After months of endless rumors, the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are now official. The company has presented these models along with a new smart watch; the Pixel Watch 2, and although the real protagonist is the Pro variant, the base version of the new Google phones also has a lot to tell. And it also comes with a surprise.
Until now, the base versions of the Pixel – see the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 7 – have been especially interesting for their balance between features and price. The brand’s latest two models, in fact, have always been below 700 euros, and have shared some of the most important technical specifications of their older brothers, such as the same processor or the same front camera. Something similar happens with this new Google Pixel 8, although its price is not really what was expected.
The terminal, specifically, maintains the same design line as the Pro version, which has also been slightly renewed compared to its predecessors. It now has more rounded corners and, finally, a flat screen. It also retains the characteristic photographic module, as well as the glass back in a bright color that now boasts new colors; It is available in green and pink tones, in addition to the classic black.
The screen, by the way, is 6.2 inches. It is an OLED panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The Google Pixel 8 also abandons the 90 Hz of its predecessors to finally include a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen also stands out for its brightness, 1,600 nits when playing HDR content and with peaks of up to 2,400 nits.
New Tensor G3 and new cameras powered by AI
In the same way as the Pro model, the Google Pixel 8 debuts the Tensor G3 processora Google-designed chip that the company says now includes more advanced processing options for videos and enables new camera features.
The camera, in fact, remains the main feature of this smartphone, although it is not as powerful as that of the Google Pixel 8 Pro. In this case, we find a 50 megapixel wide angle sensor which allows a high-resolution zoom of up to 8x, as well as an ultra-wide-angle camera with 12 megapixel resolution. The camera also integrates an LDAF sensor for laser detection autofocus, allowing for clearer photographs.
The interesting thing, however, is in the software functions powered by AI, and in one in particular that, to tell the truth, can be somewhat strange. Google has named it Best Version. It allows you to take different photographs of the same scene so that an algorithm can then create an image that combines the best faces of everyone who appears in the image. Therefore, if there is a child making faces in one of those photos, and in another he appears smiling, the AI will replace the face with the one that appears best.
Google has also integrated into this Pixel 8 the Magic Editorwhich allows you to remove elements from an image using AI or even replace some elements, such as the sky.
The Google Pixel 8, on the other hand, receives important improvements in terms of video, such as the so-called Magic Audio Eraser, which allows you to eliminate, using AI, background noises in the video.
Google makes the Pixel smarter
The Google Pixel 8 arrives with Android 14 under the armand therefore, with all the improvements that the company announced during the last I/O in 2023. There is, however, more news.
The Google Pixel 8 is smarter thanks to the new processor, and now you are able to better understand the person who is using it. For example, when someone is using the assistant, the smartphone can capture natural conversations in which there are pauses or onomatopoeias that are made as a thought, such as “mmmm”, and wait for you to finish speaking before offering a response.
On the other hand, it is also possible to write or edit texts using voice in different languages. All these functions will be complemented with future features that may arrive in up to 7 years. This is precisely the update period that Google provides for this device.
The Pixel 8 is now more expensive
The Google Pixel 8, like its older brother, the Pixel 8 Pro, can be reserved starting today in the official Google store. It will be available to buy next October 12 at a price of 799 euros in its version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.
To the surprise of many, the Google Pixel 8 Pro has increased in price compared to its predecessor. Now it costs 150 euros more, since the Pixel 7 went on the market for 649 euros.