The Google Pixel 8 Pro has finally launched in India, and it has been our primary mobile phone for the past few weeks. The design of the phone looks similar to the previous iteration but has evolved. However, the internals of the smartphone have been improved. It is now being powered by the latest generation of the Tensor G3. Moreover, this time the Titan M2 security co-processor has been designed specifically to bring forth Google’s AI features. Regarding the camera, only the primary and selfie sensors have received an upgrade. With it, the rest of the Pixel phones this year are all about AI. So, here is our in-depth review of Google Pixel 8 Pro.
In This Article
Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Design and Display
As we mentioned above, it may not look like the Google Pixel 8 Pro has received any design changes, but the look and feel of the phone are different from last year’s Pixel 7 Pro. On good thing we need to point out is that the Pixel 8 Pro has been made out of recycled material. With its softer shapes and exquisite metal finishes, it now has a more refined appearance.
The edges of the device are curved and rounded, unlike the flat corners of its predecessor. The curved edges make it incredibly comfortable to grasp. We have the Obsidian colour option for the review, but there is another colour variant that consumers can buy. The Pixel 8 Pro features a matte glass back and a temperature sensor that lets you quickly scan an object to get its temperature.
The shiny texture on the Pixel from last year attracted fingerprints, so we had to constantly wipe it down with a cloth to keep it clean. But this is not the case this time. The Pixel 8 Pro has a matte glass finish. It appears to be amazing. A glossy, distinctive camera bar combined with a matte rear makes for the ideal combination.
Also Read: OnePlus Open Review: It can really open up to you
The matte surface makes the camera module stand out. But when the dust accumulates around the camera module, it makes it look dirty. Because of the camera bump, the upper portion of the phone slants when placed on a level surface. But the good thing is that it is stable and does not wobble. For protection, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is layered on both the front and the back.
The right side of the frame has a power button and a volume rocker. The SIM tray is located on the opposite side (a single nano SIM card tray supports an e-sim and a physical SIM). There are two grilles: one is a speaker, and the other is a microphone. In between them, there is a USB Type-C port at the bottom. An antenna and a noise-cancelling microphone are given on top.
The back of the phone is integrated with a new temperature sensor. It allows you to get the temperature of an object by scanning it.
Coming to the display, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is highlighted with a 6.7-inch Super Actua display with 1,344 x 2,992 resolution. Additionally, it offers a 20:9 aspect ratio and an adaptive refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz. The maximum brightness of the LTPO OLED is 2,400 nits. Glass Victus 2 from Corning Gorilla Glass protects the front panel.
The display on the phone supports 2K resolution. Note that the Pixel 8 Pro boasts the brightest smartphone screen at 2,400 nits. The screen is quite bright outside in the sun, too.
The display looks stunning, and the bezels around the display are super slim and uniform. There is no noticeable chin at the bottom.
The colour reproduction of the display is accurate, and the contrast and white balance are superb. The Pixel phone responds to touch inputs quickly.
The 120 Hz refresh rate feature provides the display with smoothness and fluidity. Depending on the media being played, the phone’s adaptive refresh rate enables it to automatically switch between 30Hz and 120Hz. Furthermore, there were neither jitters nor stutters during our testing. We enjoyed watching content on OTT services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Big Boss on Jio Cinema with extreme excellence.
The speakers are loud, and the sound quality is good. It is good enough for watching videos and listening to your favourite audio playlists.
The fingerprint sensor is also placed perfectly on the flat display. Although it unlocks the iPhone quickly, the fingerprint sensor is not ultrasonic.
Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Performance and Cameras
Moving on to the performance. Under the hood, there is a Tensor G3 SoC with a Titan M2 security coprocessor inside, as said.
Surprisingly, this India variant is available with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. At this price, one would hope for at least 256GB or 512GB storage, which other premium smartphones are sporting.
Overall, the gaming experience was very decent. On it, we played everything from normal games to high-end titles. It can play the majority of demanding games, including Call of Duty: Mobile, BGMI, and Asphalt 9. Keep in mind that the phone slowed down a bit, and we encountered a temperature issue. Even though November has arrived and it’s currently pretty cold in Delhi, the device is still having a bit of a heating problem when used for a prolonged time. It is highly likely that the device will overheat if you reside in a warmer climate, such as Mumbai or Chennai.
So people who do a lot of gaming, note that overheating will prevent you from getting a steady frame rate at the moment. Hopefully, the company will address this issue in its future software updates.
Also Read: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Review: Max Performance
The Pixel 8 Pro excelled at doing daily tasks like listening to music, browsing social media, casual work, and binge-watching.
Here you get a clean Android experience, so no additional or annoying apps except for Google services you will see on this device.
The Pixel 8 Pro runs on Android 14 out of the box. The company has promised to provide seven years of OS upgrades and security updates. This phone also has the best software and a very user-friendly interface. In contrast to other customisation choices offered by other brands, the company provides Pixel-only features. Some are already here, and some might arrive later in the year.
OK, now we will get to the camera details.
So, to test the Pixel 8 Pro cameras, we clicked a lot of pictures in every scenario.
Talking about the ultra-wide-angle lens. The ultra-wide images seem slightly dull, and the sharpness level is also not what we were expecting; this needs to be improved in the next updates.
Now Google has provided a 5x dedicated zoom lens that takes good images. But you begin to see a haziness in your photos as you go from a 5x zoom to a 10x or even a 30x (which is the case in some others too). So at 5x is what we recommend to shoot at. On to the pictures taken in low light. The images have less noise, and most of the time the camera was able to take good images. However, the pics taken indoors or where there is artificial lights are even better. However, we would have preferred a little bit more brightness in the low-light photographs. We are highlighting this because the low-light images lacked a few key details when you zoom in.
In terms of videos, the Pixel 8 Pro has two modes: portrait and cinematic, both of which maximise the resolution to full HD. During the day, we observed that the video quality in various modes was okay, but in low light, there was a lot of noise.
We loved the selfies taken from the Pixel 8 Pro’s front-facing camera. The images are so close to natural, and if you follow all of our reviews, you already know how much we favour selfies that look natural. The photos have excellent HDR but aren’t very boosted. We were blown away by the quality of the selfie video as well as how well the microphone captured our voice, even when we were outdoors.
Gadget Bridge Trick: Just take a normal image and then go to the edit option to apply the portrait filter. This works better than taking a dedicated portrait shot.
Over that, the macro photographs are detailed and crisp.
Ok, this time Google has focused on artificial intelligence (AI). The majority of the company’s services and apps are now AI-compatible. For example, generative AI is the foundation of Google Photos’ Magic Editor. The editing tool makes use of generative AI to make or create new images better. But this feature is time-consuming. Yes, editing a single image does take a very long time, but over time you will get used to it and the process will be faster.
It did, however, make complex editing easier, even though it doesn’t always look realistic. So you might need to try a few times. With a few taps, you can now resize or rearrange your subject. With this, one can also change the sky’s hue and improve the background’s brightness and quality. Nevertheless, we believe that this is just the start, and we anticipate further developments for Magic Editor from Google.
Other editing tools like Best Take, Audio Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Photo Unblur are some more of the Pixel-exclusive features built on AI technology from Google Research. The company did improve Magic Eraser on the Pixel 8 Pro, and thanks to generative AI, one can now remove larger distractions.
Keep in mind that in order to use the editing tools, you must be online and have uploaded the image to Drive beforehand.
The Pixel 8 Pro packs a 4,950mAh battery along with 27W wired fast and 12W wireless charging support. Please share your thoughts about the charging speed in the comments section, because we do feel super fast charging speed is expected at this price.
You will need to buy the charger separately, as it is not included with the gadget box. Therefore, it took more than 1.5 hours for the battery to be fully charged using our old 25W charger.
But if we talk about the battery backup, however, it was over 8 hours of continuous screen time, which is not bad at all. It could provide between six and seven hours of screen time, which included regular activities like gaming, videography using social media accounts, and viewing videos on YouTube and OTT services. Keep in mind that usage determines screen time, so depending on usage, your screen time may vary. Overall, with moderate daily use the smartphone can stay alive for a full workday.
Verdict
We were really surprised with Pixel’s camera performance this time. While major smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple are upping their game in photography, there were no major changes seen here. The colour reproduction is same as before, and the pictures could have been better. While the AI implementation gave us a mixed bag of feelings, the smartphone throttles a lot, so the performance drops after a few minutes of gaming is seen right now. But as said it should be taken care of in the next software update.
Magic editing tools on this device allow you to remove or fix the position of your subject. You can also remove unwanted things from the background, or even the shadows and highlights, to give it a more realistic look. We would really like all these functions to be quicker and less time-consuming, as that is what we would expect from a flagship phone at Rs 1,06,999.
Another change that is welcomed is the support for seven years of OS upgrades and security updates can be one big reason to switch to this new Pixel phone.
