Google has unveiled its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and the Pixel Watch 2, with availability set for October 12th. Pre-orders for these smartphones have begun, and they come with some exciting features and improvements.
The Pixel 8 is available in black, rose, or hazel and starts at Aus$1,199, a Aus$200 increase from its predecessor. Meanwhile, the Pixel 8 Pro comes in black, porcelain, and light blue and starts at Aus$1,699, a Aus$400 increase from its previous version.
The Pixel 8 features a more compact design compared to the Pixel 7, but it boasts a 6.2-inch OLED display and a significant performance boost.
Powered by Google’s G3 Tensor processor, the Pixel 8 offers a 42 percent increase in brightness at 2,000 nits and an upgraded 120Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the Pixel 8 Pro retains the 6.7-inch display from the 7 Pro but introduces power-efficient LTPO technology, resulting in Google’s “brightest display yet” at 2,400 nits.
One surprising addition to the Pixel 8 Pro is a temperature reader installed on its back. Google claims that this sensor can quickly and accurately measure the temperature of various objects. According to Google’s VP of Product Management, Brian Rakowski, users can use it to check if a pan is hot enough for cooking or if a baby’s bottle contains milk at the right temperature.
Both smartphones feature a 50-megapixel main wide camera with improved low-light performance. The Pixel 8 utilizes a dual-camera setup with a secondary 12MP ultra-wide lens, while the Pixel 8 Pro boasts a triple camera setup that includes a secondary 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a third 48MP ultrawide lens for close-up macro photography. Both models come with new AI-powered editing tools, including Magic Editor for resizing, repositioning subjects, and adjusting lighting and backgrounds. The Best Take feature selects the best expressions from similar photos to create the optimal image.
The Pixel 8 Pro introduces the Zoom Enhance feature, allowing users to zoom in on already-captured photos and add detail to the preferred focal point using generative AI.
Google’s Assistant gets an upgrade with Bard, an AI-enhanced personal assistant that integrates with other Google Suite apps like Gmail and Docs.
Bard helps with tasks such as creating grocery lists, finding essential information in your email, and generating social media posts based on photo content.
In addition to the new smartphones, Google unveiled Android 14, which includes improved passkey support, enhanced customization and accessibility features, a new health tracking feature, and an AI wallpaper generator that creates backgrounds based on user descriptions.
The Pixel Watch 2 also received significant upgrades compared to the original Pixel Watch. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 processor that offers up to 24 hours of battery life even with the display continuously on. The watch also includes new sensors for stress detection and automatic tracking of workout sessions. The Pixel Watch 2 starts at $549 but comes complimentary with pre-orders of the Pixel 8 Pro.
A notable highlight of Google’s launch event was the announcement of seven years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates for both smartphones. This means that Pixel 8 devices will receive updates until 2030, providing long-term support and value for users.
