Wednesday, October 4th 2023

Google Announces the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro

Meet Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, engineered by Google and built with AI at the center for a more helpful and personal experience. These phones are packed with first-of-their-kind features, all powered by Google Tensor G3. And they'll get seven years of software updates, including Android OS upgrades, security updates and regular Feature Drops. Take a closer look at the new phones—everything from the beautiful design and new sensors to updated cameras.

A polished look made for your everyday
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are elegantly designed with softer silhouettes, beautiful metal finishes and recycled materials. Pixel 8, with its contoured edges and smaller size than Pixel 7, feels great in your hand. It has a 6.2-inch Actua display, which gives you real-world clarity and is 42% brighter than Pixel 7's display. Pixel 8 features satin metal finishes, a polished glass back and comes in Rose, Hazel and Obsidian.
Pixel 8 Pro's 6.7-inch Super Actua display features our brightest display yet. So even in direct sunlight, you'll love how true-to-life your ultra HDR images look. It also has a matte glass back with a polished aluminium frame and comes in three colors: Porcelain, Bay and Obsidian.

And on the back of the Pixel 8 Pro, a new temperature sensor lets you quickly scan an object to get its temperature. Use it to check if your pan is hot enough to start cooking or if the milk in your baby's bottle is at the right temperature. We've also submitted an application to the FDA, to enable Pixel's Thermometer App to take your temperature and save it to Fitbit.

More camera improvements
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro feature powerful, upgraded camera systems for stunning photo and video quality, plus game-changing editing tools.

Every camera on the Pixel 8 Pro has been upgraded, starting with the main camera that captures better photos and videos in low-light settings. The bigger ultrawide lens delivers even better Macro Focus, the telephoto lens captures 56% more light and takes 10x photos at optical quality, and the front-facing camera now has autofocus for the best selfies on a Pixel phone.

And Pixel 8 has the same updated main camera, plus a new ultrawide lens that enables Macro Focus.

The camera app has an intuitive, redesigned interface, letting you quickly find and capture content in your favorite photo and video modes. And for Pixel 8 Pro, you'll have access to Pro Controls, giving you more creative control of the Pixel Camera with settings like shutter speed, ISO, 50 MP photos throughout the zoom range and more.

We've all been in that situation where you have the perfect group photo, but someone isn't looking at the camera. Best Take uses the photos you did take to get the photo you thought you took. To make that happen, an on-device algorithm creates a blended image from a series of photos to get everyone's best look.

Magic Editor in Google Photos is a new experimental editing experience that uses generative AI to help you bring your photos in line with the essence of the moment you were trying to capture. You can reposition and resize subjects or use presets to make the background pop—all with just a few taps.

Audio Magic Eraser lets you easily reduce distracting sounds in your video, like howling winds or noisy crowds. This first-of-its-kind computational audio capability uses advanced machine learning models to sort sounds into distinct layers so you can control their levels.

Later this year, Pixel 8 Pro will get Video Boost, which pairs Tensor G3 with our powerful data centers to apply cutting-edge processing to your videos. It adjusts color, lighting, stabilization and graininess, and the result is stunning videos that look true to life. Video Boost also enables Night Sight Video on Pixel for better low-light smartphone video quality.

Features to help you save time and get things done
Now you can quickly get more context and dive deeper into a webpage. With Summarize, Pixel can generate a summary of a webpage, so you can quickly understand the key points. And your Pixel can even read aloud and translate webpages for you so you can listen to articles on the go.

Pixel is even better at understanding the nuances of human speech, so you can talk to it more naturally to get things done. If you take a pause or say "um," it will wait until you're done before responding. Use your voice to quickly type, edit and send messages, even if you speak multiple languages.

And with improved AI, Call Screen now helps you receive 50% fewer spam calls on average. It will silently answer calls from unknown numbers with a more natural-sounding voice to engage the caller. It's also smart enough to separate the calls you want from the calls you don't. And soon, Call Screen will suggest contextual replies for you to tap to quickly respond to simple calls, like appointment confirmations, without having to answer the phone.

7 years of updates to keep you and your personal information secure
Google Tensor G3 works with the Titan M2 security chip to protect personal information and make your Pixel more resilient to sophisticated attacks. And now, Face Unlock on Pixel 8 meets the highest Android biometric class, allowing you to access compatible banking and payment apps like Google Wallet.

With Pixel, you receive exclusive features and updates that keep your phone getting better over time. For the first time, we're providing seven years of software support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro—including OS upgrades, security updates and regular Feature Drops.

Pre-order your phone today or get it on shelf starting October 12
Pre-order Pixel 8 today starting at $699 and Pixel 8 Pro from $999. If you pre-order a Pixel 8 Pro, you'll get a Pixel Watch 2 on us. You can also pre-order the new Pixel phones on Google Fi Wireless and get their best deals yet. Plus, enjoy flexible, secure phone plans that include full connectivity for the Pixel Watch 2 at no additional cost.

Both devices, plus cases from us and our partners, will be available at the Google Store and our retail partners beginning October 12.

Source: Google
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29 Comments on Google Announces the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro

#1
Unregistered
Still uses an optical fingerprint sensor :/
Gotta be the only thing I'd say is actually "bad" about the user experience I've had with the 7.
#2
Leiesoldat
lazy gamer & woodworker
At the rate that Google kills products within the company, I'm not convinced that 7 years of support will actually be honored. Adding to that, my wife's Pixel 6 started having hardware issues less than 6 months after purchase. I'm inclined to get her a Samsung Galaxy or something comparable in the next go around.
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#3
AnotherReader
The seven years of updates is very welcome. If they keep this up, I may very well switch back to Android when my iPhone XR stops getting updates.
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#4
TheLostSwede
News Editor
Double-ClickStill uses an optical fingerprint sensor :/
Gotta be the only thing I'd say is actually "bad" about the user experience I've had with the 7.
Not really had an issues with my Pixel 6, but I guess it varies between phones and users.
LeiesoldatAt the rate that Google kills products within the company, I'm not convinced that 7 years of support will actually be honored. Adding to that, my wife's Pixel 6 started having hardware issues less than 6 months after purchase. I'm inclined to get her a Samsung Galaxy or something comparable in the next go around.
I've had exactly zero issues with my Pixel 6. Not saying people aren't having issues, but likewise with my old Asus ZenFone 6, saw lots of reports with people having issues, I had none and passed it on to a friend and he's had zero issues in the year he's had it.
Posted on Reply
#5
AnotherReader
TheLostSwedeNot really had an issues with my Pixel 6, but I guess it varies between phones and users.


I've had exactly zero issues with my Pixel 6. Not saying people aren't having issues, but likewise with my old Asus ZenFone 6, saw lots of reports with people having issues, I had none and passed it on to a friend and he's had zero issues in the year he's had it.
My wife's Pixel 3A still works fine. She dropped it and broke its screen shortly after buying it, but that isn't the phone's fault. As far as killing products is concerned, the Pixel is the successor to the Nexus line so Google branded phones have been around since 2010. It's rather unlikely that they will kill such a long lived line of products.
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#6
Unregistered
TheLostSwedeNot really had an issues with my Pixel 6, but I guess it varies between phones and users.
I'd say the hit rate on my Pixel 7's optical sensor is somewhere around 70% which is isn't great (and if you're at the gym forget it).
I was definitely spoiled by Samsung's ultrasonic one, it's faster and way more accurate.
#7
dir_d
LeiesoldatAt the rate that Google kills products within the company, I'm not convinced that 7 years of support will actually be honored. Adding to that, my wife's Pixel 6 started having hardware issues less than 6 months after purchase. I'm inclined to get her a Samsung Galaxy or something comparable in the next go around.
My Pixel 6 Pro is still ticking strong. Even though it is slow by current standards its still more than enough.
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#8
Chomiq
I really hate the camera humps on new phones. At least this one goes all the way across the device so it should wobble as much as other design.
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#9
unwind-protect
The "free Pixel watch" is confusing. Once you go to the store the narrative changes to "$200 off a Pixel watch".
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#10
Dristun
Never change Google. Every time they skimp on something. How much margin would have they lost by going with an ultrasonic fp sensor, 0-120hz adaptive screen and ufs4 storage? Hell, just make it $799 for 256GB instead of $759 and make the experience that last *little bit* better!
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#11
TheLostSwede
News Editor
unwind-protectThe "free Pixel watch" is confusing. Once you go to the store the narrative changes to "$200 off a Pixel watch".
Only the 8 Pro comes with a free watch. Might vary country to coutry as well.
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#12
Garrus
Ayn Odin has Snapdragon Gen 2 for $300... Google charges $700 for a phone with a 3 year old chip in performance... even Samsung is getting in the action with the S23 FE using Gen 1 (not even Gen 1 plus).

What is happening to these companies.

Apple or Chinese phones only I guess.
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#13
dir_d
GarrusAyn Odin has Snapdragon Gen 2 for $300... Google charges $700 for a phone with a 3 year old chip in performance... even Samsung is getting in the action with the S23 FE using Gen 1 (not even Gen 1 plus).

What is happening to these companies.

Apple or Chinese phones only I guess.
Performance isn't everything with phones now these days. I really think that metric shouldn't be held so high now these days. If you are heavily embedded in the google ecosystem they are the best phones.
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#14
Luke357
AnotherReaderMy wife's Pixel 3A still works fine. She dropped it and broke its screen shortly after buying it, but that isn't the phone's fault. As far as killing products is concerned, the Pixel is the successor to the Nexus line so Google branded phones have been around since 2010. It's rather unlikely that they will kill such a long lived line of products.
The Nexus line was the best phone series ever. They shot themselves in the foot with the Pixel line with their poor hardware choices. The Nexus 6 was peak smartphone.
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#15
Nephilim666
What a limp-wristed launch.

Same ridiculously bad modem, same ridiculously bad fingerprint reader. Literally the only two complaints I have about the Pixel 6 Pro but they are very annoying.

Oh but at least they increased the price.

Hard pass.
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#16
Dave65
Got the Pixel 7 Pro and a Samsung s23 Ultra, love both phones but my daily driver is the Pixel, I love it and have done the pre order for the new one.. And the free watch:D
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#17
Naito
Bit of a yawn over the Pixel 7 Pro, particularly when considering the price increases...
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#18
TheinsanegamerN
dir_dPerformance isn't everything with phones now these days. I really think that metric shouldn't be held so high now these days. If you are heavily embedded in the google ecosystem they are the best phones.
Except that performance often mean efficiency. The tensor cores are not only slower, but hot AF, which google "claims" the g3 fixes. They also claim to value your privacy.

If you are heavily vested in the google system, they are not the best. Motorolas offer far superior battery life, and samsungs dex and external display support blows google out of the water. Both will outperform this turd too.
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#19
kondamin
Disappointed by the Samsung fe and now this thing that brings nothing new.
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#20
mechtech
AnotherReaderThe seven years of updates is very welcome. If they keep this up, I may very well switch back to Android when my iPhone XR stops getting updates.
My iphone 8 is still getting updates!! *knock on wood* lol
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#21
TheinsanegamerN
Nephilim666What a limp-wristed launch.

Same ridiculously bad modem, same ridiculously bad fingerprint reader. Literally the only two complaints I have about the Pixel 6 Pro but they are very annoying.

Oh but at least they increased the price.

Hard pass.
Exactly. The pixel 8 fixes nothing from the 7, but jacks up the price. And we're supposed to like this? Apple gets roasted for this behavior but google gets a free pass for....reasons.
Posted on Reply
#22
trsttte
TheLostSwedeNot really had an issues with my Pixel 6, but I guess it varies between phones and users.


I've had exactly zero issues with my Pixel 6. Not saying people aren't having issues, but likewise with my old Asus ZenFone 6, saw lots of reports with people having issues, I had none and passed it on to a friend and he's had zero issues in the year he's had it.
AnotherReaderMy wife's Pixel 3A still works fine. She dropped it and broke its screen shortly after buying it, but that isn't the phone's fault. As far as killing products is concerned, the Pixel is the successor to the Nexus line so Google branded phones have been around since 2010. It's rather unlikely that they will kill such a long lived line of products.
My Pixel 5 is also still kicking with 0 issues. I don't know but to me the issues always seem greatly exaggerated.
ChomiqI really hate the camera humps on new phones. At least this one goes all the way across the device so it should wobble as much as other design.
The overall design of the current pixel line up is very weird, I'm going to try and wait for the pixel 9 before I upgrade, maybe they'll change the design language to something more sensible and understated. The cadence would seem about right, the first 3 pixel's had a similar-ish design, the 4 was cool and different (and sadly very flawed because of the small batery and soli radar experiment), 5 went back to basics and now we get 3 years of the same-ish design. The 9 is due for a change, let's just hope it's not a flawed change like the 4 :ohwell:
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#23
TumbleGeorge
GarrusAyn Odin has Snapdragon Gen 2
What? SD 845 is in specs for $300 old "Pro" model. We have not indications for that price to be for Odin 2...
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#24
Unregistered
No charger in the box, slow charging, no under screen camera... seems only Chinese manufacturers are innovating.
#25
TheinsanegamerN
ChomiqI really hate the camera humps on new phones. At least this one goes all the way across the device so it should wobble as much as other design.
All because Apple did it to make their phones thinner. The camera hump should not exist.
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