The Google Pixel 7 Pro was smartphone general. It packed in every little thing an informal smartphone consumer would count on from an Android smartphone together with, the now commonplace, well timed software program updates. But it surely got here up quick in a number of areas like battery life, charging and had its fair proportion of heating points and camera-related bugs as nicely. With the brand new Pixel 8 Pro, there is a brand-new design, loads of AI-enabled options and even a brand new processor. Preserving this in thoughts, one would naturally count on Google to have labored on some if not the entire shortcomings of its predecessor. However that is not precisely the case with Google’s latest Pixel flagship.
Google Pixel 8 Professional value in India
In contrast to final 12 months, Google’s Pixel 8 Professional lastly provides a better storage choice in India. After years of complaining about providing a measly 128GB of storage with its base fashions, Google lastly determined so as to add a brand new storage tier in India with the introduction of a 256GB variant. I acquired the 128GB storage variant for assessment which is priced at Rs. 1,06,999 in India, whereas the 256GB variant is obtainable at Rs. 1,13,999.
As talked about in my first impressions, each the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro, are Google’s costliest Pixel smartphones to launch in India. Merely put, the brand new top-end Pixel 8 Professional has acquired a value hike of Rs. 22,000, which immediately places it out of attain of a number of potential consumers. After which you need to needless to say even at Rs. 1,06,999, you might be nonetheless getting simply 128GB of inner storage and no free cloud storage entry both.
Certainly, Google has its arms full in terms of convincing its present Pixel customers to improve to the newest mannequin this 12 months. And it is in all probability one of many the reason why you might be studying this assessment.
Google Pixel 8 Professional Overview: Design
Google’s Pixel 8 Professional has seen extra adjustments than the usual Pixel 8 (Review) this 12 months. Mainly, Google’s engineers removed some pointless stuff and made some refinements to the Pixel 7 Professional’s design. Preserving in thoughts its flat show, and general flatter profile it qualifies as a brand new design. However it’s an overhaul of types as the brand new Pixel 8 Professional nonetheless seems distinctly Pixel. That is primarily right down to its sharper, visor-like digicam module on the again which is as chunky as final 12 months’s mannequin.
The visor-like digicam module nonetheless will get scratched simply, identical to the Pixel 7 Professional
The digicam module’s edges are fairly sharp in contrast to final 12 months’s mannequin, however I am glad Google retained its chunky protruding look as a result of it makes it simpler to carry on to the cellphone’s relatively slippery matte-finished physique by resting my index finger under it for help.
The matte-finished rear glass panel is a primary for Google’s Pixel vary and its general rounded look and curves do remind me of the unique Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. As slippery because the rear panel is, it is glorious in terms of resisting fingerprints. At 213g the cellphone doesn’t really feel too heavy or too gentle. This mixed with the soft-finished glass again lends the system a really premium and opulent really feel.
Google’s Pixel 8 Professional undoubtedly seems the half for a premium smartphone
Google additionally provides an IP68 score which is similar as on final 12 months’s mannequin. Construct high quality is kind of strong and I am glad Google lastly removed the curved edge show which appeared pointless on a Pixel, provided that it by no means had any added software program options like on Samsung’s smartphones.
Google Pixel 8 Professional Overview: Specs and software program
This 12 months’s Pixel 8 Professional brings one other new chipset known as the Tensor G3. It is constructed utilizing the 4nm manufacturing course of, which along with its new nona-core structure ought to in concept translate to raised efficiency and effectivity. Nevertheless, Google is extra centered on its AI capabilities and that is the place it’s anticipated to shine. 12GB RAM is commonplace and the cellphone provides as much as 256GB of storage this 12 months with no expandable storage and no extra SIM card slot. Nevertheless, one can use the eSIM performance to make use of two numbers on the identical system.
By way of connectivity, the Pixel 8 Professional provides an upgraded WiFi 7 expertise, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, a USB-C port, ultra-wideband (UWB) help and help for a number of international positioning techniques.
The Pixel 8 Professional’s (proper) design shares some similarities with the older Pixel 7 Professional (left)
Aside from the same old digicam array, there may be additionally a brand new thermometer which can be utilized to test the floor temperature of assorted supplies. Google will likely be including help for checking physique temperature quickly, which might make it helpful if it seems to be correct.
The cellphone has a 5,050mAh battery and helps 30W wired charging and 23W wi-fi charging. Nevertheless, the field contents do not embody a supported charging adapter.
Going with the AI pattern, Google introduces its new AI wallpaper function which is unique to this 12 months’s Pixel 8 and eight Professional gadgets. It wants an web connection to work however chomps out some actually distinctive and attention-grabbing wallpapers utilizing its AI bits. The remainder of Android 14 feels and seems much like what’s accessible on a Pixel 7 Professional.
Different new smarts which might be accessible on the Pixel 8 Professional embody the flexibility to learn aloud internet pages or articles from an online browser. Google Assistant may even translate an online web page earlier than studying it aloud which can be helpful. The operation is correctly hands-free on the Pixel 8 Professional (I couldn’t get the function to work efficiently on a Pixel 7 Professional), which is beneficial in case your arms are busy.
The AI Wallpaper function is a enjoyable option to pattern the facility of AI and create some distinctive wallpapers within the course of
The Pixel 8 Professional’s AI modifying instruments, which can be found in its Images app are jaw-droppingly spectacular when it comes to functionality. Whereas the older Magic Eraser has gotten a lot better over time, the newly marketed instruments nonetheless want a little bit of polish when it comes to output.
The brand new Magic Editor device enables you to actually reposition individuals and objects in {a photograph} (which needs to be uploaded to the cloud). The AI fashions certain are spectacular! At occasions it could get actually onerous to inform if a picture has been edited in any respect. Nevertheless, pixel-peeping into these pictures normally reveals some clues. Magic Editor is not excellent and may get polished with future updates, however it’s a very highly effective device nonetheless.
The identical could be stated concerning the new Finest Take function which requires a sequence of pictures of the identical setting with the intention to work. Should you occur to have sufficient pictures of the identical individuals in the identical setting, then it is relatively onerous to inform if a picture has been edited.
Audio Magic Eraser is one other AI-enabled device, which may impressively perceive the sounds in a video. As soon as activated, it listens to the clip and shortly identifies the completely different sounds after which categorises them (speech, nature, wind, noise and so on.) letting one regulate the degrees to bump up the quantity of the sounds they want to hear (speech, nature) over those that they wish to quieten (noise, wind). Whereas I didn’t discover the outcomes all that spectacular, it’s attention-grabbing to see how the AI mannequin identifies the completely different sounds in any given video.
The Audio Magic Eraser device within the Images app is beneficial for eradicating or lowering undesirable sounds in a recorded video
As controversial as these picture modifying options are, I can see a variety of Pixel 8 and eight Professional customers serving to many who aren’t in a position to snap handsome pictures. Furthermore, Pixel 8 Professional customers might seem to be wizards to aged people who normally do not find yourself composing a trip photograph proper, and infrequently request the unimaginable, like transferring the Eiffel Tower a bit to the correct. Surprisingly, all of that and extra is now attainable utilizing easy drag-and-drop instruments.
As spectacular because the Pixel 8 Professional’s pictures and modifying capabilities are this 12 months, I nonetheless confronted the identical digicam bug as on final 12 months’s fashions. The Evening Sight bug triggers when capturing back-to-back pictures from the digicam app’s evening mode when transitioning from 1X to 2X. As soon as triggered, all pictures captured thereafter don’t get saved within the cellphone, leaving one with a digicam that can allow you to click on pictures however not save them. The one option to get the digicam to begin storing snapped pictures once more is to restart the cellphone or anticipate the digicam app to crash.
For lengthy, Pixel smartphones have at all times been the primary gadgets to obtain Android software program updates and Google has in some way managed to one-up itself on this space with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional. Google claims that it’ll present as much as 7 years of software program updates which incorporates its quarterly Characteristic Drops (that carry new options) and safety updates. Including to this dedication Google additionally defined that it’ll replenish on spares for these two smartphones as nicely, in case your smartphone will get broken or stops functioning over the subsequent 7 years. Certainly such commitments will attraction to those that do not improve their gadgets often, however changing your smartphone much less often works nicely for the setting because it additionally reduces e-waste.
Google Pixel 8 Professional Overview: Efficiency
As for the Pixel 8 Professional’s 6.7-inch QHD+ OLED show, it really works nicely underneath shiny daylight and reveals pretty correct colors when set to the Pure color mode. Its 120Hz dynamic refresh charge, which may drop to 1Hz when not getting used, additionally works as anticipated.
Identical to final 12 months, battery statistics aren’t all that nice as I usually discovered me reaching out for the charger by the top of a piece day with about 20 p.c left round 7:00 PM, after unplugging the cellphone at round 8:00 AM. If you find yourself utilizing the digicam and edit a number of pictures count on the battery ranges to drop even sooner. In our video loop battery take a look at, the Pixel 8 Professional managed to final for 14 hours and quarter-hour, which is barely higher than the Pixel 7 Professional, however not nice in comparison with what most smartphones on this phase are able to. Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra which at the moment retails a further Rs. 20,000 managed to final 21 hours and seven minutes within the same test.
The Pixel 8 Professional (proper) has a flat show in comparison with the older Pixel 7 Professional (left)
On the Pixel 8 Professional, most informal and high-end video games run simply superb at default settings. However the cellphone clearly is not as highly effective when in comparison with its Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered counterparts so do not count on flawless body charges when enjoying graphics-intensive titles like Genshin Impression or fast-paced video games like Name of Obligation: Cellular.
The cellphone does heat up after enjoying a number of Name of Obligation tournaments on Extremely settings, nevertheless it doesn’t get abnormally sizzling and that is primarily right down to CPU throttling. Nevertheless, one can count on loads of body drops throughout gameplay because the Tensor G3 is not actually designed for operating demanding titles at the most effective settings. Ray-tracing, whereas being comparatively new, can be not supported. I additionally discovered the contact sampling to be a bit sluggish when enjoying fast-paced FPS video games.
The Tensor G3 contained in the Google Pixel 8 Professional managed barely inferior scores in comparison with most smartphones on this phase and have been far under what Apple’s newest iPhone 15 Pro Max is able to. The Pixel 8 Professional scored 10,38,343 factors in AnTuTu and managed scores of 1,629 and three,274 in Geekbench’s single and multi-core exams. To present you an thought about the place Google’s Pixel 8 Professional stands, the lower-priced OnePlus 11 5G (QHD+ show) which we reviewed earlier this 12 months scored 11,89,556 factors and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 (FHD+ show) managed a rating of 12,87,359 whereas the iPhone 15 Professional Max managed a cushty lead scoring 16,61,205 factors in our review.
Google sticking with its personal Tensor design for its processor does have its downsides as they’ve but to determine higher methods to deal with all of the processing that occurs after snapping {a photograph}. Identical to the Pixel 7 Professional, the Pixel 8 Professional struggles when capturing Portrait mode pictures and can cease capturing pictures (or disable the shutter button) when the photograph buffer is full after clicking round 7-8 portrait mode pictures in fast succession. It does this to complete processing them within the background and can let one snap extra pictures solely as soon as it is accomplished processing those which have already been captured. Whereas this doesn’t seem to be an enormous downside, I did find yourself lacking a number of moments whereas snapping pictures of my child. Capturing RAW pictures additionally takes some time to course of, in comparison with the iPhone 15 Professional Max which is nearly immediate.
The Pixel 8 Professional identical to the Pixel 7 Professional runs a bit sizzling outdoor when related to 5G networks
For a cellphone that is extra centered and identified for its pictures options, it is unhappy to see that the newest Tensor G3 SoC is not able to dealing with the fundamentals. Google actually has to work on the Tensor G3’s imaging pipeline or go together with a separate imaging chip solely for dealing with all of its digicam necessities as the present Tensor G3 processor clearly is not up for the job.
Even with day by day utilization, one thing so simple as scrolling by way of internet pages and social media apps (even YouTube) can get jittery at occasions. Scrolling is jittery when utilizing each native and third-party apps and that is one thing many customers have complained about on Reddit as nicely. Google took its personal candy time to aim to resolve its Pixel 7 Professional’s scrolling points, however these have but to be resolved efficiently.
The cellphone nonetheless will get sizzling when utilizing the digicam app, particularly when capturing extra difficult digicam modes like Portrait and Evening mode. The cellphone additionally will get fairly sizzling outdoor when related to 5G networks. Google nonetheless doesn’t provide any cooling resolution (other than CPU throttling) with its Pixel telephones, which retains them operating heat more often than not when used outdoor. Many Chinese language smartphone manufacturers have adopted vapour chamber cooling to keep up efficiency ranges whereas performing power-intensive duties. This 12 months’s Samsung Galaxy S23 additionally utilised the identical, making it run a lot cooler in comparison with its predecessor. So, it is actually a thriller why Google refuses to incorporate the identical in its flagship Pixel smartphones.
The brand new and safe Face Unlock function works as shortly as Apple’s Face ID authentication, nonetheless, it solely works nicely (or shortly) in good lighting. Dimly lit settings will see the digicam struggling to recognise faces, which is once I needed to revert to the nice outdated fingerprint scanner, which fortunately labored as anticipated.
Google Pixel 8 Professional Overview: Cameras
This 12 months’s Pixel 8 Professional comes with a number of enhancements within the digicam division as nicely. Key amongst these is the brand new 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle digicam which replaces the 12-megapixel digicam on the earlier mannequin. There is a new brighter 50-megapixel main digicam as nicely however I count on minor enhancements (if any) with this one. Every part else other than the brand new Tensor G3 stays the identical, which isn’t a nasty deal because the earlier Pixel 7 Professional was not dangerous at imaging to start with.
The digicam modes have been revamped on the Pixel 8 Professional. The Pixel 8 Professional specifically this 12 months will get a particular professional mode known as Professional Controls, which brings superior digicam controls for smartphone digicam lovers preferring to tweak issues a bit earlier than capturing or whereas recording.
Professional Controls is splendidly designed with practicality and ease in thoughts, making it straightforward to make use of and perceive
To be clear, the Pixel 8 Professional’s Professional Controls mode isn’t as superior because the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely’s digicam app which additionally provides varied controls for video. The Pixel 8 Professional’s Professional controls appear much more user-friendly (designed for the typical Joe), and fairly sensible on the similar time, simply making it so much higher when it comes to functionality and management when capturing video, even when in comparison with an iPhone 15 Professional Max, I reviewed earlier.
In contrast to the Pixel 7 Professional the place one will get entry to brightness, shadow and white steadiness sliders within the viewfinder when capturing, the Pixel 8 Professional hides all of its Professional controls underneath a settings button positioned on the high proper nook. Tapping on it provides one entry to superior controls like Evening Sight period, brightness, shadow, white steadiness, focus, shutter pace and ISO as nicely. I notably appreciated the main target management because it highlights the at the moment centered space in pink because of a spotlight peaking function like on an actual digicam.
Tapping on the same old gear icon on the backside now opens a complete menu with a particular Professional tab through which one can choose the decision (binned or full body), output kind (RAW/JPEG) and a really useful Lens Choice selector, which helps you to select between Auto or Guide. Selecting Auto mainly will get you your complete zoom vary which additionally consists of the digital ranges between the native focal lengths (0.5X, 1X and 5X).
The handbook will get you entry to simply the native focal lengths, which switches off the digicam’s automated lens choice. That is helpful to keep away from utilizing the fallacious digicam (which the smartphone routinely selects relying on the gap of the item/topic from the lens. This usually results in digitally cropped and scaled pictures. So, in case your topic is just too shut for the 5X telephoto digicam, it simply will not focus, letting you understand that you’ll want to preserve a better distance to get the right shot.
Pixel 8 Professional additionally lets one shoot in RAW utilizing all three cameras which implies you will get high-resolution (50 or 48-megapixel) RAW pictures which could be tweaked later within the publish. As for the video, Professional Controls solely enables you to tweak white steadiness and publicity on this mode.
The Pixel 8 Professional and Pixel 7 Professional digicam samples have been captured in daylight and low gentle utilizing their main cameras (faucet picture to broaden)
As for picture high quality, I discovered the pictures from the first digicam to be nearly an identical to final 12 months’s mannequin. The minor variations are primarily right down to the tone the place the Pixel 8 Professional chooses cooler tones in comparison with the Pixel 7 Professional’s hotter hues. The extent of element is second to none, however I usually observed that colors aren’t as correct though the images regarded good. Low-light imagery is improbable, however I observed that the first digicam tends to crush the blacks in settings with contrasted lighting.
Google Pixel 8 Professional captures some high quality 5X telephoto photographs (high) and macro pictures (backside) (faucet pictures to broaden)
Images from the ultra-wide digicam, which has seen probably the most adjustments this 12 months, pack in additional element and dynamic vary when capturing in daylight. Colors are fairly correct as nicely. Macro pictures additionally got here out nice and the brand new digicam enables you to get even nearer (as much as 2cm) to your topic.
Google Pixel 8 Professional and Pixel 7 Professional daylight and low-light digicam samples captured utilizing their ultra-wide-angle cameras (faucet picture to broaden)
By way of zoom, the telephoto digicam shoots actually spectacular pictures with good element. I used the 5X telephoto to seize some crisp portraits and close-ups and nicely they usually all regarded attractive with a pure bokeh. Going past its optical limits, Google’s Tremendous Res Zoom manages high quality pictures as much as 10X (hybrid zoom) however the high quality begins to dither thereafter.
Google Pixel 8 Professional telephoto zoom digicam samples captured in daylight (faucet picture to broaden)
Whereas it manages good picture high quality, the Pixel 8 Professional identical to the Pixel 7 Professional struggles with edge detection when in Portrait mode (faucet picture to broaden)
After managing common video high quality final 12 months, it is good to see that Google has lastly upped its online game. 4K 30fps video recorded from the first digicam seems sharp, has bitrate and provides a gentle body charge. Stabilisation can be spectacular, making it a strong improve over the Pixel 7 Professional’s video recording capabilities. Low gentle footage additionally has good element with low noise. HDR footage shot on the similar decision appeared a bit saturated however showcased good distinction and element even in low gentle.
Google Pixel 8 Professional Overview: Verdict
What units the Pixel 8 Professional other than each different Pixel of the previous, is its AI capabilities. It is a route that Google has charted for its Pixel smartphones, and the Pixel 8 Professional absolutely shines on this space with the flexibility to course of a variety of requests and use a number of instruments with out the necessity to hook up with the web or the cloud for processing. The very succesful and well-designed built-in Professional Controls can be an space which cell pictures lovers will get pleasure from.
However the value hike might persuade many upgraders to stay with their Pixel 7 Professional fashions this 12 months as the entire above-mentioned options (aside from a 7-year dedication for software program updates) do not actually seem to be must-haves on anybody’s checklist.
To make issues worse, the Pixel 7 Professional as we speak retails for as little as Rs. 63,999, which is not a nasty deal, relying on what one is searching for in a brand new smartphone buy. Its nonetheless digicam efficiency is much like the Pixel 8 Professional however falls behind in terms of video recording. The brand new Pixel 8 Professional might not warmth up as a lot because the Pixel 7 Professional however its battery life solely provides minor enhancements over the older mannequin.
If you’re prepared to spend upwards of Rs. 1,00,000 in India, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra (Review) (accessible at Rs. 1,24,999 for the 256GB variant) absolutely provides higher worth, with spectacular zoom functionality, a greater and bigger show, glorious battery life, and to an extent even Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem of gadgets which incorporates, smartwatches, audio equipment, tablets and laptops.
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