The Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are equipped with several new features centered around artificial intelligence. Discover our test of the new smartphones entirely designed by Google.
Each Pixel phone release is a small event in the tech world. Google has established itself as a benchmark in terms of quality/price ratio with its latest generations of smartphones. Often cited as capable of competing with much more expensive competitors, the Google Pixel relies above all on artificial intelligence and the firm’s in-house processor to prevail in an ultra-competitive market.
The new Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have been available since Thursday, October 12. However, we were able to take them in hand for several days before their release to test the new features of this new generation and whether they justify the big price increase revealed this year.
Take the design of the previous Google Pixel 7 released last year and you get, more or less, that of the Google Pixel 8. At the front, we still find a 6.2-inch FHD OLED panel (which is a bit smaller than the Pixel 7) which houses a selfie sensor in the upper center of the screen. The power and volume buttons are located on the right edge of the phone, while the SIM card tray is on the other side, on the left edge. The back of the Google Pixel 8 still sports the very particular design of the brand’s phones with its photo sensor which covers the entire edge of the phone.
You either like the design of Pixel phones or you don’t. The Google Pixel 8, however, is very pleasant in the hand due to its more conventional format than the Pro model. Its slightly rounded edges allow very good handling on a daily basis and we appreciate that its photo sensor takes up the entire edge of the phone. This allows the Pixel 8 to be placed on a flat surface and used without the smartphone leaning to one side (unlike other competitors such as the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S). The buttons fall well under the finger and the fingerprint sensor is as quick as it is easy to trigger. Note also that the back of the Google Pixel 8 retains very few fingerprints. An unsurprising design therefore, but still very pleasant to use daily.
If the Google Pixel 7 screen was already excellent during our test last year, the manufacturer has further refined its formula this year. The Google Pixel 8 sees its maximum brightness increase to 2000 nits (compared to only 1400 nits for the Pixel 7). This allows Google’s latest phone to have even better readability than in previous years. Whether you are in a very dark place or, on the contrary, in direct sunlight, you will never have any problems consulting the Google Pixel 8 screen to enjoy your games or applications.
Let’s also talk about the colorimetry of the Google Pixel 8. By default, the phone sets its screen with natural colors which perfectly convey reality in your photos, videos and everyday applications. These are vivid and full of detail while remaining faithful to what you are viewing. It is also possible to switch to “adaptive colors” mode for more pronounced, but less realistic results.
Let’s finish with just one small black point: the Google Pixel 8 screen is capable of displaying between 60 and 120 Hz refresh rate. This allows you to choose between a fairly standard rate (but less fluid and energy-consuming) and a maximum rate which has great fluidity but will impact your battery. However, we regret that the Google Pixel 8 cannot go down to 1 Hz to save its battery when you do not need a high value (your screen saver, for example, does not need a rate of high refresh rate as it has few animations).
The Google Pixel 8 (and its Pro model) is equipped with an in-house chip specially manufactured for the smartphone: the Google Tensor G3. The latter does not really focus on power unlike its high-end competitors such as Snapdragon processors or Apple chips. Conversely, the Google Pixel 8 chip will mainly focus on software processing for retouching your photos and battery management.
That doesn’t stop the Google Pixel 8 from being a decent gaming smartphone. We were able to launch several games of resource-intensive titles like Call of Duty Mobile or Asphalt 9 Legends. The latter ran in medium or high quality at 30 or 60 FPS without slowdowns or complete freezing of our device. We were nevertheless able to note a little heating of the Google Pixel 8 after several minutes of play. It is on this point that the smartphone remains below large high-end competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or the iPhone 15. However, this will not prevent you from enjoying a few games every day, but at the expense of the phone’s battery which quickly drops when you launch a big game.
Within basic applications like Instagram, YouTube, Twitch or others, the Google Pixel is an example of fluidity. Its chip perfectly manages multiple actions and open windows without slowing down. If you are a fan of mobile applications, you can easily open several and navigate between them without it having an impact on the phone.
It’s no longer a secret: Google phones are renowned for the quality of their photographs. Often much cheaper than the best smartphones from Samsung or Apple, the Google Pixels have often managed to compete with the latter by selling at much lower prices. This year, however, the Mountain View firm has created a surprise with sharply rising prices in Europe. While this does not impact the Pixel 8’s photo qualities, it is an important point to note before reviewing the smartphone’s photography capabilities.
The Google Pixel 8 has a 50MP wide-angle sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor. Let’s not be afraid of words: the Google Pixel 8 camera is certainly among the best on the market today. The photos obtained with good lighting are full of details and bright colors (sometimes a little too much, which can be disturbing if you want photos close to reality). The results produced with the main sensor of the Google Pixel 8 are generally of very good quality and you will often not even need to go through edits and filters to post them on social networks. Even if the Pixel 8 has several settings for your photos (white balance, brightness, etc.) you generally won’t need to worry about them and just trust the phone’s algorithmic processing to produce excellent photos automatically, even when your subject seems a little dull or not very highlighted.
At night, the quality of the photos produced by the Google Pixel 8 manages to remain very good (and that’s a small feat). We observe some loss of detail on certain points and objects that are more difficult to reconstruct in the dark, but the Pixel 8 sensors still do wonderfully. Some shots taken with the “night vision” mode can also force the colorimetry a little, giving the impression of having very vivid colors. This same mode can, however, be configured to trigger immediately or after 3 to 6 seconds depending on the lack of light in your scene.
One of the new features of the Google Pixel 8 is its macro focus. By getting close enough to an object (around 3 to 5 centimeters), you can force the focus on it. The difference with a photo taken without macro mode (notably with a Pixel 7) is quite convincing as the subject is completely blur with an old Google phone. A good point that will allow you to take some beautiful photos of your favorite flowers, plants or insects.
The front camera of the Google Pixel 8 has 10.5 Mpx to take your selfies. If the latter does not particularly shine compared to the rear modules of the device, it does well enough to produce beautiful photos with sufficient detail and good colorimetry overall.
This is THE word you should remember to describe the presentation of the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. The manufacturer’s two phones are equipped with new features boosted by AI in order to make users’ lives easier or give them more control over their smartphone.
In addition to the magic eraser which can be very practical for retouching your photos or deleting an element, Google has unveiled a new tool called “best take”. Based on artificial intelligence, it allows you to take several photos of a group of people and automatically record their faces to be able to transpose them onto another photo. If certain results sometimes turn out to be very strange (as soon as one of your subjects moves a little too much or the light runs out), it is clear that this tool is often quite practical as long as you do not zoom too much in the photo.
The Google Pixel 8 also introduces a new tool to improve your photos: “magic editing”. To use it, simply take a photo with your smartphone and click on “edit” in your Google Photos application. The “magic retouch” option allows you to select one or more objects present in your photo in order to move or delete them. If the results will depend above all on the object in question, we must recognize that some of our edits turn out to be astonishing and that the tool is very easy to use despite requiring a connection to Google’s servers.
The latest AI-based feature in the Google Pixel 8 is called “audio magic eraser”. This feature allows the phone to analyze the videos you make with the Pixel 8 and isolate the different audio tracks in order to modify their volume or delete them… In theory. In practice, the analyzed audio extracts (music, conversation, road traffic, etc.) are generally attenuated without disappearing completely. You just have to listen a little to continue to hear music that you wanted to remove from our video. The results obtained are sometimes astonishing and should be used to correct some of your videos without having to use editing software.
Pixel phone batteries have always been a touchy subject. Smartphones designed by Google have never really stood out for their autonomy and charging, and the Pixel 8 is not going to change the situation. Unplugged at 8 a.m., our test unit showed barely more than 35% battery in the evening around 6 p.m. If this allows you to enjoy the phone for a full day, it is not surprising to have to go through a small recharge during the evening.
Once the battery of our Google Pixel 8 is exhausted, it is time to recharge it. The company’s latest phone is compatible with charging up to 27W (compared to 21W on the Pixel 7). This allowed us to fully charge our Google Pixel 8 from 0 to 100% in just over an hour and a half. It’s a long time, and above all quite sad for a phone that costs almost 1000 euros to purchase.
Used for several days as our main smartphone, the Google Pixel 8 never gave us any problems with its network or communication. We were able to take full advantage of our online applications without having connection problems. Our calls with different parties were clear and audible to both parties.
How difficult it is to judge this new Google Pixel 8! This new generation definitely has some good additions to justify checking out. We will particularly note its sublime screen as well as its devilishly effective design on a daily basis. Its greatest strength still remains photography where you can easily create very pretty photos. The addition of AI-based tools also allows you to modify your images and videos without even needing to use editing software, which will be very valuable for a majority of users.
The fact remains that the aggressive price increase compared to the last generation hurts. More than 150 euros for the Google Pixel 8 compared to its predecessor is not nothing, and it places the phone very close to high-end competitors like the iPhone 15 or the Samsung Galaxy S23. If the Google Pixel 8 manages to compete with the latter for its photographs, this is not the case for its gaming performance and its autonomy which are well below what we expect from a phone sold for nearly 800 euros. A very good smartphone therefore, but one which will be difficult to recommend at full price.
