #Android pic.twitter.com/gIMJhT8dNXApril 5, 2024
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Pixel connectivity problems
Google Pixel phones are often the first to receive the latest smart features and frequent updates, however, they’re also known for having more glitches and software hiccups, such as the update that led to users needing to wipe their phones back in January.
The flip side of having access to the latest features like look up is that it can also occasionally lead to more serious problems like the connection issues some Pixel owners claim to have been experiencing since the March 2024 update.
This intermittent connection problem is preventing some Pixel users from being able to receive calls and is causing text messages to arrive delayed. According to posts on the Google Support forums and Reddit, the connectivity problem appears to be affecting Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 series users worldwide and across multiple networks.
One Reedit user says phone calls on his Pixel 7 Pro are going straight to voicemail without the phone ringing. He also says text messages are coming through in batches throughout the day and not when they were sent.
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This leads to suddenly receiving multiple voicemails for calls and delayed text responses from multiple individuals and group messages that were sent over the previous two to three hours, causing him to miss important calls.
Several other users have said they are experiencing the same problem and have tried workarounds. One of these suggestions involves cycling between turning airplane mode on/off to get their reception back, which worked with limited success. Some users also claim a factory reset has worked, while others say it hasn’t solved the issue, which certainly points to the problem being on Google’s end.
Google Forum user Gazaka claims Google suggested: “Go to settings > about phone > Send feedback about this device and report there with the phone logs”. This apparently will lead to engineers checking the information, followed by a fix on the next patch update, which the user says is roughly the fifth of each month.
We contacted Google for comment on this story and will update it when we hear back.
For now, no permanent solution for everyone has been found, and Pixel users will need to keep a close eye on their phones for messages and missed calls until a fix is found.
The Google Pixel 8a isn’t much of a secret at this stage. A new batch of leaks gives further evidence of the handset’s existence and tells us the specs and the design we can look forward to in the upcoming mid-range phone.
Well-known tipster Yogesh Brar (via Android Authority) has posted several specs for the phone, as well as a price estimate of $500 – $550 (that’s about £395 – £435 / AU$760 – AU$835). As for the phone, we can expect a 6.1-inch, 120Hz, OLED screen, a Tensor G3 chip, as well as 128GB and 256GB storage options.
Google Pixel 8a- 6.1″ FHD+ OLED, 120Hz- Tensor G3- 128/256GB storage- 64MP (OIS) + 13MP (UW)- 13MP selfie- Android 14- 4,500mAh (~)- 27W chargingLaunch: May ($500-550)What are your price expectations?April 5, 2024
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Apparently, there’s a dual-lens 64MP+13MP camera around the back and a 13MP selfie camera on the front, with power provided by a 4,500mAh battery. Those specs match up well with the Google Pixel 8, though we assume the new phone will come with cheaper materials and a few other compromises to hit a lower price.
The leak lends more credence to some of the earlier rumors we’ve seen, including one about the 120Hz screen on the Pixel 8a. As you’ll see from our full Google Pixel 8 review, that handset retails at $699 / £699 / AU$1,199, so there may not be too much to choose between these phones when the Pixel 8a appears.
Google hints
This couldn’t be the Pixel 8a, could it? (Image credit: Google)
There are a couple of other leaks to tell you about. One, as spotted by MySmartPrice, suggests several Pixel 8a models have now shown up in the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) database. This doesn’t tell us too much, other than that a launch is getting closer.
And lastly, it seems Google is getting in on the leaks. As spotted by GSMArena and others, a new Google Fi Wireless advert shows a phone that doesn’t exactly match the Pixel 8 design, leading to some speculation that this is the Pixel 8a. Of course, it might just be a mockup of a generic Pixel phone.
The biggest changes this year could be around the phone’s design, because leaked renders have pointed to larger bezels and curvier corners. Those extra curves also appeared in a separate leak, making it easier to believe this is the final Pixel 8a design.
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This week has arguably the best set of Google Pixel 8 deals we’ve ever seen on both the standard Pixel 8 and the more premium Pixel 8 Pro.
For example, at Amazon you can get the 8 for a rock-bottom price of just $499 (was $699) and the Pro for just $749 (was $999). Both of these are record-low prices at the retailer and a superb option if you’re looking to bag an unlocked device without the usual carrier plan.
Even cheaper still is Mint Mobile’s massive price cuts of up to $300 this week, which get you to the standard Pixel 8 for just $399 and the Pixel 8 Pro for $720 alongside a six-month plan. While you’ll still need to buy a plan to be eligible for this particular promotion, Mint’s also throwing in six months of service for free to sweeten the deal for new customers.
Finally, for those who are willing to go with a big carrier, we’d highly recommend Verizon’s current deal, which offers the standard Pixel 8 for free alongside a new line on an unlimited data plan. The carrier is also throwing in a 65-inch 4K TV worth $600 alongside the device right now, which is one of the best freebies you’ll find anywhere on the carrier’s site – you will still have to pay for that pricey unlimited plan, though.
You can read more about these Google Pixel 8 deals just down below or head on over to our main cell phone deals page for options on other devices.
I’ve been a long-time fan of Pixel phones, but Google made a major change to the camera experience on the latest Pixel 8 Pro that effectively broke one of its most convenient features; and while I’ve patiently waited for a fix, it looks like Google has committed to leaving users in the lurch, rather than undoing its mistake.
I’ve reviewed at least one entry of every generation of the best Pixel phones since Google debuted the series back in 2016, and the camera is what keeps me coming back; so much so that I’ve mainlined one of Google’s smartphones since the Pixel 4 XL. My experience with the Pixel 8 Pro, however, is soured every time a simple camera UI tweak that Google has made stops me from getting the shot I want.
The Pixel 7 Pro has proven to be one of the company’s most capable phones yet, and while the jump to the Pixel 8 Pro brought better performance, an aesthetic refinement, more AI functionality and more impressive imaging hardware, I wasn’t enamored with the camera experience compared to that of its predecessor right out the gate.
If it ain’t broke… break it?
This is partly down to the revised image processing pipeline, which produces distinctly different images compared to the Pixel 7 Pro. This may be a result of the Pixel imaging team having to adjust to the 8 Pro’s new sensor hardware – but that doesn’t absolve them of the newest model’s added ‘Pro Controls’, which consolidate management over ISO, shutter speed, focus, white balance, shadows, and brightness.
The Pixel 7 Pro’s manual control layout (left) and the Pixel 8 Pro’s Pro Controls (right) (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
While bringing this functionality under a single menu might seem like a refinement between generations, the move actually results in more steps being required when it comes to the critical moment of capture. With the Pixel 7 Pro, a tap on your subject while framing up was all it took to bring up sliders for white balance, shadows, and brightness; you could then adjust each value on the fly from within the viewfinder, instantly.
By incorporating these adjustments into the Pro Controls along the bottom of the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera UI, the new layout requires more taps and swipes, not to mention the need to switch in and out of each slider individually. If all you’re trying to shoot is a static landscape this change doesn’t really matter all that much, but for those occasions when you have only a few fleeting moments to grab your shot – most likely of a moving subject – forget it.
Google bills the Pixel 8 Pro’s Pro Controls as a premium upgrade, but those who were familiar with the Pixel 7 Pro’s interface will likely consider the change anything but that. To add to the sting, in the pursuit of consistency across generations the subsequent Android 14 update to the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera app has hidden those white balance, shadows, and brightness sliders under a similar UI change (ISO, focus and shutter speed controls aren’t available on the 7 Pro), meaning that now nobody can enjoy what was one of the best features of the recent Pixel camera experience.
More unhappy customers
While it might seem like I’m blowing this seemingly small change out of proportion, a quick scout around online brings up numerous testimonies that echo my sentiment; change for change’s sake is the wrong way to implement an upgrade, especially if it’s at the user’s expense.
Android Authority‘s Rita El Khoury appears to have similar feelings, while numerous users on the r/GooglePixel subreddit have also noted Google’s bad call here. Original poster andrewhahalee said, “now you need 4 taps to turn on manual mode, scroll the bottom, tap the option and then adjust,” while user 465468 said, “Major step in the wrong direction…I think it’s a damn shame and really can’t understand how they would come up with that change.”
As such, while both the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro remain among some of the best camera phones available right now, it would appear that it’s not competitors Pixel photography fans need to be aware of – it’s Google.
