Google Pixel 8: In a landscape where the majority of flagship smartphones are increasingly larger and heavier, Google’s Pixel 8 is a breath of fresh air. It’s small, intelligent and quietly powerful — just right for consumers who want to talk about real-world performance not just spec sheets.
With a polished appearance, strong camera system and Google’s constant improving AI tools, the Pixel 8 is a flagship to be reckoned with.
Slender, minimalist design with a luxurious feel
Pixel 8 isn’t trying to dazzle, and that’s nice. It comes in a bit smaller size than its predecessor, with a 6.2-inch flat OLED screen that’s nice and comfortable to hold in one hand.
It feels solid, and its matte aluminum frame is so grippy that one-handed use or swiping with just a thumb is easy for anyone with normal-size hands.
It comes in a handful of muted, tastefully chosen colors: Obsidian, Hazel and Rose. The back camera bar is uniquely Pixel — hate it or love it, it at least makes the phone stand out in looks.
Screen: Clear, Crisp, and Colorful
The Pixel 8’s screen is an upgraded 120Hz Actua OLED panel from Google, and it feels great. The colors are vibrant, the blacks deep and the refresh rate means scrolling and swiping feels buttery smooth.
It also goes brighter than ever before - even in bright sunlight outdoor visibility is excellent.
This isn’t necessarily the sharpest panel in its class, but it’s certainly one of the most balanced and visually attractive.
Performance: Prioritising intelligence over raw speed
Instead of running its AI on some piece of silicon that will set speed records, Google again has doubled down on AI, with the Tensor G3 processor. Backed up by 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage, the Pixel 8 holds up quite nicely in regular use.
Apps launch super fast, multitasking is snappy, and the AI-enhanced features operate much more smoothly than they did in the past.
Whichever way you’re using it, the phone feels truly, actually useful, be it transcribing audio, translating languages on the fly or just using the better voice typing. Heavy gamers may find it doesn’t perform as well as a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but most users won’t care.
Cameras: Google’s Signature Strength The sexiest new features of the Pixel 4 are arguably the cameras.
The Pixel 8 has a 50MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There is no telephoto zoom here, but it’s still excellent. Photos are impressively detailed; there’s excellent dynamic range; and it’s tuned for low light, too, thanks to Google’s Night Sight and overall killer image processing.
What’s even more remarkable are the AI tools baked into the camera app. Magic Editor, Best Take and Photo Unblur, to name just a few of the features, give you editing options that you’d usually only find in third-party apps.
There’s also a 10.5MP front camera that does a decent job, and it’s perfectly serviceable for selfies and video calls.
Battery Life and Charging
The Pixel flies through a full day of use without breaking a sweat on its 4575mAh battery. It has 27W wired charging and Qi wireless charging. Charging isn’t face-melting fast, but it’s consistent.
What’s more impressive is the battery efficiency — something Google has made a thing of improving of late.
Software Experiences and Updates
This is where Google really rips back its chamois. The Pixel 8 comes with a stripped back version of Android 14, no bloatware and plenty of exclusive features.
From AI voice assistance to on-device machine learning, it’s futuristic and yet very basic.
Even more impressive is Google’s promise of seven years of software and security updates. That’s virtually unheard of in the Android world and really gives this phone a long life.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Small, lightweight structure
Excellent OLED panel at 120Hz refresh rate
Great camera system with AI editing tools
Built-in SEAMLESS AI in the OS
7 years of software assistance
Android experience with fundamentally no advertising
Cons:
No dedicated telephoto camera
The edges of tensor G3 are not a great fit for heavy gaming.
Could be faster at charging
More expensive than similar spec phones
Google Pixel 8 Final Thoughts
It may not be the fastest or most feature-packed phone out there, but the Pixel 8 nails the things that really matter: user experience, camera quality and long-term reliability.
If you’re in the market for an intelligent, svelte flagship that truly simplifies your life without all the mess and fuss, this Pixel 8 is definitely one to consider. It’s not a mere phone; it’s Google’s vision, pieced together from all its other phones, of the most helpful phone it can build.
