Google Pixel 8 & 8 Pro hands-on review

13 October 2023


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • I2d
  • 18 Oct 2023

walkman8, 14 Oct 2023Damn, incredibly harsh preview. I haven't seen GSMAr... moreI think this phone deserved a harsh review coming from Google with a midrange processor. All shortcomings will not be overcome by AI. Network reception is poor and heating issues are still present. These phones are not cheap. They cost above 75 k and 100k in India

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • RrJ
    • 18 Oct 2023

    Curved displays maybe cool, but are a limitation for tempered glass protectors - they just won't fit precisely or stay on for long. Another problem with curved displays is that most cases for them won't protect the display edges well enough because they are often not raised above that part of the display. I've had cracked displays at these locations of the screen on my S7 Edge, Note 9, and Note 10+. Even with good tough cases and screen protector on them. Whereas I've dropped my Pixel 8 Pro 3 times now and it sustained no physical damages. It's well protected with a Caselogic clear case, and a Spigen 9H Tempered glass protector. Kudos to Google for breaking away from that curved display misadventure!

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • gDf
      • 18 Oct 2023

      Gsmarena, it would be nice, if you could test the new astrophotography mode. Allegedly, astrophotography mode supports 50 megapixels now (though I don't know for which cameras).

        Shamrock Sean, 16 Oct 2023Mine is smooth what you on about?? About the review.

          • M
          • Marko
          • Ava
          • 17 Oct 2023

          Google should UP the price by 200 dolar for Pro Model, and focuse on giving it 1inch sensor for main cam. 2nd thing is to have snapdragon or higher level of performance. Or at least to be fast as tuned spec snapdragon in s23ultra. That would be killer phone.
          So i hope to see that for Pixel 9 or 10.
          To be on specs as strong if not stronger than s24/s25 ultra what ever will be than.
          It is not impossible, just if they want to do it.

            • J
            • JeanLuX
            • 3g5
            • 17 Oct 2023

            Imagine if they used a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, this would solve 80% of the complaints. At this price, it's really frustrating.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • MeU
              • 17 Oct 2023

              Anonymous, 17 Oct 2023I've had mine for almost a week now and having moved o... moreAnd Google Services?

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • x0k
                • 17 Oct 2023

                Google has these great cameras and then puts a POS chip inside
                Come on man!

                  eddy-, 17 Oct 2023"At this point, Google's decision to stick with t... moreMust be some google exec got a lady friend in samsung.

                    • H
                    • Honk
                    • EUk
                    • 17 Oct 2023

                    Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed in the Tensor G3. I thought it'd be actually decent, on paper it's tolerable, but if it sucks for general usage? No.

                    IMO, the Motorola Edge+ 2023 (Edge 40 Pro in EUR) is what the Pixel 7 Pro should've been. Also, Motorola should copy what Samsung and Google are trying to push, and go back to flat displays. Curved looks cool, sure, but it's easier to get screen protectors and it's probably cheaper for them.

                      • e
                      • eddy-
                      • g5h
                      • 17 Oct 2023

                      "At this point, Google's decision to stick with the Samsung-manufactured Tensor chips seems inexcusable. The performance simply isn't there, neither in benchmarks but more importantly, in real-world usage"
                      Best analysis ever.

                        Anonymous, 17 Oct 2023So in other words , you must be very lucky to get a good un... moreNot more lucky Then with other devices. My Note 20 Ultra had a bloating battery after 2 weeks and the Galaxy Fold 4 had a faulty fold mechanism. The Pixels I had and have had no issues. Same for the 7a that my son owns.

                          Anonymous, 17 Oct 2023I've had mine for almost a week now and having moved o... moreWow, I'm in the same boat. Had the 8 Pro for a few days right now and I'm thinking exactly the same. The Pixel is not faster than the Mate and I also even think the screen is of less quality in color wise, viewing angles and sharpness. The Pixel gets a lot brighter in the sun though, but the colors look a bit dull. Battery is about the same. The main camera is a bit better, but not by a huge margin. Especially in low light it's better. Wide angle and especially zoom are noticeably better.

                          Right now I'm a bit torn in what to do. I think I just can't justify the €1159 for the Pixel, because it's just not worth it. It's not that much better. I also tried the Honor Magic 5 Pro. Wonderfull phone. I liked the display of that one much more. But the brightness in sunlight reduced very much within a minute.

                          I'm truly astounded my 5 year old (!) Mate 20 Pro is still better in some ways. I want to try a new phone, but it has to be a upgrade.... Is there really no phone that is actually better?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • Nu6
                            • 17 Oct 2023

                            bobby74, 17 Oct 2023In general I tend to like the GSMArena reviews and based so... moreSo in other words , you must be very lucky to get a good unit of the google pixel 8 series

                              In general I tend to like the GSMArena reviews and based some purchases on the outcome of those.

                              But this premature hands-on review I simply don't get. Over the last 2 and a half years I have owned a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Fold 4, Pixel 7Pro and now have the Pixel 8Pro since a few days.

                              I still have to come across of hiccups or flawed scrolling in any app. Everything is extremely smooth compared to all the above devices.

                              The fact that is doesn't score well in any synthetic benchmark or doesn't sport the latest and greatest processor is truly not something you feel in real life use. I must add to this that I am not a heavy gamer, as I use my PC and PS5 for that, but the games I do play are smoother than on my Fold 4.

                              The built quality and fluidity is something you do feel and the device is fantastic in this regard. Plus is may have gotten a little more expensive, but still a few hundred cheaper than the top of the range phones.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • nET
                                • 17 Oct 2023

                                I've had mine for almost a week now and having moved over from the mate 20 pro, considering it's age, I still find the mate more superior. Going to send this back and get the latest Huawei.

                                  dbjungle, 15 Oct 2023Which part of the hardware is terrible? What aspect of the... moreYou're right that the HW itself should be plenty enough, for any other than "hardcore" phone gamers.

                                  However, google clearly hasn't optimized the user experience, and people are noticing. This shouldn't be a HW limitation, as it is plenty powerful enough to provide smooth scrolling etc. I assume google will fix this shortly. Seems like they rushed it a bit here.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • S2T
                                    • 17 Oct 2023

                                    Some users/reviewers report that the battery life is worse than on the Pixel 7 series..
                                    If that is true, I would not recommend the 8 series to anyone

                                      Anonymous, 16 Oct 2023It floors me the new Tensor is still a tepid midranger afte... moreHow can you call a SoC that's beat by 2-3 generation old ones a midranger? It's a low-end soc in an almost $1k phone.

                                        Something seriously wrong with your review units, i have the 256GB Pixel 8 Pro & i've noticed no jittering or any overheating for that matter, if anything it feel's smoother in use than my S23 Ultra does.

                                        Also benchmarks doesn’t really reflect on the true sustained performance of a phone because they all throttle some worse than other, the average consumer who looking to buy a new phone doesn't go checking what score it got in geekbench ect before deciding, it's basically brand, looks and affordability.

                                        My S23 Ultra for example doesn't bench as high as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but in everyday use same goes with the Pixel's phone's, you be hard pushed to tell the difference side by side in performance.






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