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Samsung unveiled new foldables, Apple revealed the iPhone 15 family, and Amazon dropped a bunch of gadgets with Alexa onboard, so it’s about time for Google to unveil its latest in the Pixel family.
Right on cue, at a special event held in New York City, the Google team unveiled the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Watch 2, and even some updates to the Pixel Buds Pro. Here, we’re focusing on Google’s smartphones, which cost $100 more than the previous Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
What do you get for the extra cost? Camera improvements, a refined design, and sped-up performance from the new Google-made Tensor G3 processor. We’re sharing everything you need to know about the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, including how to preorder Google’s latest smartphones.
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: Pricing, release date, and preorders
You don’t need to wait long if you’re already sold on the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro. Google and retailers like Amazon and BestBuy have already opened up preorders for the duo of smartphones. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will begin shipping on October 12—just over a week.
The Pixel 8 starts at $699 for 128GB of storage and comes with Obsidian, Hazel, or Rose. That’s a $100 increase over the Pixel 7 for the same storage. Google’s Pixel 8 Pro now starts at $999, comes in Obsidian, Porcelain, or Bay, and starts at 128GB of storage.
If you get the Pixel 8, you’ll score either a pair of Pixel Buds Pro or a $100 gift card as a bonus, and you can get the Pixel Watch 2 for free with the purchase of the Pixel 8 Pro. You can also trade-in another phone to score up to $800 off the cost.
- Pixel 8 in Obsidian, Hazel, or Rose, Starting at $699 at Amazon or BestBuy
- Pixel 8 Pro in Obsidian, Porcelain, or Bay, Starting at $999 at Amazon or BestBuy
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro: What you need to know
As with the jump from Pixel 6 to Pixel 7, the leap to Pixel 8 isn’t a complete redesign this time. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro sport a horizontal camera bar along the rear near the top, and both devices are much more rounded. This should aid in ergonomics and almost give both a more friendly design.
There is a slight difference with the finishes, though—the Pixel 8 in Obsidian, Hazel, and Rose all sport a glossy back, while the 8 Pro in Obsidian, Porcelain, and Bay get a matte finish. This should make the Pro Pixel a bit better at dealing with fingerprints. Either route, the Pixel is a nice-looking smartphone, and Google’s created some uniformity with the rest of its devices. I’m particularly fond of the new Bay, a baby-blue-like shade, for the Pixel 8 Pro. Both are still resistant to water and dust as well.
Google’s flagship Pixel 8 Pro is sticking with a familiar 6.7-inch Super Actua display brighter than the screen on Pixel’s 7 Pro and now sports an adaptive refresh rate that scales from 1Hz to 120Hz. This way, it can speed up when you’re in a game or scrolling a spreadsheet for a natural viewing experience, but it doesn’t need to pull on the battery constantly. The Pixel 8 is smaller year over year with a 6.2-inch Actua display that peaks with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. It’s only 0.1-inch smaller than the Pixel 7, but this should make the device a bit more manageable in the hand.
Both sport a pinhole notch centered near the top of both screens, and it hides the 10.5-megapixel ultra-wide front facing camera. This should be plenty for video calls and snapping selfies.
The most exciting part of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro live on the back, though, and it will likely pay to spend the extra cash if you care about photography. The standard Pixel 8 sticks with a 50-megapixel main lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. Shooting with either will showcase improved processing and more accurate colors, but a new Macro Focus mode will let you take extreme close-ups.
Google’s Pixel 8 Pro aims to compete with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra with a triple-camera array. It starts with a dependable 50-megapixel wide main lens similar to the 7 Pro but pairs it with a 48-megapixel ultra wide lens and a 48-megapixel telephoto. Optically, you can shoot from 0.5 to 5x without digital zoom, and Google’s SuperRes Zoom aims to deliver clear shots at up to 30x.
The upgraded camera hardware, software, and AI improvements should make both setups quite stellar.
Under the hood, Google is powering the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro with the Tensor G3. This is the third generation of a made-by-Google chip, which should make for a very fluid experience on the device. Everyday apps like dialing out on the phone, texting, writing an email, browsing the web, playing a game, and capturing life’s daily moments with a camera should all fly with no issues.
Google is promising that the latest processor should deliver an improvement over both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 phones, but specifically noting that it’s better at handling AI (artificial intelligence) features. So removing an object or a person from your photo with “Magic Eraser” should wrap faster, and the Call Screen feature should feel more instantaneous.
You can still charge the Pixel 8s hardwired via USB-C or with any Qi-enabled wireless charger. The Pixel 8 features a 4,575 mAh battery, while the Pixel 8 Pro gets a larger 4,950 mAh battery. With either, Google promises all-day use and multiple days with “Extreme Battery Saver” enabled.
All-in-all, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are shaping up to be excellent smartphones and some of the best Android phones to launch this year. Between the exclusive AI features, rounded designs, clean Android experience, and great cameras, there's a lot to like here.
- Pixel 8 in Obsidian, Hazel, or Rose, Starting at $699 at Amazon or BestBuy
- Pixel 8 Pro in Obsidian, Porcelain, or Bay, Starting at $999 at Amazon or BestBuy
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.
