Say hello to the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro!
Google finally stopped messing around with leaks and rumors and gave us the goods on Wednesday, fully unveiling its next-generation flagship line. The base model starts at $699 and is available in Obsidian, Hazel, and Rose colorways. Pixel 8 Pro, on the other hand, starts at $999 and comes in Obsidian, Bay, and Porcelain.
Google Pixel 8 new features
At first glance, these two phones look very similar to the Pixel 7, with a slightly altered horizontal camera bar returning to both devices. However, there are some surface-level changes worth noting. For instance, the base Pixel 8 now comes with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, a bump up from the 90Hz display on the Pixel 7. Both phones offer 128GB and 256GB storage options, but the Pixel 8 Pro also goes up to 512GB and 1TB.
Here’s the Pixel 8 Pro.
Credit: Google
Somewhat strangely, the Pixel 8 Pro has a temperature sensor as part of its camera bar that you can use to measure the temperature of objects. No more meat thermometers, I guess.
As usual, Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are powered by a new in-house Tensor chip that enables all sorts of software-level magic to play with, especially as it regards the cameras. The base Pixel 8 now has the Macro Focus mode that Pixel 7 Pro had, and both phones have a new Magic Editor mode that lets you highlight elements of an image and move them around, among other things. There’s also Night Sight for videos now and “Best Take” feature that lets you swap people’s facial expressions in and out in a group photo to produce the perfect image.
Google’s also promising something called Audio Magic Eraser to filter out unwanted noises from videos. Beyond that, Pixel 8 uses AI to parse through pauses and “ums” when talking to Google Assistant, and there’s even a way to navigate phone calls using on-screen text prompts instead of actually talking yourself.
Google clearly didn’t go back to the drawing board with Pixel 8, instead relying on a bevy of somewhat minor enhancements to upgrade phones that were already great the way they were. Here’s hoping they stay great with Pixel 8.
