In-Depth Analysis: The Unrivaled Excellence of the Google Pixel 8 Pro - Your Ultimate Guide

Key Takeaways

The Google Pixel 8 Pro has no performance issues, overheating, or major pitfalls, making it suitable for more than just Android enthusiasts.
The smartphone has some of the best smartphone cameras and a premium look and feel with a matte back glass.
The device offers Face Unlock for biometrics, performance improvements, and AI features, but the temperature sensor is not useful.

Google tries to showcase the best of Android with its Pixel lineup, but historically, each generation has been plagued with one problem or another. Thankfully, after testing the Google Pixel 8 Pro for several months, I can happily report that I haven’t experienced any performance issues, overheating, or significant pitfalls. Google finally has a phone that’s not just for Android enthusiasts.

Google Pixel 8 Pro

9/ 10

$900 $999 Save $99

The Google Pixel 8 Pro includes the search giant’s latest CPU, the Tensor G3, is among the best smartphone cameras on the market, and has some of the best AI-powered features.

Colors

Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay

Release date

October 11, 2023

Price

From $999

Display

6.7-Inch Super Actua, 1344x29921-120Hz, 2400 nits peak brightness

Display type

LTPO OLED

SoC

Google Tensor G3

Storage

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

RAM

12GB

Battery

5050mAh

Ports

USB-C 3.2

Operating System

Android 14

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Ultra-Wideband, NFC

Others

Temperature Sensor

Dimensions

6.4 x 3 x 0.3in (162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8mm)

Weight

213g (7.5oz)

Material

Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Cover Glass and Matte Back, Polished Aluminum Frame

IP Rating

IP68

Micro SD card support

Security

7 Years of OS, Security, and Feature Drop Updates

Authentication

Under-Display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock

Front camera

10.5MP, ƒ/2.2, Autofocus, 95-degree Ultrawide Field of View

Main Camera

50MP Octa PR, ƒ/1.68, 82-Degree Field of View

Wide-Angle Camera

48MP Quad PD With Autofocus, ƒ/1.95, 125.5-Degree Field of View

Telephoto Camera

48MP Quad PD, ƒ/2.8, 21.8-Degree Field of View, 5x Optical Zoom, Super Res Zoom Up to 30x, Optical and Electronic Image Stabilization

Pros

Some of the best smartphone cameras
Matte back glass provides a premium look and feel
Face Unlock for biometrics

Cons

Minor performance improvements
Many AI features are “coming soon”
The temperature sensor isn’t very useful

Expand

See at Google Store See at Best Buy $900 at Amazon See at Verizon See at T-Mobile See at AT&T

Price and Availability

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is available to purchase right now, starting at $999 for 128GB of built-in storage. The price goes up to $1,399 for 1TB of storage space. You can choose from Bay (blue), Obsidian (black), and Porcelain (off-white), and the phone can be purchased directly from Google, all major cellular carriers, and other third-party retailers.

A Similar but Softer Look and Feel

Google gave the Pixel line a major redesign in 2021 with the introduction of the Pixel 6. Three generations in, Google has kept with the distinctive design, featuring a camera bar that spans the entire width of the Pixel 8 Pro. The only real difference is that the corners have been significantly softened, making for a more comfortable phone to hold.

The display and back glass are made out of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and in my short time with the device, I haven’t noticed any scratches or wear and tear. The back has a matte texture that I can only describe as perfection. It feels soft in a premium sort of way and is in stark contrast to the polished aluminum unibody frame that wraps the edge of the phone and camera bump.

Everything else about the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s design is pretty standard. You’ll find the power and volume buttons on the right side, a USB-C port on the bottom, a 5G mmWave antenna cutout on the top, and a physical SIM card slot on the left.

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

My biggest (and really only) complaint with the Pixel 8 Pro’s design is Google’s use of polished aluminum on the camera bar. The matte glass is so good at not showing fingerprints that even the slightest smudge on the reflective metal stands out like a sore thumb. I did my best to keep the bar clean, but because of its location, it’s natural for my finger to rest on the protrusion to help stabilize the device in my hand.

Additionally, while I haven’t noticed any significant damage on my review unit, the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera bar had a similar reflective metal, and it scratched extremely easily. After a year with the phone, I fully expect to see similar wear on the Pixel 8 Pro. I would have preferred the matte finish found on the regular Pixel 8.

The Display Checks All the Boxes

Since every company’s products need catchy branding (like Apple’s “Retina” display), Google is labeling the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen as a “Super Actua” display. Basically, it’s a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED with a 1,344 x 2,992 resolution and a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

In use, especially compared to other flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra , I wouldn’t say the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen stands out. Now, don’t get me wrong, the colors look great, the text is sharp, and the scrolling is extremely smooth, but there isn’t a “wow” moment happening here. You won’t be disappointed in the slightest—this is the type of screen you should expect from a $1,000 flagship.

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

Under the display, you’ll find an optical fingerprint sensor. As far as I can tell, it’s the same sensor found in last year’s Pixel 7 Pro. It’s fast, accurate, and gets the job done. I still miss the days of rear fingerprint sensors , but I’ll digress.

Love or hate the sensor, it’s no longer the only form of biometric security on the Pixel 8 Pro. Despite not being mentioned during Google’s announcement, the company is using machine learning (ML) advancements in the Tensor G3 in conjunction with the single front-facing camera to let you log into banks and use Google Pay. The process is so fast and seamless that if you’re not looking for the Face Unlock animation, you might miss it while signing in.

Unfortunately, Apple’s Face ID (found on most iPhones and some iPads), which uses a TrueDepth camera to capture infrared images of your face, is much more versatile. Face Unlock works amazingly during the day when there is plenty of light, but at night or if something is obscuring your face (like sunglasses or a mask), the feature becomes useless. Thankfully, you can use the fingerprint sensor in conjunction with Face Unlock, so you’re never without a secure way to unlock your phone, but I’d love to see Google move towards Apple’s way of thinking.

AI, Android 14, and More AI

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

If you’ve used any recent version of Android, you will be right at home with Android 14 on the Pixel 8 Pro. There are only minor user-side improvements, including an iOS-style lock screen customization feature where you can swipe between clock styles and colors. This version of Android appears to be focused on under-the-hood refinements, which I greatly appreciate.

But just because things are basically status quo at the operating system level doesn’t mean Google didn’t throw in a couple of surprises.

Announced alongside the Google Pixel 8 series, Audio Magic Eraser aims to identify and silence annoying background audio. So, say you’re capturing your dogs playing in the backyard, like I did, but all you can hear is the wind. Open up the AI feature in Google Photos, give it a second to recognize any distracting sounds, and then mute sounds you don’t want.

The most magical new AI feature, in my opinion, is Best Take. There’s nothing worse than taking a group photo, and no matter how many photos are taken, someone is blinking or looking away from the camera. Best Take analyzes similar photos, gives you a thumbnail of each person’s facial expressions, and lets you merge them into a final image.

I was amazed at how well Best Take worked. Of course, for this feature to work properly, whoever is taking photos needs to snap more than one. Google isn’t using generative AI to adjust a person’s gaze (at least not yet).

But if I’m being honest, I never touched any of these “AI” features after my initial testing. The functionality is impressive, but they felt more like party tricks. I’m not saying you won’t find a use for them, but I didn’t.

The good news is that Google isn’t done adding new AI features that might be more useful for more people. For example, with the launch of the Gemini large language model (LLM) , the Pixel 8 Pro’s Recorder app can use the onboard Nano LLM to summarize recordings, all without an internet connection.

The Processor’s Greatest Strength Is Stability

As alluded to at the beginning of this review, previous Pixels (including the Google Pixel Fold) suffered greatly from overheating CPUs. Almost any extended use would result in a phone that could be too hot to hold and, in turn, cause the device to become a stuttering mess.

The Pixel 8 Pro’s greatest strength is the fact that this seems to be a mostly solved problem. Under extreme loads, the handset did start to feel a bit warm, but that’s to be expected. But scrolling through Instagram or ordering an Uber never stressed the Tensor G3. In all of my day-to-day tasks, I never felt limited. The phone remained extremely snappy and performed exactly as you’d expect from a flagship smartphone.

Looking at raw numbers, according to Geekbench 6, the Pixel 7 Pro, with its Tensor G2 CPU, has a 1,409 single-core score and 3,399 multi-core score. The Pixel 8 Pro, with the Tensor G3, comes in with a 1,736 single-core score and 4,405 multi-core score. What does that mean? Basically, the Pixel 8 Pro can handle more powerful processes without succumbing to lag or other disruptions.

I Never Had to Go Searching for a Charger

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

Previous Pixel had decent battery life, but with the overheating problems caused by the Tensor G1 and G2 processors, needing to juice up throughout the day wasn’t uncommon.

I’m happy to report that, with the improved Tensor G3 CPU, I was easily getting over six hours of screen-on time. There were some fluctuations if I ever used battery-intensive apps, such as the camera or a game, but that’s to be expected.

For the most part, I simply dropped the Pixel 8 Pro on a second-gen Pixel Stand to wirelessly charge overnight. But if you need a quick top-off, the phone charges at up to 30W when plugged into its USB-C port. A full charge from 0 to 100% takes a little over 70 minutes.

The King of Taking Great Photos Reliably

I’ve been using the Pixel 8 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max interchangeably during my testing period, and as with previous generations, I always reach for the Pixel first when taking a photo. The likes of Apple and Samsung have caught up with Google’s computation photography skills, but each brand still captures distinct-looking images. To my eye, the Pixel is still king.

But what really sets the Pixel 8 Pro apart is the reliability of the smartphone’s photo quality. No handset is perfect, but I trust Google to nail the shot more than any other.

But enough talk—let’s look through some of the photos I took with the Pixel 8 Pro. The below images, from first to last, feature .5x ultra-wide, 1x, 2x, 5x telephoto, 30x Super Res Zoom, and the front-facing selfie camera. It’s also worth pointing out that the racetrack photos were shot through a glass window.

I’ve also included a gallery of miscellaneous photos below captured on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. These include samples from all the different lenses, Portrait mode, Super Res Zoom, and several other special modes.

Am I a fan of the ultra-wide camera’s fisheye effect? Not really, but I understand its usefulness when capturing some scenes. What I do love is the 50MP and 48MP sensors behind the main and telephoto cameras. These collect so much data and, once the phone is done processing the image, returns fantastic-looking photos.

You’ll Miss Out on More Than a Camera With the Pixel 8

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

Spec to spec, the biggest difference between the Pixel 8 Pro and the regular Pixel 8 (besides the screen size) is the lack of a telephoto camera on the back. The smaller model shares the same 50MP main camera and includes an ultra-wide (though the sensor size drops down to 12MP), but if you want to zoom into a photo, it’ll all be digital.

There are additional under-the-hood differences, like 12GB vs 8GB of RAM, but surprisingly, there are missing software features. Things like Pro camera controls, Video Boost, and Night Sight Video are all locked to the more expensive Google Pixel. According to a statement provided to Android Authority, the cost of cloud infrastructure needed to run Video Boost wasn’t baked into the Pixel 8’s price, which is why it’s not present.

Google Pixel 8 Review: Reality Optional

A best-in-class Android phone that’s all about the camera and AI tricks.

Pro mode, which allows you to set camera settings like ISO and shutter speed manually, is an odd feature to be missing from a phone with the exact same Tensor G3 CPU found in the Pro model. As the world discovered shortly after the phone’s launch, the limitation was completely artificial . If you really want the “pro-level” camera controls, you can install a modified version of the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera app.

Ultimately, both versions of Google’s latest Pixel are great phones. When deciding between the two, consider which screen size you prefer and if you want a telephoto camera. Personally, while I don’t always like large phones, I would take the tradeoff for the improved camera system.

And if you’re thinking about upgrading to the Pixel 8 or 8 Pro from a previous generation, I recommend checking out our guide comparing the latest Google handsets versus the Pixel 5, Pixel 6, and Pixel 7.

Should You Buy the Google Pixel 8 Pro?

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

If you’re in the market for a new Android smartphone, I have zero hesitancy in recommending the Google Pixel 8 Pro . Ads for this device will tell you all about its AI features, but the true star of the show continues to be its camera quality. It’s hard to take a bad photo with this device. Ultimately, the AI features faded into the background after a couple of weeks with the phone.

Plus, software performance continues to impress me, particularly compared to previous Pixel handsets. I haven’t experienced any of the shortcomings I’ve experienced on older models. Time will tell, but from my experience so far, this is a no-compromise Pixel.

Click here

Google Pixel 8 Pro

9/ 10

$900 $999 Save $99

The Google Pixel 8 Pro includes the search giant’s latest CPU, the Tensor G3, is among the best smartphone cameras on the market, and has some of the best AI-powered features.

$900 at Amazon See at Google Store See at Best Buy See at Verizon See at T-Mobile See at AT&T

Discover Amazing

In-Depth Analysis: The Unrivaled Excellence of the Google Pixel 8 Pro - Your Ultimate Guide