Google Pixel 8 Pro

Google Pixel 8 Pro Review

Design

The Google Pixel 8 Pro, launched on October 12, 2023, features a substantial build with dimensions of 162.6 mm in height, 76.5 mm in width, and 8.8 mm in depth. It weighs 213 grams. The phone is not foldable and comes in four color options: Mint, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Bay. It uses Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for screen protection.

Display

The device boasts a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with a resolution of 1344 x 2992 pixels, translating to a pixel density of 489 ppi. The display has a 20:9 aspect ratio and supports a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, ranging from 1 to 120Hz. It also supports HDR10+ with a typical brightness of 1600 nits (HBM) and a peak brightness of 2400 nits. The display features a hole-punch notch, Always-On Display, DCI-P3 color gamut, is scratch resistant, has a 2.5D curved glass screen, and supports multi-touch and is capacitive. The contrast ratio is 1,000,000:1.

Performance

The Pixel 8 Pro is powered by the Google Tensor G3 chipset, built on a 4nm process. The CPU is a nona-core configuration (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-X3 & 4x2.45 GHz Cortex-A715 & 4x2.15 GHz Cortex-A510). Graphics are handled by the Immortalis-G715s MC10 GPU. The device comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and offers multiple storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. AnTuTu benchmark scores are approximately 1,142,984 (v10). The phone has a cooling system and lacks gaming buttons. It also includes a variety of sensors: Fingerprint (under display), proximity, light, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, thermometer, and magnetometer. It features stereo speakers and three microphones.

Camera

The Pixel 8 Pro has a triple rear camera setup. The main camera is a 50MP Samsung GNV sensor (1/1.31", 1.20µm pixels, f/1.69) with 1-4 (2x2) pixel binning. The second rear camera is a 48MP ultrawide lens (f/1.95, 0.8µm pixels). The third rear camera is a 48MP telephoto lens (Samsung S5KGM5 sensor, 1/2.55", 0.7µm pixels, f/2.8) with 1-4 (2x2) pixel binning. The phone offers 5x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom, with both optical and electronic image stabilization on the wide and telephoto lenses.

The front-facing camera is a 10.8MP Samsung S5K3J1 CMOS sensor (1/2.65", 1.22µm pixels, f/2.2).

Video recording capabilities include 4K@30/60fps with HDR, OIS, and EIS, and 1080p recording at various frame rates (24/30/60/120/240fps) with HDR, OIS, and EIS. The camera system includes features like noise reduction, Pro Video Mode, digital and optical zoom, autofocus, continuous autofocus, manual focus, PDAF, LAF, and an NPU AI Engine. It also supports continuous shooting, geotagging, panorama, HDR, face detection, and RAW capture. It has a Dual LED flash.

DXOMARK scores are 153 (overall), 155 (photo), and 149 (video) for mobile, and 145 (overall), 143 (photo), and 149 (video) for the selfie camera.

Battery Life

The phone houses a 5050 mAh Li-Polymer battery with 30W fast charging support. It also supports reverse charging. The phone supports 23W wireless charging.

Software

The Pixel 8 Pro runs on Android 14, with a planned maximum update to Android 21. It has NFC capability.

Connectivity

The phone supports Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), including dual-band, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, and Wi-Fi MIMO. Bluetooth 5.3 LE with A2DP, LE, APT-x, LDAC, SBC, and AAC codecs are supported. GPS features include GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, Galileo, and GLONASS (L1). It offers Dual SIM Dual Standby (Nano SIM + eSIM). It has a USB Type-C 3.2 port, with USB charging, mass storage, OTG, and host capabilities, with video output.

The phone supports a wide range of network bands for 5G, 4G LTE, 3G and 2G.

Pricing

The Pixel 8 Pro is categorized in the 'medium price' range. Prices vary depending on the configuration and retailer. The phone is available in 12GB RAM configurations with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage, with varying prices across different regions and retailers.

Overall Verdict

The Google Pixel 8 Pro offers a premium experience with a high-quality display, robust performance, and advanced camera capabilities. Its unique features like the thermometer, powerful Tensor G3 chip, and long software support make it a strong contender in the smartphone market. Its pricing places it firmly in the premium segment, but its feature set may justify the cost for many users.