It’s no shock that Google’s Pixel 8 Professional bought essentially the most consideration on this 12 months’s lineup, be it for the upgraded optics and ‘Professional’ digicam controls, the brand new temperature sensor or the 1-lakh-rupee-breaching value level. But, the common Pixel 8 is not any pushover – removed from it, because it shares so much in widespread with the Professional variant – the identical Tensor G3 processor with its synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine-learning chops powering the identical Android 14 software program, and the identical seven-year dedication for software program updates as the larger Professional.
Additionally, let’s face it: the decrease ₹75,999 value level implies that the usual Pixel asks much less of your pockets and is, due to this fact, extra more likely to find yourself in your pocket. However how does it fare each day, and does the lower cost imply any important compromises over the Professional?
SIMILAR STORIES
Design and construct
Now, Google hasn’t messed round with the visually distinct Pixel aesthetic, with the Robocop-visor digicam bar on the rear letting you notice a latest Pixel from a good distance. Google’s saved the matte-blue Bay colour just for the Professional for some cause, so the common 8 is just obtainable in Hazel, Obsidian and the brand new Rose colour variant I examined, all of that are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus (and never the second-gen Victus of the 8 Professional).
Additionally learn: Google Pixel 8 Professional evaluation: The fitting thought for the way forward for telephones
Essentially the most understated win for the Pixel 8 is its compact dimension – it’s a bit smaller than the Pixel 7, packing in a 6.2-inch (as an alternative of a 6.3-inch) show and shaving off 5.1mm and a couple of.4mm off on the peak and width within the course of. Coupled with the rounded corners, the cellphone will not be solely simpler to deal with one-handed but in addition simpler to hold and pocket than the considerably bigger flagships one has grown (sadly) accustomed to. If you need a small cellphone and really feel underserved by cellphone makers at massive, the Pixel 8 Professional ought to definitely high your listing. And identical to all latest flagship Pixels, the Pixel 8 retains IP68 mud and water resistance, and wi-fi charging.
Show
Contributing to the Pixel’s dimension discount program is the thinner bezels across the 6.2-inch, 120Hz, 2000 nits show, a display which is undeniably a step up from the 90Hz panel on the Pixel 7 from final 12 months.
The complete-HD+ panel is shiny even throughout outside use, and the colours are vibrant, which, together with the stereo audio system, makes it a very good (albeit small) show to eat HDR10+ content material from YouTube/Netflix. The panel misses out on quad-HD+ decision and the LTPO tech of the 8 Professional, which might have allowed extra granular management between 1Hz and 120Hz, as an alternative sticking to switching between 120Hz and 60Hz when the display is idle.
There’s an under-display fingerprint scanner, and a brand new function this 12 months is face unlock through the selfie digicam discovered within the cutout on high of the show.
Efficiency and battery
If you happen to’ve learn our evaluation of the Pixel 8 Professional, you’d doubtless know that Google’s Tensor G3 chip has been on the receiving finish of some quantity of criticism – that for a cellphone priced at upwards of ₹75,000, gaming or computing efficiency doesn’t land in the identical ballpark because the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or the Apple A17 Professional chips, and whether or not the cellphone will age gracefully over its seven-year software program lifespan.
In use, the cellphone does are likely to throttle early (to keep away from overheating) once you’re enjoying graphics heavy titles however handles each day duties and heavy images fairly nicely. Sticking to the 128GB of UFS 3.1 pace storage (not UFS 4.0) on the bottom mannequin isn’t a very good search for a flagship cellphone, however Google is hardly the one one responsible of this. Battery life is respectable, with the 4,575mAh battery yielding between 5 to 6 hours of screen-on time, however wired charging is (a step ahead however nonetheless) restricted to 27W charging speeds, which will get you from empty to full in a bit beneath 1.5 hours.
FILE: New Google Pixel 8 Telephones are displayed in New York Metropolis, US October 4, 2023. (Reuters)
AI on the cellphone
Redemption comes by means of its AI-first use circumstances, in with the ability to run on-device machine studying fashions, significantly within the images division. So, whereas the decision specs nonetheless keep at 50MP for the first and 12MP for the wide-angle with autofocus, it’s the AI options that rightfully command a number of the eye.
Options like Greatest Take, which routinely allow you to choose the most effective shot amongst a batch of group images, or Magic Editor, which helps you to transfer the place of individuals and objects in a photograph and makes use of generative AI to fill within the lacking blanks, make a real distinction in taking images every single day, although it does lead one to query simply how a lot the Pixel 8’s images qualify as “images” as purists would outline them.
When it really works, which is most of the time, the impact it has in your images is transformational, however you’ll have to consciously need to use these options recurrently so that you can get a deal with of their capabilities. Even with out these options, the Pixel 8 takes stellar pictures – with loads of element and correct colours on the first shooter and among the many finest wide-angle cameras on an Android cellphone. Low-light photos are wonderful, as are portrait photos – the Pixel 8 is my go-to for folks and object portraits particularly, with its wonderful edge-detection algorithm precisely discerning the background from the topic, unfastened strands of hair and all.
Video footage from the first digicam has loads of element and good dynamic vary, however the ultrawide falls a bit brief in movies. The one function I actually appreciated was Audio Magic Eraser, which is designed to take away background noises from video, be it the hum of an air conditioner, stray site visitors noises or the sound of barking canines – all of that are quite common occurrences when you reside inside an condominium neighborhood and have little management over stray auditory inputs.
People eyeing the Pixel 8 for its digicam chops must observe that Google has tried to attract a transparent line between the common 8 and the Professional – so even because it belts out nice pictures with consistency, the Pixel 8 is lacking the devoted telephoto lens, Evening Sight Video, Professional mode controls and the upcoming Video Enhance function.
Verdict
There’s so much to love with the Pixel 8, and it represents an enormous improve over the Pixel 7…together with a large value hike. Held up in opposition to its most evident rivals – the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Apple iPhone 15, the Pixel 8 falls behind on account of pure efficiency, and within the case the S23, a devoted telephoto and higher efficiency/battery life, whereas redeeming itself with its digicam prowess and an industry-leading software program assist cycle.
What’s extra doubtless is that somebody who considers the Pixel 8 will even eye the 8 Professional, with its brighter LTPO display, extra cameras and absolutely unlocked picture/video capabilities, at the same time as you pay much more for that privilege. It’s the latter – deliberately limiting the software program on the Pixel 8 – which actually holds the Pixel 8 again, not the {hardware}. It’s actually provided that you’re a fan of small telephones that the Pixel 8 will win you over.
Tushar Kanwar, a tech columnist and commentator, posts @2shar.
Additionally learn: A deep dive into the images expertise on Google Pixel telephones
