Google Pixel 8 review: getting closer to the ultimate Pixel

TechPhonesAndroid PhonesGoogle Pixel 8 review: getting closer to the ultimate PixelGoogle’s Pixel 8 isn’t a huge leap over the Pixel 7, but there’s still a lot to like – as detailed in our reviewWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictGoogle’s new Pixel for 2023 has more camera tricks than ever before, and is seriously appealing for Pixel and Android fans – though there are some flaws as well. It’s not quite as capable as the bigger Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s better value for money if you don’t want to zoom cameras and extra scale.Reasons to buy+Excels in photo and video capture, as usual+A compact, stylish and well-built phone+Software updates for seven yearsReasons to avoid-The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras-Some of the new AI features are a bit odd-Battery life still isn’t all that brilliantWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

Google’s Pixel 8 isn’t a huge leap over the Pixel 7, but there’s still a lot to like – as detailed in our review

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictGoogle’s new Pixel for 2023 has more camera tricks than ever before, and is seriously appealing for Pixel and Android fans – though there are some flaws as well. It’s not quite as capable as the bigger Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s better value for money if you don’t want to zoom cameras and extra scale.Reasons to buy+Excels in photo and video capture, as usual+A compact, stylish and well-built phone+Software updates for seven yearsReasons to avoid-The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras-Some of the new AI features are a bit odd-Battery life still isn’t all that brilliant

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

T3 VerdictGoogle’s new Pixel for 2023 has more camera tricks than ever before, and is seriously appealing for Pixel and Android fans – though there are some flaws as well. It’s not quite as capable as the bigger Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s better value for money if you don’t want to zoom cameras and extra scale.Reasons to buy+Excels in photo and video capture, as usual+A compact, stylish and well-built phone+Software updates for seven yearsReasons to avoid-The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras-Some of the new AI features are a bit odd-Battery life still isn’t all that brilliant

T3 Verdict

Google’s new Pixel for 2023 has more camera tricks than ever before, and is seriously appealing for Pixel and Android fans – though there are some flaws as well. It’s not quite as capable as the bigger Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s better value for money if you don’t want to zoom cameras and extra scale.

Reasons to buy+Excels in photo and video capture, as usual+A compact, stylish and well-built phone+Software updates for seven yearsReasons to avoid-The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras-Some of the new AI features are a bit odd-Battery life still isn’t all that brilliant

Reasons to buy+Excels in photo and video capture, as usual+A compact, stylish and well-built phone+Software updates for seven years

Excels in photo and video capture, as usual

A compact, stylish and well-built phone

Software updates for seven years

Reasons to avoid-The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras-Some of the new AI features are a bit odd-Battery life still isn’t all that brilliant

The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras

Some of the new AI features are a bit odd

Battery life still isn’t all that brilliant

Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

Together with theGoogle Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel 8 representsGoogle’s big shot at producing one of thebest phonesof 2023 – it’s the smaller, cheaper of the two handsets, and there are some important differences (as well as plenty of similarities) that we need to discuss.

We’ll get into that and much more in this comprehensiveGoogle Pixel8 review. But having spent several days with the device, using it all day as my regular phone, I’m in a great position to tell you how it compares to the other smaller-scale flagships out there.

They include theiPhone 15 ProfromApple, theSamsung Galaxy S23, and all the other handsets on ourbest Android phoneslist. Is the Pixel 8 enough of an improvement over last year’sGoogle Pixel 7? Read on to find out everything you need to know about it.

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Google Pixel 8: price & availability

The Google Pixel 8 is available to buy now! You can pick it up directly from Google for £699 / $699 for the model with 128GB of storage, and £759 / $759 for the model with 256GB of storage.

That’s quite the price bump over the £599 / $599 (128GB) or £699 / $699 (256GB) you would’ve paid at launch for the Pixel 7 though. Here’s how thePixel 8 compares to the Pixel 7for your info.

If better deals are currently available anywhere on the web, you’ll see them highlighted in the widgets embedded on this page – in the UK, you can pick up the phone from retailers includingAmazonandArgos.

Google Pixel 8 review: what’s new?

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

Compared with the Pixel 7 that Google launched in 2022, the Pixel 8 upgrades the Tensor G2 processor to the Tensor G3: Google hasn’t gone into details in terms of performance, but says there are improvements across the board, especially when it comes to the complexity of artificial intelligence tasks that can be carried out locally.

Design-wise, the Pixel 8 is a little shorter (top to bottom), narrower (side to side), and thicker (front to back), than its immediate predecessor. It’s also a touch lighter. The screen size has shrunk from 6.3- to 6.2-inches, but the maximum refresh rate is up to 120Hz from 90Hz, and peak brightness is up to 2,000 nits from 1,400 nits.

Google is also supporting its Pixel phones for a longer period of timewith software updates, starting with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. You’re guaranteed to getAndroidupdates and security patches, as well as the regular Pixel feature drops, for seven years – that will take you all the way up to 2030.

The Pixel 8 also has “upgraded” (in Google’s words) main and ultrawide cameras on the back, though the megapixel ratings stay at 50MP and 12MP respectively. The battery has a slightly larger capacity, and wired charging speed has been upgraded to 27W from 20W – though wireless charging speeds are down to 18W from 20W, strangely enough. Support for Wi-Fi 7 has been added too.

Google Pixel 8 review: design & display

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

Colour-wise, you can pick from Hazel (a sort of metallic grey), Obsidian (black), and Rose (light pink). We had the Hazel model to review, and while it’s rather dull, you could call it a classic – as it was the older-genPixel 7 Pro’s unique colourway. Some more colour options would’ve been nice though, and perhaps that’s something Google can look at as a mid-cycle upgrade.

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

I certainly can’t complain about the feel and the finish of the Google Pixel 8: it feels like you’re holding an expensive flagship smartphone in your hands. As is the norm now, the phone has anIP68 ratingfor protection against water and dust, which means it should survive submerged in water for up to 30 minutes and up to a depth of 1.5 metres.

The display holds up well in general use, though it’s not quite at the level of the very bestSamsungor Apple devices. Ramp up the brightness and everything is clear even in daylight, while it’s also a great phone for watching video clips and browsing through photos. It’s good to see the maximum refresh rate upped to 120Hz, though you can tell the phone to stick to 60Hz if you’d rather save a bit of battery life.

From playing games to browsing the web, everything is crisp and sharp, and there are plenty of resolution here – the screen has a 1080 x 2400 pixels, which is more than you’d typically get on cheaper phones. There is the option of an always-on display too, so you can keep the clock and other widgets on screen while the phone is locked, as long as you don’t mind a small hit on battery life.

Google Pixel 8 review: performance & battery

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of benchmarks, the Tensor G3 processor fitted inside the Pixel 8 can’t compete with the top-tier chipsets fitted inside the best handsets from Apple and Qualcomm – but there is a question as to how much power and performance the average user actually needs. For a lot of people, the Pixel 8 is going to be more than fast enough, even if it doesn’t hit the heights of some other processors

I didn’t notice any slowdowns or stuttering while jumping between apps or playing games, though that’s to be expected on a brand new phone. The Pixel 8 coped admirably with everything I could throw at it, though it’s worth bearing in mind that we did notice some minor issues when testing theGoogle Pixel 8 Pro– with the same Tensor G3 processor, plus an extra 4GB of RAM inside.

Where the Google Tensor G3 is meant to excel is in AI, and as with previous Pixel devices, there’s a ton of smarts here. Exclusive Pixel apps like Recorder (which transcribes voice memos as you talk) and the Now Playing widget (that automatically recognises songs playing around you) all add up to give you good reasons to choose a Pixel over, say, a Samsung or aOnePlusphone. Then you have the benefit of being at the front of the queue for Android updates, which has long been a Pixel perk.

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

It’s encouraging to see Google promising seven years of software updates for the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro: it gives users some extra peace of mind, and means you don’t have to worry about replacing your phone in a couple of years (unless you want to). And, as you would expect, Android continues to work seamlessly with all of Google’s other apps, services, and hardware devices (includingthe best Chromebooks).

Battery life has long been so-so on the Pixel phones, and the Pixel 8 is not really different in this regard (despite an increase in battery capacity generation on generation). Most of the time I was getting to the end of the day with a quarter or a third of the battery life left – but with more intensive use (gaming, for example, or navigation) would need a little recharge before the end of the day. When doing nothing but watching videos at maximum brightness, I was getting a good 10-11 hours between charges though.

The 27W wired charging speeds mean a full recharge takes about an hour and a half, though oddly the wireless charging speeds have dropped to 18W from 20W on the Pixel 7 – though in both cases you need the official Pixel stand for that, otherwise you’re down to 12W on wireless charging. This is definitely an area where Google can do better, so here’s hopingfor the Pixel 9.

Google Pixel 8 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

While the megapixel rating of the main camera on the Pixel 8 is the same as it was on the Pixel 7, the aperture is now wider – which means that more light gets into the lens, so you should get better photos. The 12MP ultrawide camera gets a minor upgrade compared with the one on the preceding phone too, with autofocus capabilities that unlock a macro mode when you’re right up close to the subject of your pictures.

The Google Pixel phones have long excelled in terms of how they capture photos and videos – thanks in part to the clever processing that Google applies during and after the capture process – and that continues with the Pixel 8. Photos and videos are sharp, detailed, and well-balanced in terms of their colour, and most of the time you pull this phone out to take a picture, you’re going to end up with great results.

Night Sight continues to impress, taking a few moments to capture several exposures before combining them together: it transforms low-light shots quite remarkably, although there’s a case to be made that these super-enhanced images aren’t reflective of what you could actually see with your eyes at the time. This is where we are with smartphone photography now though, and the Pixel 8 comes with more AI-enhanced processing options through Google Photos too.

Image1of11The Pixel 8 takes excellent shots most of the time(Image credit: Future)There’s no optical zoom, but the 2x digital zoom does a decent job(Image credit: Future)Colours are well balanced and details well preserved(Image credit: Future)With very little effort you can come out with really solid images(Image credit: Future)Macro photography is made easier with a new autofocus capability(Image credit: Future)We noticed few problems with distortion or noise(Image credit: Future)The ultrawide lens works well for fitting in more of a scene(Image credit: Future)As point-and-shoot cameras go, the Pixel 8 is impressive(Image credit: Future)Night Sight again does wonders in low lighting…(Image credit: Future)…though ultimately it doesn’t look like night any more in some shots(Image credit: Future)Even with very little light, a lot of detail is grabbed(Image credit: Future)

Image1of11

The Pixel 8 takes excellent shots most of the time(Image credit: Future)There’s no optical zoom, but the 2x digital zoom does a decent job(Image credit: Future)Colours are well balanced and details well preserved(Image credit: Future)With very little effort you can come out with really solid images(Image credit: Future)Macro photography is made easier with a new autofocus capability(Image credit: Future)We noticed few problems with distortion or noise(Image credit: Future)The ultrawide lens works well for fitting in more of a scene(Image credit: Future)As point-and-shoot cameras go, the Pixel 8 is impressive(Image credit: Future)Night Sight again does wonders in low lighting…(Image credit: Future)…though ultimately it doesn’t look like night any more in some shots(Image credit: Future)Even with very little light, a lot of detail is grabbed(Image credit: Future)

The Pixel 8 takes excellent shots most of the time(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

There’s no optical zoom, but the 2x digital zoom does a decent job(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

Colours are well balanced and details well preserved(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

With very little effort you can come out with really solid images(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

Macro photography is made easier with a new autofocus capability(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

We noticed few problems with distortion or noise(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

The ultrawide lens works well for fitting in more of a scene(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

As point-and-shoot cameras go, the Pixel 8 is impressive(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

Night Sight again does wonders in low lighting…(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

…though ultimately it doesn’t look like night any more in some shots(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

Even with very little light, a lot of detail is grabbed(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8 camera sample

There’s the Best Take feature, for example, which can look at several similar photos of the same group of people, then create a composite where the best face for each person (eyes open, wide smile) is used. For me, that’s a step too far in computational photography, putting together a scene that never actually existed, but it’s there if you need it.

On the video side, there’s Audio Magic Eraser, which can cut out background noise (like wind or crowd chatter) from your videos. In my opinion this is a much better application of AI, because it’s genuinely useful without interfering too much in what was originally captured. I can see a lot of people making use of this, and being able to save video clips that would otherwise get discarded.

Google Pixel 8 review: verdict

(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 8

(Image credit: Future)

The Google Pixel 8 is a pleasure to use: it’s speedy, it’s clever, it takes great photos, and it has some cool AI tricks – what more do you really want from a smartphone? I wouldn’t have any qualms about using it as my day-to-day phone – even though it’s significantly smaller in terms of display size than the Google Pixel 8 Pro, which is closer to what I’m used to using.

Overall, the Pixel 8’s distinctive design is something I appreciate, although it isn’t going to impress everyone, while the colour options are a bit underwhelming. But in my eyes this is a good-looking, well-made handset, and one that you can rely on for years to come thanks to the promise of years of updates and feature drops.

That said, it feels – as it has done for the last few Pixels – that Google isn’t quite getting full marks in every single category. With just a bit more work in certain areas (like raw performance and battery life, for instance), this could really be a flawless phone. Right now though, it’s a four-out-of-five type deal, rather than a five-out-of-five stunner.

Also consider

We’ve already spoken about the Pixel 8 Pro as an alternative, but on the Android side, there’s also theNothing Phone (2)orSamsung Galaxy S23. The former is similar in pricing and adds its own take of design, while with the Galaxy S24 models not too far off, you should be able to get some significant discounts on the price of the Samsung flagship in the near future.

Today’s best Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, Nothing Phone 2, Samsung Galaxy S23, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 15 Pro dealsGoogle Pixel 8$629ViewSee all pricesGoogle Pixel 8 Pro$999$599ViewSee all pricesNothing Phone (2)$925ViewSee all pricesSamsung Galaxy S23$619ViewSee all pricesSamsung Galaxy S23 Plus$27.78ViewSee all pricesApple iPhone 15$729.99ViewSee all pricesApple iPhone 15 Pro$999.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Today’s best Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, Nothing Phone 2, Samsung Galaxy S23, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 15 Pro deals

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Google Pixel 8: price & availability#

Google Pixel 8 review: what’s new?#

Google Pixel 8 review: design & display#

Google Pixel 8 review: performance & battery#

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Google Pixel 8 review: verdict#

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Google Pixel 8: price & availability

Google Pixel 8 review: what’s new?

Google Pixel 8 review: design & display

Google Pixel 8 review: performance & battery

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Google Pixel 8 review: verdict

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