To experience the main strength of the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro you would have to travel in time, move forward into the future until 2030 and see how they behave. This is because Google’s new smartphones are the first on the market with operating system updates promised for 7 years, up to 2030 and Android 21.
This thing we were unable to verify it, so during our test we dedicated ourselves to other things, to understand how the two phones behave in everyday use, how they take photos and whether the new features linked to artificial intelligence are really useful or not. To understand if the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are worth the money they cost, which this year is more than last year: for the first one it starts from 799 eurosfor the second from 1099.
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Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, the technical characteristics
Aesthetically, the two phones are very similar, both in choice of materials used both in the design of the rear part, crossed at the top by the characteristic horizontal band inside which the cameras are placed. Which are two for the Pixel 8 and three for the Pixel 8 Pro: for both, the principal is 50 MP, while that ultragrandangolare it is 12 MP on the smallest and 48 MP on the largest, which is the only one to also have a lens zoomoptical up to 5x and digital up to 30x.
The Pro is noticeably larger: lo screen is 6.7″, it is of the Ltpo type and has a peak brightness of up to 2400 nits. The display of the Pixel 8 is smaller and is also smaller than that of the Pixel 7, which was already smaller than that of the Pixel 6: it drops to 6.2″ (but finally with refresh up to 120 Hz), which is a curious choice but not an obstacle in everyday life.
For both, the processor is new Tensor G3 made by Google, which in our tests of use seemed less prone to overheating than the previous G2, despite the fact that this time we decided to use phones with covers, which somewhat complicates heat dissipation. We did it because this year the cases are really, really beautiful and well made: we really liked the colors and above all we liked the interior trim (the one that is in contact with the phone), made of a material that resembles velvet to the touch. They may seem like details, but Apple teaches that a good range of accessories undoubtedly contributes to the appeal and success of a product.
The lock screen of the new Pixels, very pleasant and refined
The Pixel 8 and Pixel Pro in everyday use
Obviously this works if the product is already valid, which it is new Pixels in fact they are, as the previous ones were basically but in some ways more than the previous ones: in daily operations, the Pixel 8 seemed quite more responsive than the Pixel 7 which we placed him alongside, to do the same things but doing them better.
It is not clear whether it is due to the RAM (8 GB on the small one, 12 GB on the large one), the new processor, a better optimization or a combination of all these things. It’s a bit of a sensation but it’s not just a sensation: the screen is better and can be seen very well even under direct light, the battery offers greater autonomy (with the Pixel 8 we spent over two days on it with 3 hours of use ) and in general the whole user experience has made decisive steps forward. It’s also thanks to the software, as always happens with Pixels: the 2023 ones already arrive with Android 14, which is a further refinement compared to the already pleasant Android 13. The customization part has been further enhanced (impossible not to notice the references to iPhones) even with the use of artificial intelligence (we wrote about it here), there are new options for notifications, more ringtones, more options to manage the security of the device and to keep an eye on the behavior of the various apps and also support for Ultra HDR for photos. In general, the operating system is clean and streamlined, minimal enough and, together with Nothing’s, it’s our favorite at the moment in the Android world.
To sum up, these they really look like the Pixels of maturitythe ones with which Google exits the niche, the ones not only intended for nuts and nerds willing to accept some sacrifice, but attractive to everyone and accessible to everyone, also thanks to the fact that this year they are on sale (as well as on Amazon and the Google Store online) also in Vodafone and Unieuro stores.
A Pixel 8 Pro (left) next to a Pixel 7 Pro
Focus: how the Pixel 8 Pro takes photos
This is also the case because these phones confirm a important feature which unites all those that preceded them and is fundamental for many users: they take excellent photos, and they take them practically without effort.
There are on both lots of software features (like the one for group photos)but it is on the Pixel 8 Pro that everything is taken to the extreme: slightly lower, a tad wider, very slightly thicker than the Pixel 7 Pro, it has slightly squarer edges, the glass back is no longer shiny but frosted and less sensitive to fingerprints and on the back also the sensor to detect the temperatureabsent on the more compact model.
Rear part where the 3 cameras, as mentioned: according to Google, they collect more light than those of the 7 Pro, and this should guarantee better photos and videos in low light conditions. The sensors also change, especially the ultra-wide angle one, which is larger. For years, a Mountain View they used a single lens, masterfully bridging the hardware limitations with the software: today, however, even from this point of view the Pixel 8 Pro is perfectly aligned with its competitors.
Ma it’s still a Google phone, and so here computational photography is pushed to the highest levels. The two fundamental principles on which the Pixel algorithms work have to do with time and space: in reference to the first, they never take a single photo, but combine several shots in very rapid succession to increase the quality of the final result, for example with HDR (but also in a sometimes more invasive way); as for space, they work on the entire sensor but combine the pixels in groups of 4, or use only the central part to obtain a good quality 2x optical zoom.
More: the new Pro mode it offers more experienced photographers much greater control over the various parameters, therefore not only brightness and contrast, but also shutter speed, ISO level, white balance and focus. Images can be recorded in Jpeg o Jpeg e Rawlet the lens choice be automatic or set it manually, choose 12 or 48 MP resolution.
And at the end images and videos are excellent, as expected, but the point is not so much that the Pixel 8 Pro takes beautiful photos, but what it allows us to do after we have taken them: already last year, Google had included powerful photo editing tools, but now with artificial intelligence that that it is possible to do has something magical about it. Not one of the tools for nothing is called Magic Eraser: allows you to delete people and objects, but also to move and resize them, as well as reconstructing missing parts. Nothing that couldn’t be done with Photoshop about ten years ago, but back then you needed a powerful computer, a professional monitor and above all a photo editing expert. Now one finger is enough and a few seconds: the result is almost always good and often excellent, only in some cases are processing artefacts noticeable.
And the essence of the photographic experience with the Pixels seemed to us to be this: do more or less everything and do it with simplicity, without having to adopt particular tricks or know how to do it, in the pure point-and-click style typical of smartphones. Because these Pixels are still Pixels, even if they are no longer the Pixels of 7 years ago.
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What we liked
7 years of updates software
photo high quality
characteristics of display
availability of accessories
What we didn’t like