Google’s Pixel lineup of smartphones has been steadily gaining traction in sure markets when it comes to gross sales. Whereas it will not be an entire success simply but, the Pixel workforce has been constantly making important enhancements with every annual replace. With the discharge of the brand new Pixel 8 sequence, the pricing has elevated. The Google Pixel 8 is now priced at Rs. 75,999, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional is priced at Rs. 106,999. Let’s discover the developments it brings and decide whether or not it justifies the upper price ticket.
Design: The Pixel 8 very a lot carries the acquainted Pixel look that we’ve been seen from google – with a digital camera bar on the again, Google brand within the center and a considerably industrial really feel to the package deal with its aluminium frames. What’s modified, although, is it is now a bit extra curved from the edges and positively extra comfy to hold round. The front and back glass are a bit shiny however they do not catch on fingerprints and smudges that rapidly that you’d want to scrub them up each few hours. The correct aspect homes the Energy and quantity buttons – each require a bit extra stress than what we normally see on a smartphone, however it’s not an excessive amount of to be a fear in any approach. The left aspect has the SIM card tray in the direction of the underside. The highest solely has the secondary mic; whereas the underside carries the first mic, one outlet of loudspeakers and USB kind C port within the center. Bezels across the show are almost all symmetrical and provides a pleasant look to the telephone from the entrance, regardless of that digital camera notch on the highest of the 6.2-inch show (20:9 side ratio) is below Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, with the ear-speaker grille hidden subtly close to the highest. The Pixel 8 is available in Hazel, Obsidian and Rose color choices, Hazel being the one I attempted, which appears to be like extra grey-ish than green-ish in color. Additionally, it is an IP68 licensed mud and water-proof machine.
Show: Sporting a 6.2-inch full HD+ (1080×2400) OLED show with refresh charges of as much as 120Hz supported. It is a vivid show that is usable outside below direct daylight and can be capable of deal with HDR content material a bit higher than earlier than when it comes to distinction and shadow scenes typically. There’s additionally higher output for extremely HDR images, one thing that is added to the OA as properly. Seeing 90 to 120Hz charges in sure apps is sweet and you’ll inform the distinction for those who’re extra used to utilizing a 60Hz show beforehand when scrolling between these apps.
Digicam: The Pixel 8 sports activities a twin digital camera system on the again – 50MP (f/1.68) fundamental digital camera and a 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) digital camera. The digital camera pictures right here appear to be rather well stitched even in harsh lighting circumstances. Night time mode can take a bit extra time to take a shot however in any other case there’s little or no shutter lag to be seen right here. Google highlighted the perfect take and auto eraser mode, which lets you take one finest shot in, say, a gaggle of images you took with some individuals. So you may “alter” and take a shot the place everyone is smiling or everyone is wanting on the digital camera in a single shot, which can not have really occurred, however with Google’s AI and digital camera capabilities mixed, it may be achieved and fairly rapidly too.
There’s an audio magic eraser characteristic that lets you principally reduce out some noises and sounds in a video that is not required leaving you to your topic and crucial background sound. Once more, a characteristic depending on Google’s AI and cloud. On the entrance, you get a ten.5MP (f/2.2) digital camera that is fast to take pictures and capable of deal with portrait pictures producing respectable particulars and colors with out an excessive amount of spotlight boosting.
Efficiency and software program expertise: Working on the most recent Android 14 OS with October safety patch put in, the Pixel 8 is Google’s first machine that comes with promised 7 years of OS and safety updates. This can be a important deal since even Google hasn’t supplied updates for its Pixel units for anyplace near this lengthy a interval. Although Android’s updates state of affairs has been enhancing the previous two years or so, this could assist it a bit additional, highlighting which firms really care about offering updates and bug fixes properly after a tool has been launched.
A few of the added options in Android 14 embody voice typing in a number of laguages with the Google Assistant, Generative AI wallpapers enable wallpapers generated from a set of themes. One enchancment made is that face unlock is a bit quicker and safer and can be utilized for unlocking extra third occasion apps. The OS now handles HDR images in a significantly better approach – giving extra particulars and highlights as supposed in an HDR shot.
The telephone boasts of Google’s Tensor G3 chipset (as much as 2.9GHz octa core processor, Mali-G715 GPU) together with Titan M2 safety coprocessor, 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage (alse is available in 256GB). I discovered the telephone to deal with everyday duties of watching movies, taking and receiving calls, enjoying music within the background whereas messaging with out a lot points. You possibly can anticipate to get respectable gaming playback for video games similar to League of Legends and Genshin Affect at medium to excessive settings however the telephone tends to warmth up fairly a bit. Even with none gaming executed, the telephone can warmth up below common duties and it occurred repeatedly throughout my utilization. That is my greatest fear with the machine, how rapidly and often it might warmth up whenever you’re not utilizing it for taking part in video games or modifying any movies both. That is definitely a spot the place Google wants to enhance its G3 chipset for varied use instances relevant for nearly all customers.
Battery life: There is a 4,545mAh battery unit that helps PD 3.0 for charging. I discovered the telephone to final me a few day a bit extra frequently than its predecessor, such that heavy battery drainage is not any difficulty. The telephone costs from 1% to full in almost 2 hours, which is one thing we’ve been seeing from Pixel units.
Different bits: I discovered name high quality and WiFi reception on the Pixel 8 yo be prime notch, however what’s rather less spectacular is its 5G connectivity, which pales compared to flagship units from the likes of Samsung, OnePlus and Apple. A number of instances 5G would hop on to 4G/LTE sitting on the similar place for 10-Quarter-hour whereas one other machine would nonetheless be on 5G utilizing the identical community operator providers. It is definitely higher than the Pixel 7 and 7a at launch, however hopefully there are some updates and software program patches made to additional enhance it for 5G reception.
Verdict: The Pixel 8 clearly has plenty of issues going for it – a superb set of cameras that may tackle some other smartphone digital camera on the subject of nonetheless pictures, nice show and a good battery life expertise. Its chipset performs properly for duties and even gaming for many customers, however it does have heating points as of now, and, whereas 5G connectivity is one thing that has been improved from the earlier Pixel telephones, is one thing that also has a transparent room for enchancment. When you’re any individual who likes digital camera AI enhancements, cares about software program updates and do not thoughts the odd heating difficulty with the chipset for now, the Pixel 8 is a reasonably good package deal to think about.
