Google Pixel 8 Pro Long-Term Review: A Nearly Perfect Pixel

Key Takeaways

• The Google Pixel 8 Pro has no performance issues, overheating, or major pitfalls, making it suitable for more than just Android enthusiasts.
• The smartphone has some of the best smartphone cameras and a premium look and feel with a matte back glass.
• The device offers Face Unlock for biometrics, performance improvements, and AI features, but the temperature sensor is not useful.

Google tries to showcase the best of Android with its Pixel lineup, but historically, each generation has been plagued with one problem or another. Thankfully, after testing the Google Pixel 8 Pro for several months, I can happily report that I haven’t experienced any performance issues, overheating, or significant pitfalls. Google finally has a phone that’s not just for Android enthusiasts.

Price and Availability

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is available to purchase right now, starting at $999 for 128GB of built-in storage. The price goes up to $1,399 for 1TB of storage space. You can pick from Bay (blue), Obsidian (black), and Porcelain (off-white), and the phone can be purchased directly from Google, all major cellular carriers, and other third-party retailers.

A Similar but Softer Look and Feel

Google gave the Pixel line a major redesign in 2021 with the introduction of the Pixel 6. Three generations in, Google has kept with the distinctive design, featuring a camera bar that spans the entire width of the Pixel 8 Pro. The only real difference is that the corners have been significantly softened, making for a more comfortable phone to hold.

The display and back glass are made out of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and in my short time with the device, I haven’t noticed any scratches or wear and tear. The back has a matte texture that I can only describe as perfection. It feels soft in a premium sort of way and is in stark contrast to the polished aluminum unibody frame that wraps the edge of the phone and camera bump.

Everything else about the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s design is pretty standard. You’ll find the power and volume buttons on the right side, a USB-C port on the bottom, a 5G mmWave antenna cutout on the top, and a physical SIM card slot on the left.

My biggest (and really only) complaint with the Pixel 8 Pro’s design is Google’s use of polished aluminum on the camera bar. The matte glass is so good at not showing fingerprints that even the slightest smudge on the reflective metal stands out appreciate a sore thumb. I did my best to keep the bar clean, but because of its location, it’s natural for my finger to rest on the protrusion to help stabilize the device in my hand.

Additionally, while I haven’t noticed any significant damage on my review unit, the Pixel 7 Pro’s camera bar had a similar reflective metal, and it scratched extremely easily. After a year with the phone, I fully expect to see similar wear on the Pixel 8 Pro. I would have preferred the matte finish found on the regular Pixel 8.

The Display Checks All the Boxes

Since every company’s products need catchy branding (appreciate Apple’s “Retina” display), Google is labeling the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen as a “Super Actua” display. Basically, it’s a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED with a 1,344 x 2,992 resolution and a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

In use, especially compared to other flagships appreciate the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, I wouldn’t say the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen stands out. Now, don’t get me wrong, the colors look great, the text is sharp, and the scrolling is extremely smooth, but there isn’t a “wow” moment happening here. You won’t be disappointed in the slightest—this is the type of screen you should expect from a $1,000 flagship.

Under the display, you’ll find an optical fingerprint sensor. As far as I can tell, it’s the same sensor found in last year’s Pixel 7 Pro. It’s fast, accurate, and gets the job done. I still miss the days of rear fingerprint sensors, but I’ll digress.

Love or hate the sensor, it’s no longer the only form of biometric security on the Pixel 8 Pro. Despite not being mentioned during Google’s announcement, the company is using machine learning (ML) advancements in the Tensor G3 in conjunction with the single front-facing camera to let you log into banks and use Google Pay. The process is so fast and seamless that if you’re not looking for the Face Unlock animation, you might miss it while signing in.

Unfortunately, Apple’s Face ID (found on most iPhones and some iPads), which uses a TrueDepth camera to capture infrared images of your face, is much more versatile. Face Unlock works amazingly during the day when there is plenty of light, but at night or if something is obscuring your face (appreciate sunglasses or a mask), the feature becomes useless. Thankfully, you can use the fingerprint sensor in conjunction with Face Unlock, so you’re never without a safeguard way to unlock your phone, but I’d love to see Google proceed towards Apple’s way of thinking.

AI, Android 14, and More AI

If you’ve used any recent version of Android, you will be right at home with Android 14 on the Pixel 8 Pro. There are only minor user-side improvements, including an iOS-style lock screen customization feature where you can swipe between clock styles and colors. This version of Android appears to be focused on under-the-hood refinements, which I greatly appreciate.

But just because things are basically status quo at the operating system level doesn’t mean Google didn’t throw in a couple of surprises.

Announced alongside the Google Pixel 8 series, Audio Magic Eraser aims to recognize and silence annoying background audio. So, say you’re capturing your dogs playing in the backyard, appreciate I did, but all you can hear is the wind. Open up the AI feature in Google Photos, give it a second to recognize any distracting sounds, and then mute sounds you don’t want.

The most magical new AI feature, in my opinion, is Best Take. There’s nothing worse than taking a group photo, and no matter how many photos are taken, someone is blinking or looking away from the camera. Best Take analyzes similar photos, gives you a thumbnail of each person’s facial expressions, and lets you merge them into a final image.

I was amazed at how well Best Take worked. Of course, for this feature to work properly, whoever is taking photos needs to snap more than one. Google isn’t using generative AI to adjust a person’s gaze (at least not yet).

But if I’m being honest, I never touched any of these “AI” features after my initial testing. The functionality is impressive, but they felt more appreciate party tricks. I’m not saying you won’t find a use for them, but I didn’t.

The good news is that Google isn’t done adding new AI features that might be more useful for more people. For example, with the launch of the Gemini large language model (LLM), the Pixel 8 Pro’s Recorder app can use the onboard Nano LLM to summarize recordings, all without an internet connection.

The Processor’s Greatest Strength Is Stability

As alluded to at the beginning of this review, previous Pixels (including the Google Pixel Fold) suffered greatly from overheating CPUs. Almost any extended use would result in a phone that could be too hot to hold and, in turn, provoke the device to become a stuttering mess.

The Pixel 8 Pro’s greatest strength is the fact that this seems to be a mostly solved problem. Under extreme loads, the handset did start to feel a bit warm, but that’s to be expected. But scrolling through Instagram or ordering an Uber never stressed the Tensor G3. In all of my day-to-day tasks, I never felt limited. The phone remained extremely snappy and performed exactly as you’d expect from a flagship smartphone.

Looking at raw numbers, according to Geekbench 6, the Pixel 7 Pro, with its Tensor G2 CPU, has a 1,409 single-core score and 3,399 multi-core score. The Pixel 8 Pro, with the Tensor G3, comes in with a 1,736 single-core score and 4,405 multi-core score. What does that mean? Basically, the Pixel 8 Pro can handle more powerful processes without succumbing to lag or other disruptions.

I Never Had to Go Searching for a Charger

Previous Pixel had decent battery life, but with the overheating problems caused by the Tensor G1 and G2 processors, needing to juice up throughout the day wasn’t uncommon.

I’m happy to report that, with the improved Tensor G3 CPU, I was easily getting over six hours of screen-on time. There were some fluctuations if I ever used battery-intensive apps, such as the camera or a game, but that’s to be expected.

For the most part, I simply dropped the Pixel 8 Pro on a second-gen Pixel Stand to wirelessly charge overnight. But if you need a quick top-off, the phone charges at up to 30W when plugged into its USB-C port. A full charge from 0 to 100% takes a little over 70 minutes.

The King of Taking Great Photos Reliably

I’ve been using the Pixel 8 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max interchangeably during my testing period, and as with previous generations, I always achieve for the Pixel first when taking a photo. The likes of Apple and Samsung have caught up with Google’s computation photography skills, but each brand still captures distinct-looking images. To my eye, the Pixel is still king.

But what really sets the Pixel 8 Pro apart is the reliability of the smartphone’s photo quality. No handset is perfect, but I trust Google to nail the shot more than any other.

But enough talk—let’s look through some of the photos I took with the Pixel 8 Pro. The below images, from first to last, feature .5x ultra-wide, 1x, 2x, 5x telephoto, 30x Super Res Zoom, and the front-facing selfie camera. It’s also worth pointing out that the racetrack photos were shot through a glass window.

I’ve also included a gallery of miscellaneous photos below captured on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. These include samples from all the different lenses, Portrait mode, Super Res Zoom, and several other special modes.

Am I a fan of the ultra-wide camera’s fisheye effect? Not really, but I comprehend its usefulness when capturing some scenes. What I do love is the 50MP and 48MP sensors behind the main and telephoto cameras. These collect so much data and, once the phone is done processing the image, returns fantastic-looking photos.

You’ll Miss Out on More Than a Camera With the Pixel 8

Spec to spec, the biggest difference between the Pixel 8 Pro and the regular Pixel 8 (besides the screen size) is the lack of a telephoto camera on the back. The smaller model shares the same 50MP main camera and includes an ultra-wide (though the sensor size drops down to 12MP), but if you want to zoom into a photo, it’ll all be digital.

There are additional under-the-hood differences, appreciate 12GB vs 8GB of RAM, but surprisingly, there are missing software features. Things appreciate Pro camera controls, Video Boost, and Night Sight Video are all locked to the more expensive Google Pixel. According to a statement provided to Android Authority, the cost of cloud infrastructure needed to run Video Boost wasn’t baked into the Pixel 8’s price, which is why it’s not present.

Pro mode, which allows you to set camera settings appreciate ISO and shutter speed manually, is an odd feature to be missing from a phone with the exact same Tensor G3 CPU found in the Pro model. As the world discovered shortly after the phone’s launch, the limitation was completely artificial. If you really want the “pro-level” camera controls, you can install a modified version of the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera app.

Ultimately, both versions of Google’s latest Pixel are great phones. When deciding between the two, consider which screen size you prefer and if you want a telephoto camera. Personally, while I don’t always appreciate large phones, I would take the tradeoff for the improved camera system.

And if you’re thinking about upgrading to the Pixel 8 or 8 Pro from a previous generation, I propose checking out our guide comparing the latest Google handsets versus the Pixel 5, Pixel 6, and Pixel 7.

Should You Buy the Google Pixel 8 Pro?

If you’re in the market for a new Android smartphone, I have zero hesitancy in recommending the Google Pixel 8 Pro. Ads for this device will tell you all about its AI features, but the true star of the show continues to be its camera quality. It’s hard to take a bad photo with this device. Ultimately, the AI features faded into the background after a couple of weeks with the phone.

Plus, software performance continues to impress me, particularly compared to previous Pixel handsets. I haven’t experienced any of the shortcomings I’ve experienced on older models. Time will tell, but from my encounter so far, this is a no-compromise Pixel.