Introduction

The compact clean Android phone has arrived. Google Pixel 8 has been launched and there are many improvements in the new series but still some problems haven’t been solved. So In this blog, we will dig deeper and try to find if Pixel 8 serves the best value for money to Android smartphone lovers. Let’s talk about what we find inside the box. Pixel 8 comes with a Type C to C cable along with an OTG adapter which is a signature Google Move. The brand has launched Pixel 8 & 8 Pro together but the smartphone size is not only the difference here as Google has played a fishy trick here that we will be discussing in this blog later.

Google Pixel 8 Display - Actua is actually good!

Whenever we start writing a blog on a smartphone we start with good things and taking our legacy ahead we will be talking about the best thing of Pixel 8 which is its display. Google Pixel 8 comes with a 6.2-inch OLED Display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Google has coined the term ‘actua for its display as every flagship smartphone brand in the industry has a specific name for their smartphone display, apple calls it Retina display whereas Samsung named it dynamic. The output of the Pixel 8 display is quite impressive and bright which makes Pixel 8 a worthy addition to the list of smartphones with best displays. Earlier with Pixel 7, a 90Hz refresh rate display was provided but with Pixel 8, it got the same 120Hz display that the brand has packaged in the 8 Pro but the only difference between the two is Pixel 8 Pro display is slightly brighter with a peak brightness of 2600 nits where the normal pixel 8 gets a peak brightness of 2000 nits which is also quite impressive as smartphones at this price range generally offers the peak brightness of 1400 nits. We compared the display of the Samsung S23 & Pixel 8 and we found that the pixel outdoor visibility was far better than the S23 apart from that the colour output was also better with the Pixel 8.

Build Quality & Design of Pixel 8

The build quality of Pixel smartphones has always been the best whether you talk about the back glass or the side aluminum frame. This time is no exception as with Pixel 8, Google has offered Gorilla Glass victus protection in the front and back, a premium matte finish Aluminium frame which is better than the shiny one as it gets scratched with time. The dimension of pixel 8 is on the compact side as it is 150.50 x 70.80 x 8.90mm (HeightXWidthXThickness) and 187grams of weight which makes the smartphone ideal for those who do not want to carry a television in their pocket. The IP68 rating is also there with Pixel 8 which protects the smartphone from dust and water.

Pixel Specific Ai features making Pixel 8 Unique

Now we come to the most exciting part of the blog which casts the pixel smartphones stand apart from the crowd. We all know Google is an innovation company first and Pixel smartphones are living proof of it. There are many AI-centric features available on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro that no other Android smartphone can dream of.

Voice to type Transcribing

The most important and useful feature that we believe all will love is a voice to type which transcribes your voice into text very accurately, with this feature you can send message, search on the web, or write an email by just dictating what you want to type.

Ai Magic Editor

This Ai feature of Google Pixel smartphones literally justifies its name as it can magically remove, resize or replace the desired object you select in the picture. It does take time to process but still faster and easier than the traditional path of Photoshop

AI Audio magic eraser

This feature is a boon for content creators as the Ai Audio magic eraser can remove the background noise from the recorded video which earlier was very lengthy task of the post-production team.

Tensor G3 & Clean UI does the magic

The controversial part has arrived that you all were waiting for. The new tensor chip has also been introduced with the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro and there are improvements but still it does not stand anywhere close the flagship options available at the same price range. The antutu benchmark score of tensor G3 is close to 1 million which means it will perform somewhat similar to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 which can be a bummer for some people as smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S23 are now enjoying the fast performance of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The major problem with Google's very own tensor chip are heating and throttling issue and with Tensor G3 they worked on it because of that heating issues do get resolved to an extent but throttling issues are still here. But we need to accept Google Pixel smartphones are for casual users who want to have a smartphone with a clean user experience so expecting high-performance gaming from these devices is somewhat absurd. Pixel 8 performs quite snappy in day-to-day life and can even perform casual gaming with ease. One more thing with Google Pixel Tensor G3 chip that are making headlines is the 7 year update which makes the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro usable till the year 2030. The aim of launching Pixel with their own chipset was to provide longer updates and Google is now on the path to claim it. 7yrs of software update is crazy as no other Android smartphone in the market provides more than 4 yrs of software updates.

Google Pixel 8 Camera - One Major Problem here!

Pixel smartphones are bought specifically for their camera as Pixel smartphone Picture output is the perfect result of innovative hardware and software. Pixel 8 comes with a dual camera sensor in which the Main camera sensor is 50MP and a 12 MP Ultra Wide camera which can capture a 126-degree field of view. The picture output of the Pixel 8 camera is full of details and colours in the picture and is pitch-perfect. Pixel 8 camera manages skin tones very well and due to the bigger sensor size, the low light performance of the camera is also enhanced. The back camera comes with OIS and can record 4K at 60fps. The overall camera performance is great but the problem we discussed at the start of the blog lies here! Just to distinguish the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro google has omitted the pro camera features for the normal Pixel 8 which is not fair as Pixel 8 and 8 Pro share the same camera setup and same Google Tensor G3 chipset.

Google Pixel Battery Life and Charging

As we unboxed the phone we found the charger wasn’t included inside the box which means you need to buy the charger separately from the store if you don’t have the adapter with usb type c. Google Pixel 8 comes with 4575 mAh battery and supports 27W fast charging which should not be considered as fast charging as competitors have reached 120W of charging speed. But still, the 27W charger can charge the Pixel 8 50% battery in 30 minutes. The Tensor G3 chipset is quite efficient and the phone lasted 9 hours where we kept the screen at 60 Hz. In Pixel 7 Google Tensor G2 chipset wasn’t that good with the thermals by improving the heating issues with Tensor G3 the battery backup of Pixel 8 improved significantly.

Conclusion

When we consider the Google Pixel 8 Price in Australia which is AU$1199 it’s still a better choice for most of people as they get a snappy smartphone with a great camera setup, 7 years of software updates is also a significant factor in choosing Pixel 8 and crazy ai centric features that you won’t find anywhere else. If you are looking to buy a google pixel phone in Australia we suggest you to check deals at BuyMobile Australia as we offer pixel devices at best prices.