Matthew Cooper 
Nov 27, 2023
Google has released its latest flagship phone, the Pixel 8 Pro, which boasts a sleek design, a powerful processor, and a trio of impressive cameras. The Pixel 8 Pro is not only a great smartphone, but also a smart one, thanks to Google’s machine learning and AI features that enhance the user experience. In this review, we will take a look at some of the key aspects of the Pixel 8 Pro and see how it compares to its competitors.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Design and display
The Pixel 8 Pro has a minimalist and elegant design, with a matte glass back and an aluminium frame. It comes in three colours: Bay (light blue), Obsidian (black), and Porcelain (white). The phone has a large camera bar on the back, which houses three rear cameras and a dual-LED flash. The front of the phone has a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display, which is one of the brightest and most vibrant screens on the market, with a peak brightness of 2400 nits and a resolution of 2992 by 1344 pixels.
The display also supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. The Pixel 8 Pro has an under-display fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C port. It does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, or a physical SIM slot, but it supports eSIM and Nano-SIM.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Performance and battery
The Pixel 8 Pro is powered by Google’s own Tensor G3 chipset, which is a 4nm octa-core processor with a Nona-core CPU and an Immortalis-G715s MC10 GPU. The Tensor G3 is designed to handle Google’s machine learning and AI features, such as voice recognition, natural language processing, and image processing. The Pixel 8 Pro has 12GB of RAM and comes in four storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
The phone runs on Android 14, which is a stock version of Android with some exclusive Google Assistant features. The Pixel 8 Pro has a 5050mAh battery, which supports 30W wired charging, 23W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. The battery life is decent, but not exceptional, as the phone can last for about 9 hours of continuous use.
Camera and AI features
The Pixel 8 Pro has a triple rear camera setup, consisting of a 50MP main camera, a 48MP telephoto camera, and a 48MP ultrawide camera. The main camera has a large 1/1.31-inch sensor, a f/1.7 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, multi-zone laser AF, and OIS. The telephoto camera has a 5x optical zoom, a f/2.8 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, and OIS.
The ultrawide camera has a 126-degree field of view, a f/2.0 aperture, and dual-pixel PDAF. The Pixel 8 Pro also has a 10.5MP selfie camera, which has a f/2.2 aperture, a 20mm focal length, PDAF, and auto-HDR. The Pixel 8 Pro can record 4K videos at 30/60fps and 1080p videos at 24/30/60/120/240fps, with gyro-EIS, OIS, and 10-bit HDR.
The Pixel 8 Pro’s camera performance is excellent, as it can capture sharp, detailed, and well-exposed photos in various lighting conditions. The colours are natural and accurate, the dynamic range is wide, and the noise is minimal. The Pixel 8 Pro also has some AI-powered photography features, such as Pixel Shift, Ultra-HDR, Best Take, and Magic Eraser. Pixel Shift is a feature that combines multiple shots to create a high-resolution image with more details and less noise.
Ultra-HDR is a feature that merges multiple exposures to create a balanced image with more details in the shadows and highlights. Best Take is a feature that automatically selects the best shot from a burst of photos, based on factors such as focus, composition, and facial expressions. Magic Eraser is a feature that lets you remove unwanted objects from your photos, such as power lines, trash cans, or photobombers.
AI-powered video features
The Pixel 8 Pro also has some AI-powered video features, such as Cinematic Pan, Director’s View, and Face Unblur. Cinematic Pan is a feature that adds a cinematic effect to your videos, by slowing down the motion and stabilizing the footage.
Director’s View is a feature that lets you switch between the rear and front cameras, or use both at the same time, while recording a video. Face Unblur is a feature that automatically detects and sharpens the faces of the subjects in your videos, even if they are moving or out of focus.
AI-powered voice features
The Pixel 8 Pro also has some AI-powered voice features, such as Call Screen, Hold for Me, and Live Caption. Call Screen is a feature that lets you screen incoming calls from unknown numbers, by using Google Assistant to answer the call and ask who is calling and why.
Hold for Me is a feature that lets you use Google Assistant to wait on hold for you and notify you when a human representative is available. Live Caption is a feature that automatically transcribes the audio of any media playing on your phone, such as videos, podcasts, or voice messages.
