Google Pixel 8 Pro long-term review: Improved in almost every area [Video]

It’s hard to believe it was almost half a year since Google officially unveiled the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. With tons of hype and expectation, just how has the Google Pixel 8 Pro fared? Here’s the full report.

Given we have more players entering the market in early 2024 – and more coming soon – the Pixel 8 Pro’s late-2023 launch means more in this context. The device has been available for one-third of a year and while there are other shiny devices to consider, it has allure of its own.

Design changes and important upgrades

We’re seeing lots of Android OEMs shift toward boxier shapes likely in a bid to copy Apple, it’s great to see Google double down with a softer and more approachable Pixel 8 Pro. The soft corners mimic the bubbly aesthetic of Material You and there is a subconscious syncing of the hardware and software – for better or worse.

While I could wax lyrical about this choice on the Pixel 8 Pro. It is just an extension of the groundwork laid way back with the Pixel 5 through to the reignited Tensor series hardware. Ergo: it’s not unique to the Pixel 8 series, but still helps the newest models stand out even further.

Leaning into the differences between Pixel and the rest of the smartphone space is commendable and something I hope continues with the Pixel 9 and beyond. That’s a long way for me to say that the size and shape have been fairly well thought out. We ordinarily see Apple leading the space in terms of hardware traits, and that has led to some sharp, boxy styles.

We hold our devices for multiple hours a day and rounded corners along with softer edges elevate the Pixel 8 series way above the competition in pure comfort. This needs to be something more OEMs pay attention to because as the space stagnates, we’re left with homogenous handsets.

There are some similarities to the rest of the industry though. Ditching the curved screen has made such a huge unexpected difference to the overall enjoyment of using this particular Pixel phone I hadn’t anticipated. For the first time, I have literally zero complaints about a Pixel screen. It gets ridiculously bright, the viewing angles are superb, and the tuning is exceptional. It could be a little smoother at 120Hz, but that is not the fault of the panel and more of the tuning of Android and apps running on the platform.

Although not quite 100% symmetrical, the bezels are a big plus here too as you get content from edge-to-edge with only the punch-hole as an interruption. I don’t often watch movies on small screens, but I have with the Pixel 8 Pro.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t have strong negative feelings towards the in-display fingerprint scanner. It’s fine in my experience, but I do sometimes notice that it can reject my scan attempts when I have damp or slightly wet hands – which is surprisingly common where I live in the UK. The Face Unlock is super smooth and speedy and usually saves the day. I do hope that Google can upgrade or update the fingerprint scanner for something a little more speedy in future because the optical reader can light up a room at night!

I had used the Bay color Pixel 8 Pro up until recently. After a while, I found that the saturated color didn’t matter to me as much as I expected. Switching to the Mint version and I’m more content as it’s super fresh. No matter which color you prefer, I still think we should have had a matte frame as the soft-touch frosted glass back looks stunning. One thing I have noted is that scuffing the camera bar hasn’t been as much of an issue for me as with the previous generation. It is still very exposed and could be a problem depending on what case you use. I’ve found the Spigen Thin Fit case offers the most protection for the camera bar.

One problem that is technically hardware-related is the base 128GB storage that is used across the Pixel 8 series. For most people, this will be more than enough to store all of your precious files, photos, and anything else. The problem I have encountered is that lots of apps are ballooning in size. This is especially prominent for 3D games, but I do think most people can mitigate this by offloading content, backing up or using cloud-based storage options like Google One seamlessly.

Android 14 and what Tensor can do

Given that Tensor ain’t a powerhouse, it still is more than enough to keep me satiated daily. Google continues to refine the Android OS on Pixel phones, which means minor changes, tweaks, and adjustments. I like this. It proves how mature the platform has become on the Pixel 8 Pro.

To counter this, the further push of AI is aimed at making life easier. I would probably agree if features like “Summarize” were available outside the US. Gemini has rolled out and almost-but-not-quite replaces the familiar Google Assistant – if you let it.

Gemini can be a little more accurate at recognizing my voice commands in my experience, but I have yet to find a use-case on my Pixel 8 Pro that I would use regularly. Plus the Assistant just has more functionality right now, so it’s kind of a beta in all but name.

The frustrating element here is that you have to use voice commands to access Gemini. So the handy microphone shortcut in the homescreen search bar is now useless unless you downgrade to the older – and actually more capable – Assistant. At the moment it is all a little convoluted to me but there are good AI features on the Pixel 8 series. Namely, the AI wallpaper generation. They can be a little odd but the abstract options are great for quickly switching up your theme in conjunction with Material You.

Circle to Search is another cool added function that I could see people using often. I have been treating it like a reverse image search for things when I’m out and about and for that it’s pretty darn good. It feels like a shopping tool to me, but that is probably due to my lack of imagination when using it.

While I’m not a huge AI proponent, Google’s integration approach from the outside looking in feels sensible and measured. Functions like Magic Composer expand beyond Smart Reply and feel cohesive to the “helpful” Android 14 experience. There are some other cool camera functions like Best Take, but having taken zero group photos in over a year I haven’t even tested the function in the real world. Magic Editor feels way better than Magic Eraser to the point I ought to use it more often to clean up some of my favorite photos. I would like to see more tools get added here as there are lots of competing services that offer a little more functionality with similar AI tools.

I’m constantly left feeling that AI is “added value” at this stage rather than a core tenet of Android on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. There’s no doubt this could evolve in the coming years given that a 7-year update promise means you should be able to use the device up to 2030. It’ll be interesting to see just what Android looks like or whether the Pixel series is still around by that time as we’re in for a fun ride at the very least – especially if the battery holds up.

Thermals have been a concern for Tensor G3 and that’s more than fair given the below-par heat management of the previous generations. I noticed that while roaming my Pixel 8 Pro could get warmer than usual, but I figured it was due to constant network scanning while on European cell carrier networks. Signal strength is consistent and – most importantly – reliable.

I’m very happy with what I can do with the Pixel 8 Pro despite its low-performance ceiling. However, I would love to see Google at least get closer to the current crop of high-end Qualcomm chips in the future. Almost 4 years after the launch of the Pixel 5, it feels like Google was tempering our expectations for what Tensor would bring to the table every year. If you care about raw specifications, it seems that Pixel isn’t going to deliver on that front for a long time.

Lifespan and longevity

There are a few things that I’d be lying if they weren’t a concern to me when using the Pixel 8 Pro. Firstly, while the battery life is a substantial step up over my used-and-abused Pixel 7 Pro, it can have an “off” day every once in a while.

I prefer to charge my phone once every couple of days as I’m often attached to a desk and only really use my mobile when I’m finished up for the day or at weekends. This means I don’t need to charge up to 100% all the time to have a usable lifespan.

If I do top up fully I can get a couple of days of light usage. I’m not sure what equates to as far as “Screen on time” is concerned, but it does involve lots of scrolling across a wealth of apps and that is good enough for me. At least once a month though, I’ll get what I would consider “bad” battery. My battery percentage will just drop drastically early in the day. A device restart usually fixes, but I’m not sure if this is a Pixel issue or a bad app issue. I thought it was important to at least mention this.

Sure, 30W charging could be better but I’ve…slowly…come to terms with it being behind competitors. I plonk the Pixel 8 Pro on the Google Pixel Stand in the morning and let it reach 60-70% before lunch, and that takes me to the next day with no issues. Tensor does need to be more efficient moving forward as recent Snapdragon-powered flagships get way better lifespan in my experience. The Pixel 8 Pro gets a low passing grade from me when it comes to lifespan and longevity.

Camera performance and flexibility

Without scientifically analyzing the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera system, it feels in lockstep with what you expect from a Google smartphone. The tick-tock approach to upgrades and changes means that there isn’t a quantum leap in overall quality versus the Pixel 7 series and – in some cases – the Pixel 6 series. It does everything with minimal fuss from moving subjects to accurate skin tones. The wide-angle bumping to 48-megapixels helps complete an impressive hardware stack that produces a signature look.

Before I gush too much about the reasons I always rely on a Pixel to take photos, I have a few gripes. Google still hasn’t resolved some lingering problems from last year. The edge detection when using Portrait mode is better but isn’t quite as consistent as Samsung in my experience. I do find that it’s better when using the selfie camera than in years prior, which is probably due to the addition of autofocus and the fact that selfies have fewer image artifacts.

It’s business as usual on the stills camera front. But to Google’s credit promised features are now here. Sure, Video Boost took far too long to arrive, but while it’s neat, it has lots of problems. The processing time is way too long. The results vary from video to video and likely should only be used in low-light situations as daytime video receives little to no major benefits when Video Boost is active. Limiting it to 30fps is super frustrating, as are the huge file size changes.

Complaints aside, the differences can be stark when using Video Boost in dark conditions. It’s here where the trade-offs for processing are well worth it. Just make sure you have lots of Google cloud storage as these files can be multiple times larger than you’re used to.

Back to the regular stills modes and I’m glad that Google has finally listened and given us manual controls on the Pixel 8 Pro. I would never use manual controls on a smartphone as I have an infinitely more capable dedicated mirrorless camera and multiple lenses to choose from if that is a concern. My lack of utility aside, manual controls for everyone are to be applauded and although not as in-depth as Expert RAW on Samsung phones, you can still mess around like on a manual camera.

I’d advise most people against that and just shoot with auto settings or enable RAW image output if you want extra control. Alternatively, the full 50-megapixel mode is there if you want proper high-resolution stills. It’s cumbersome when in this mode, but it’s another long-overdue addition to the Pixel camera.

Where is Zoom Enhance though? I hate that Google still has a habit of adding certain key selling functions later down the line and this is one of the most frustrating. It’s not like the zoom capabilities are bad with the Pixel 8 Pro as is, but it surely should have arrived by now.

One of the only sore points here is the temperature sensor. It’s merely a remnant of the COVID period and to most people, it won’t be a particularly useful portion of the camera stack. It isn’t all that accurate either in my testing. Luckily, it’s not a core component so it doesn’t ruin the setup and I’m sure that you might find a usage for it like checking if you have a temperature before getting ill. I could see it getting ditched on the Pixel 9 Pro though.

Final thoughts

One nitpick I hear constantly from many hardcore tech fans is that Tensor still isn’t the chip platform that they hoped it would be. Sure, it’s not directly comparable to the best Snapdragon chips, but it is more than competent for just about everything you could want from a modern smartphone. Without attempting to defend Google, having the best smartphone chip hasn’t increased sales drastically in the past.

So I can understand that providing 99.9% of what an “ordinary person” would expect or request is going to be enough to sell a phone. Whether you fall into that camp is another point entirely. Looking forward, I think that Gemini could help lighten the load on Tensor G3 as time moves on and if you listen to Google, this is the most AI-capable phone out there.

The reality is that while some of the functions are nice to have, they aren’t enough of a reason to pick the Pixel 8 Pro over some other devices given that Samsung has many similar options and even a few identical AI functions baked into One UI 6.1. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is a proper powerhouse and although it’s far more expensive will offer excellent long-term value for money.

I was very worried when I heard that Google was putting a further $100 premium on its late-2023 releases. Thankfully, one of the biggest compliments we seemingly pay Google every year with the Pixel series is that this feels like the best device the company has made to date. I guess that shows how much room for improvement the Pixel 7 Pro left behind. A device that I loved, but am happy that I replaced with the most recent iteration.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is far from perfect, but it’s still as close as the Pixel has come thus far.