The Find My Device network will be able to find the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro “if they’re powered off or the battery is dead.” The former might help when a device is stolen. “Specialized Pixel hardware” is credited as making this possible.
Google tells us that support for this is already available without owners needing to take any action. It will be working with other OEMs and chipmakers on expanding this capability to premium Android devices.
Meanwhile, Google last year said that “Pixel Buds” will be updated to support the new offline Find My Device capabilities. Google confirmed today that this is coming to the Pixel Buds Pro in the future. JBL and Sony will release similar updates “soon.”
This support for headphones is coming after the initial launch for phones and tablets. Support for Bluetooth tracker tags will coincide with some product launches in May.
The Find My Device network is first rolling out in the US and Canada, with end users prompted by email and on-device alerts.
After “hardware limitations” were cited as the reason that the Pixel 8 isn’t getting Gemini Nano earlier this month, Google announced today that the on-device LLM is coming after all.
The Pixel 8 will get Gemini Nano, in developer preview, to power Summarize in Recorder and Gboard Smart Reply. The latter allows for “higher-quality smart replies” that have “conversational awareness” and should be generated faster. On the Pixel 8 Pro, it works with WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk. Meanwhile, Summarize can take a recording and generate bullet points.
RAM — 8 GB versus 12 GB — is the main hardware difference between the two Tensor G3 phones. Google today says “running large language models on phones with different memory specs can deliver different user experiences, so we have been testing and validating this on Pixel 8.”
It looks like Google found a way to run the LLM on less RAM without impacting the rest of the user experience, with the smaller Galaxy S24 doing the same. As a reminder, Google only ever said Gemini Nano was coming to the Pixel 8 Pro in December. Meanwhile, the comment earlier this month came from an engineer outside the Pixel team.
Gemini Nano is coming to the Pixel 8 with the next Pixel Feature Drop, which should be Android 14 QPR3 in June (if previous timelines remain in place). Besides end users getting those two Google app features, developers with the Pixel 8 will be able to use AICore for their own applications.
During the Q&A portion, a Google engineer on the Android generative AI team said that Gemini “Nano will not be coming to Pixel 8 because of some hardware limitations.”
Google is otherwise “working to bring Nano to more devices.” Specifically, more “high-end devices in the near future.”
This does not bode well for older/existing devices getting Gemini Nano. Specs-wise, the difference between the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro is RAM at 8 GB versus 12 GB. In terms of whether the Pixel 8 could run Gemini Nano at a technical level, it probably is capable as evidenced by how the entry-level Galaxy S24 also has 8 GB of RAM and uses it for on-device Magic Compose in Google Messages.
That said, running an intensive model — for a handful of features — might have other performance impacts on the rest of the user experience that Google does not think is worth making.
On the Pixel 8 Pro, Gemini Nano powers Recorder’s Summarize capability (more on that below) and on-device Gboard Smart Reply in WhatsApp, Line, and KakaoTalk.
Meanwhile, Google detailed a bit more about how Gemini Nano powers the “Summarize” feature in the Pixel Recorder app. When Google started experimenting with such a capability in 2022, it was looking at cloud-based models:
User privacy is a top priority and we really wanted our most privacy-centric users, which for Recorder is roughly half of our users, to be able to use such a highly requested feature. This caused us to pause the project at the time.
Recorder then switched to Gemini Nano and a smaller team was able to implement it in 4 months:
We were pleasantly surprised with Gemini Nano’s reduced latency and with how capable the model was despite it being much smaller than what we used during prototyping.
If Gemini Nano is not coming to older Pixel devices, Google really should implement a cloud-based summarization for the other half of users that want this “highly-requested feature.” After all, Recorder already introduced a cloud-powered “Transcribe again” feature in December that makes possible speech-to-text in a lot more languages. Just make cloud summaries something users have to manually trigger for each recording and then delete that audio.
The Pixel 8 series brings some big improvements to Google’s flagship series, and it’s also now bringing in awards, as the duo has now won the 2023 Phone of the Year award at MWC.
Each year at Mobile World Congress (MWC), the GSMA hosts the “Global Mobile Awards.” The event includes a series of awards for the mobile industry such as “Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough,” “Best Mobile Network Infrastructure,” and more. In the “Device” category, one of the biggest awards is given to “Best Smartphone.”
The Best Smartphone award combines outstanding performance, innovation and leadership as determined through assessment of smartphones on the market during the period January 2023to December 2023, by world leading independent analysts, journalists and influencers.
Candidates this year included the iPhone 15 Pro series, OnePlus Open, Samsung Galaxy S23 series, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, as well as the Google Pixel 8 series.
And, as announced at the event, the Google Pixel 8 series took the crown and ended up being named the “Best Smartphone” of 2023 by the GSMA. Rick Osterloh posted about the win on Twitter/X this evening.
Notably, Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro took the title in 2023, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max winning the year prior. In 2021, the Galaxy S21 Ultra won, but this is the first time Google has taken the title. The Pixel 6 Pro was on the shortlist in 2021 while the Pixel 3’s Night Sight feature won a GSMA award for “Disruptive Device Innovation” in 2019.
Google reportedly hit a new milestone on the back of Pixel 8 this year, shipping 10 million total devices in 2023.
Thrilled about Pixel 8 winning another important Phone of the Year award at MWC! @madebygoogle thank you to the entire Pixel user community for helping us get there, and congratulations to our team for great progress! pic.twitter.com/zIN75YHSmS
Screen protectors can often be a little clunky or annoying, but they’re still a great way to keep your device safe. Google Pixel phones have had a special mode for a while to boost touch sensitivity while using a screen protector, and on the Pixel 8 series, that setting can actually apply itself automatically.
On Pixel phones, “Screen Protector Mode” is found under Settings > Display, and is described very briefly saying:
Increase touch sensitivity and improve touch when using a screen protector.
While the results are often negligible, the biggest hurdle with the feature is remembering to turn it on. But, with the Pixel 8 series, Screen Protector Mode can actually turn itself on automatically when a screen protector is detected as being installed.
Recently, some users have noticed a notification appearing on Pixel 8 devices when a screen protector is installed or removed noting that Screen Protector Mode should be turned on or off. The feature was first spotted back in October, but hasn’t really appeared widely until recently. Some folks on Reddit note that they’ve seen it recently, though in my experience getting through a few screen protectors on my Pixel 8 Pro and my wife’s Pixel 8 since October, I’ve not seen the notification at all. That said, Screen Protector Mode is enabled on my Pixel 8 Pro, and I don’t recall doing that manually.
Presumably, the feature only recently was enabled widely, perhaps by a recent security patch. In any case, it’s a super neat feature, and one that seems pretty useful too.
As Android Police notes, the feature is actually referred to by Google as a “screen protector detector,” which is just delightful, but it’s exclusive to the Pixel 8 series for now. The feature isn’t available to older Pixel phones at this time.
While the jump from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 7 series was somewhat modest, the 8 series‘ launch is defined by a slew of new features and upgraded hardware. There’s also an interesting shift in strategy with the smaller Pixel, which is the subject of this review. One of the most notable changes in this year’s vanilla Pixel 8 is its size. The Pixel 8 is now sensibly smaller than the previous one, mainly thanks to the smaller 6.2-inch display, but other design changes have also helped bring down the weight and reduce dimensions.
The heart of the new Pixel 8 series is the new Samsung-made 4nm Google Tensor G3 chipset, promising better efficiency and higher performance compared to its predecessors. It’s also said to produce considerably less heat, which has been an issue in the past for some users. The chip is joined by Google’s Titan M2 security chip and improved NPU, responsible for AI-related tasks.
The display department also gets a lot of attention this year, and although Google’s Actua-branded LTPO OLED panel is reserved for the Pro, the vanilla 8 offers a substantial upgrade over its predecessor. It’s no LTPO but bumps up the refresh rate to 120Hz (welcome to 2020, Google), and the display is advertised as reaching 2,000 nits of peak brightness.
Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
The camera system has always been a centerpiece feature for Pixel phones, and the 8 series is no exception to the rule. While there’s no change in the main camera, which isn’t bad because the 50MP f/1.9, 1/1.31″ shooter takes excellent stills, the ultrawide snapper is new. It’s still 12MP and is not the 8 Pro’s ultrawide level, but it now supports autofocus, enabling sharper overall photos and macro-level photography. Additionally, the lens offers a wider field of view.
There’s also a modest uptick in battery capacity, now 4,575 mAh. The cell supports 27W of wired and 18W wireless charging, which is rather odd because that means a respectable upgrade in the wired charging and a small downgrade in the wireless. Last year, the Pixel 7 supported 20W wireless charging.
Last but not least, Google is stepping up its game when it comes to software support. Starting with the Pixel 8 series, Google is promising 7 years of OS and security updates. That’s more than any other smartphone maker right now, even Apple’s latest iOS 17 is only available to iPhones that are no more than 5-year-old.
While it all sounds good on paper, the devil is in the details, so keep reading to find out how the Pixel 8 fares against the competition in various scenarios and whether the 8 Pro is worth the extra bucks over the vanilla 8.
Unboxing the Google Pixel 8
The Google Pixel 8 ships in a modest retail box containing the bare essentials. It has the user manuals inside along with a USB-C to USB-C, Power Delivery-ready cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter, in case you need it for charging or data transfers.
As is usually the case with some of today’s phones, the charger isn’t included, so you’ll have to get a compatible 27W or faster PD-compliant charger.
Competition
2022 vanilla Pixel 7 was an interesting device as it launched with a fairly competitive price tag, but this year, Google thinks the upgrades are worth about €150 more. The handset asks $700 in the US and €800 in the EU. In the context of the rather limited US market, the Pixel 8 remains competitive enough by undercutting Apple’s iPhone 15 and Samsung’s Galaxy S23. Although, the latter may be found for about the same price as the Pixel 8.
Pixel 8 vs. Pixel 8 Pro
Either way, the iPhone 15 and the Galaxy S23 remain the Pixel 8’s natural competitors. That’s, of course, if you consider the iOS ecosystem. In this case, the iPhone 15 will surprise you with generally better battery life, a considerably more powerful chipset and a slightly better display (it supports Dolby Vision and it’s brighter). However, the Pixel 8 is more in line with 2023’s trends and offers a 120Hz refresh rate, faster charging, uses a bigger sensor for its main camera, and, for the first time ever, it has the upper hand regarding software support. Google promises 7 years of full software support as opposed to Apple’s 5-year support cycle.
We could argue all day about which phone of the two is better for photography, and we think it depends. It all boils down to processing, as the Pixel 8 produces more vibrant images, while the iPhone 15 tends to stay closer to the natural type of processing. Two things stand out in this comparison, though – the iPhone 15 records better videos, while the Pixel 8’s ultrawide camera is much better at handling more lighting scenarios and offers autofocus.
Apple iPhone 15 • Samsung Galaxy S23
The Samsung Galaxy S23 has several advantages over the Pixel 8. It has a dedicated 3x telephoto camera, longer overall battery life (but with similar screen-on runtimes), a more powerful chipset, a slightly better build with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and a more feature-rich OS with most of its functionalities available to all regions. We are not saying the Pixel 8’s proprietary version of Android 14 isn’t customizable or lacks features, but most of the cool ones are region-locked. Speaking of software, the Pixel 8 edges out the Galaxy S23 with 7 years of full software support and more timely updates. Moreover, the Pixel 8 should be considered for its camera prowess as it outperforms the Galaxy S23 in pretty much every scenario.
Xiaomi 13 • Asus Zenfone 10
Two other viable Android options are the Asus Zenfone 10 and the Xiaomi 13. If you are in the market for a small flagship phone, the Xiaomi 13 should definitely be on your list. The device’s build may not be particularly impressive, but it packs excellent hardware inside that chassis — a display with comparable quality with Dolby Vision support and a much more potent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Additionally, battery life is longer, charging is much faster, and the camera hardware is more versatile as it has a dedicated 3.2x optical zoom camera. In terms of overall camera quality, it’s hard to say which one is better, but in some cases where processing is the deciding factor, the Pixel 8 usually wins.
Pixel 8 vs. Pixel 8 Pro
Lastly, we got the Zenfone 10 under the “compact 2023 flagship” label, but to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t offer anything more compelling than the Pixel 8. Skimming through the spec sheet reveals a faster 144Hz display, a more powerful chip, quicker charging (on paper, 27W vs. 30W) and it has a grippy texture back, which is a rare find these days. However, most of these advantages don’t necessarily mean a better user experience. We will give the Zenfone 10 credit for its longer battery life, but the Pixel 8 comes out on top with actually faster charging, a considerably better camera experience, a brighter screen and longer software support.
Verdict
Despite its considerable price hike, the Pixel 8 remains rather competitive, especially for US consumers. Its MSRP is below its natural regional competitors, offers an improved viewing experience in line with 2023’s industry standards, excellent camera experience, faster charging, and 7 years of software support, and timely major OS updates.
But the Pixel 8 isn’t without its flaws. For instance, a 3x telephoto unit would have been greatly appreciated as well as a more competitive chipset with better thermal control and wider availability for its smart features. After all, many of the Pixel’s clever software features can’t be utilized to its fullest in many markets. Charging and battery life aren’t particularly impressive either, although somewhat okay in Pixel terms. We also wonder why Google decided to skip the autofocus feature on the selfie camera and the support for Pro camera mode on the smaller Pixel.
Bottom line, the Pixel 8 is an easy recommendation because, despite its issues, it’s a significant upgrade over the previous generation and manages to pack competent hardware into a compact body.
Pros
Compact and premium build, easy to handle, dust- and water-resistant.
Bright and color-accurate 120Hz OLED panel.
Improved charging.
Overall, great camera quality with an unmatched character that has a loyal following.
Superb stereo speakers.
Android from the source, exclusive feature set, 7 years of software support.
Cons
Some software features are limited to certain countries.
No AF on the selfie camera, no Pro camera mode.
Ultrawide camera is underwhelming in low light.
A dedicated telephoto camera would have been nice.
Unimpressive battery life and no charger in the box.
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