I’ve been on the Google smartphone train for a while now, using the Pixel 6, 6a, 7, 7a, and now the 8. Since my recent forgettable experience with the Pixel 7a, I was very excited to get the chance to give the Pixel 8 a try to see if things got better with a new model altogether.
Physical Design
Unboxing the Pixel 8 reveals a brilliant-looking device, and I know many will say it looks like almost every other smartphone out there, but the colour is truly remarkable. The Pixel 8 is available in three colours: Rose, Obsidian, and Hazel, the latter of which is the model I was provided. If you know anything about me, I love simple elegance, and the Pixel 8 has it in spades, especially this Hazel colour. It’s lightweight and fits in the hand perfectly without being too large to get your thumb across when doom-scrolling TikTok or Instagram.
Speaking of size, the Pixel 8 is actually a tiny bit smaller than its predecessor, the Pixel 7, the former getting a 6.2-inch display and the Pixel 7 getting a 6.3-inch display. While smaller, the Pixel 8 doesn’t suffer from it, and the quality of the display itself is wonderful. Coming in with a 1080×2400 resolution OLED display and 428 PPI, the picture quality is spectacular.
Staying with the display itself, the Pixel 8 features a brightness level of up to 1400 nits for HDR and 2000 nits peak brightness. All of this means you can still see the display in bright sunlight, even on a lower brightness setting (I keep mine at 50% at all times, and I have no issues seeing the screen in the middle of the day). The fingerprint reader that is built into the display itself works effortlessly.
I only ever had an issue unlocking the phone using my fingerprint when I tried to do it at an unusual angle, likely because I hadn’t registered that angle when setting up the fingerprint in the settings. Oftentimes, the facial recognition would unlock the phone quicker than the fingerprint, so that’s something in itself.
As I mentioned earlier, the Pixel 8 is a tiny bit smaller than the Pixel 7, not so much that you’d notice unless you had the other device next to it, but it’s still smaller, and that was a bit unexpected for me. When it comes to weight, the Pixel 8 rocks up with a weight of roughly 187 grams, 10 less than the Pixel 7, so the size difference translates there as well.
Camera Impressions
The camera in a smartphone is as much of a selling point as the rest of the phone is these days, and the Pixel 8 is no slouch in this department. While not as powerful as its older brother, the Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel 8’s camera does a respectable job and the software features built-in make it amazing.
“Unboxing the Pixel 8 reveals a brilliant looking device, and I know, it looks like almost every other smartphone out there, but the colour is truly remarkable.”
While only having two lenses compared to the three that the Pixel 8 Pro has, the Pixel 8 still takes amazing pictures. The 50MP wide-angle camera offers an 82° field of view and a zoom capability of 8x to capture some of the best daytime pictures I’ve taken on a smartphone. The 12MP ultrawide camera boasts a 125.8 degree field of view, giving you the capability to shoot some incredible wide-angle and landscape-type pictures.
One of my favourite things about the cameras in the Pixel 8 is a software feature called Macro Focus. Macro Focus uses AI to detect the foreground and background and blurs the background to bring to foreground into sharp focus. This is perfect for those times when you don’t want to show the messy room in the background or the inconsequential scenery in your group photo. Especially exciting about this is that it can be turned off or set to Automatic in the camera settings.
Battery and Overall Performance
This is the area that I was most worried about, as my experience with the Pixel 7a was less than ideal in this regard. Happily, I can say that the Pixel 8 has reaffirmed my faith in Google’s ability to deliver a device that lasts the day without needing a charge. Google reports that the device, on average, lasted about 31 hours on a charge, and my experience with it under moderate usage certainly confirms that. On top of that, one can get up to 50% battery charge in half an hour using a Google 30W USB-C charger, so there’s a lot to be happy about when it comes to battery life and capability.
“Happily, I can say that the Pixel 8 has reaffirmed my faith in Google’s ability to deliver a device that lasts the day without needing a charge.”
Day-to-day use with the Pixel 8 was a pleasure. Going between apps, opening new apps, and more were all very responsive. I found that multitasking was easier than ever with how smooth the process was for going from TikTok to Instagram to Chrome and more. All of this was made even better with the smooth Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen, and my fingers felt like they were sliding on fresh ice.
In terms of performance, the Pixel 8 is outfitted with the same Tensor G3 chip as the Pixel 8 Pro, allowing for smooth operation and worry-free multitasking. Gaming was where I could see the limits of the device. Games like Magic: The Gathering Arena delivered some great visuals, but the operation was a bit sluggish at the best of times. I found that there was a noticeable delay when selecting a specific card to play or animation to load. It’s not the worst thing in the world for a device that isn’t, strictly speaking, a pro-level device, but I still noticed it because I tend to play games a fair bit on my phone during the day.
Software
The software category is where the Pixel 8 really shines. Arriving with the latest version of Android 14, the Pixel 8 is primed to receive a 7-year lifespan pledge from Google in regard to updates and support. The thought of replacing one’s device every couple of years are no longer with this, as Google say that the device will continue to receive new features, software patches and more all the way up to 2030. A staggering revelation, considering I know people who buy a new iPhone every single year.
“As a smartphone, the Pixel 8 is spectacular.”
In terms of features, I mentioned the Macro Focus already, but one of my next favourites would have to be something called Audio Eraser. Similar to Magic Eraser, where you can scrub out unwanted parts of the image, Audio Eraser does the same for audio. It uses AI to break up a video into sound layers, and you can reduce or remove a sound altogether.
Front Camera Slo-Mo is a wonderful feature, especially for content creators who use the front camera for some video purposes. The Slo-Mo front camera can film video at up to 240fps in slow motion, which, when I think about it, is a crazy number for a camera that is housed in a smartphone.
As a smartphone, the Pixel 8 is spectacular. I can barely find a fault for a device designed for everyone. Capable processing power, great battery life, AI-driven software features and more all headline this device. If this is what Google has done for the Pixel 8, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the Pixel 9 and beyond.
