Google Pixel 8 Pro review

introduction

The Pixel 8 Pro offers an updated camera system, an impressive display, a new and improved chipset, the promise of 7 years of software support, and an unexpected design change: What Google’s flagship phone for 2023 is all about and should you buy one one?

The bread and butter of Pixel phones has been their camera, and the 8 Pro has no shortage of improvements in that area. Key among these is the ultrawide on the back, which gets a new, larger sensor, while the main and telephoto cameras get revamped optics. It may not seem like much, but evolutionary steps can mean a lot when they add up.

The Super Actua display is Google’s trademark for the new panel of the Pixel 8 Pro which should reach a brightness of 2400 nits; although we didn’t understand it, we measured notable numbers elsewhere. The Tensor G3 chipset’s performance in the things Google deems important is harder to measure, but it’s definitely an upgrade over the previous generation in the things we deem important. Candies quantify. Putting a number on software support is also a little difficult, but 7 seems impressive: years of updates, that is.

And while the Pixel design language has mostly been tweaked over the past couple of years, it turned out that 2023 still had something new to bring – or, rather, the old, well-forgotten flat display. Time is a flat circle and all.

Here’s a quick refresher on the Pixel 8 Pro’s key specs before we proceed with the unboxing.

Google Pixel 8 Pro specs in brief:

• Body: 162.6×76.5×8.8mm, 213g; Front and rear glass (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes).
• Screen: 6.7″ LTPO OLED, 120 Hz, HDR10+, 1600 nits (HBM), 2400 nits (peak), 1344×2992 px resolution, 20.04:9 aspect ratio, 489ppi; always-on display.
• Chipsets: Google Tensor G3 (4 nm): Ninth-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X3 and 4×2.45 GHz Cortex-A715 and 4×2.15 GHz Cortex-A510); Immortalis-G715s MC10.
• Memory: 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS3.1.
• Operating system/software: Android 14.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.7, 25 mm, 1/1.31″, 1.2 µm, multi-directional PDAF, multi-zone laser AF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 48 MP, f/2.0, 126˚, 0.8μm, dual pixel PDAF; Telephoto: 48 MP, f/2.8, 113 mm, 1/2.55″, 0.7 µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom.
• Front camera: 10.5 MP, f/2.2, 20 mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1″, 1.22 µm, PDAF.
• Video Capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@24/30/60/120/240fps; gyroscope-EIS, OIS, 10-bit HDR; Front camera: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps.
• Drums: 5050mAh; Wired 30W, PD3.0, PPS, 50% in 30 minutes (advertised), wireless 23W, reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.3, aptX HD; NFC.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; Ultra Wide Band (UWB) support.

Unboxing of Google Pixel 8 Pro

Not that there’s much unboxing to do, to be honest. The Pixel 8 Pro comes in a fairly standard half-height white cardboard box with a likeness of the phone printed on the lid.

Inside, the accessories list is pretty short: You get a USB-C cable and a USB-AC adapter to make it easy to transfer data from as many older phones as possible. Sure, there’s also a SIM eject pin and some paperwork, but nothing as useful as a charger.