Review Smartphone Google Pixel 8 Pro

Aad Munsterman and Rob Coenraads

The Google Pixel 8 Pro has a fresh design with rounded corners and a polished aluminum frame. The matte glass back is striking: it is the first Pixel Pro to have this. Almost all smartphones are quite smooth and this smartphone is no exception. If you want it to fit comfortably in your hand and to be better protected against falls and a bump, then get a case (cover).

There is nothing on the left side, there is a microphone on the top, while on the right side there are the power button and the volume rocker. The two speakers and the USB-C connection are at the bottom.
At the back is the striking horizontal camera bar that is so characteristic of the Google Pixel smartphones. All cameras are now together, and on the right side are the flash and the new temperature sensor, more about which later. Without case it weighs 213 grams and measures 163 x 77 8.8 mm.

Screen
While the ‘regular’ Google Pixel 8 has a 6.2-inch Actua display, the big brother has a 6.7-inch Super Actua screen. You will immediately notice that this is the brightest OLED screen of all Google smartphones, because it also shows beautiful bright (Ultra HDR) images and videos in bright lighting conditions such as direct sunlight. The refresh rate is also nice (refresh rate) of 120 Hz; the number of pixels is a maximum of 1377 x 2992, but for battery saving it is set to 1008 x 2244 pixels by default.

Processor, memory and battery
The Google Pixel 8 Pro has the Google Tensor G3 chip on board that works with the Titan M2 security chip; so it is not a Snapdragon 8 (Gen 2) chip that you see in other (top) smartphones. In practice, you won’t notice this much, unless you plan to edit videos or play heavy games, for example. Google also states that it is specially designed with Google AI for advanced photo and video functions and smarter ways to help you throughout the day. It just works nice and smoothly.
It has a nice 12 GB of RAM on board, while in terms of storage memory you can choose from 128, 256 or 512 GB. With the 5050mAh battery you should last a whole day and that will certainly work.

Cameras
When choosing a smartphone, the cameras and the quality of photos and videos are very important, so extra attention should be paid to this. It features updated cameras for better photos and videos and new editing features powered by Google AI. Both the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro have the same wide-angle camera that captures 21% more light than their predecessors. The ultra-wide-angle camera on both phones even captures 105% more light. In addition, the Pixel 8 Pro has a telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, which captures 56% more light than the Pixel 7 Pro and takes 10x optical quality photos. Finally, the selfie camera now has autofocus.
With the main camera you can really take beautiful photos that are also true to life. Because the lens lets in more light, it also takes better photos in the dark. When taking photos, keep in mind that the 8 Pro shoots at 12 MP as standard. However, you can take 50MP photos that are much more detailed.
The new 48MP wide-angle lens also shoots in 12 megapixels, but here too you can choose up to 48 MP. The results of this are also excellent.
As described, the 48MP telephoto lens captures more light. You can zoom in up to 5x, but with Super Res Zoom (optical and digital zoom together) you can zoom in up to 30x. In practice, the maximum zoom, just like with other smartphones, is not always great and results in poorer quality.
All in all, the cameras are fine and the updated interface of the camera app works well. Additionally, the Pixel 8 Pro features Pro Controls which gives you more control over the cameras with settings such as ISO, shutter speed, etc.

Temperature sensor
This goes too far into all hardware and software (such as the new functions Magic Editor, Best recording and Magic eraser for audio) to describe. However, the new temperature sensor in the Thermometer app has been tested, which can quickly scan an object to get the temperature. And it can even measure your body temperature, but that was not yet available on February 23.

Software and Update Policy
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is equipped with Android 14 and no less than 7 years of support for Android and security updates and regular functions is of course really great. Samsung also now offers this for their new Galaxy S24 series, hopefully more manufacturers will follow. This way you don’t have to buy a (new) smartphone as often and it is also sustainable.

Price and availability
The Pixel 8 Pro is available in (bay) blue, beige and black from € 1099.

Conclusion
I really like the Google Pixel 8 Pro: the screen is nice and bright, the cameras work well and of course the 7 years of support is great. However, the recommended retail price is on the (too) high side and the processor could be better. If you are looking for a nice smartphone for a longer period of time, the Google Pixel 8 is a great choice.

Product: Smartphone Pixel 8 Pro