Google’s new flagship Pixel 8 has arrived. It begins at $699 (£699, AU$1,199), which is $100 greater than the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 that preceded it final 12 months, and can go on sale on October 12. The Pixel 8 presents glorious cameras together with seven years of software program upgrades. Which makes it taller than another massive Android telephone. It is for individuals seeking to improve to a flagship Android telephone that takes nice images, which has been Google’s focus.

After Google overhauled its telephone lineup with the Pixel 6 in 2021, the Pixel 8 presents an iterative improve somewhat than the drastic modifications that got here three years in the past. The design, with the distinctive digicam strip working throughout the physique, is essentially equivalent aside from a barely bigger display and barely decrease weight, amongst different minor look modifications.

Arguably the Pixel 8’s greatest enchancment got here by the use of its software program, which is among the Pixel’s most important sights. The brand new seven-year software program coverage represents a major improve over the Pixel 7 sequence, which Google pledged to assist with 5 years of safety patches and three years of main Android updates. The Pixel 6 has three years of OS upgrades and 5 years of promised safety patches, demonstrating Google’s growing assist over time.

Along with the software program updates, the Pixel 8 comes with new options, particularly Evening Sight for video, Audio Magic Eraser, a strong device for eradicating background noise from movies, and Greatest Take, a photograph modifying device that modifications somebody’s facial features in a photograph. group image.

A few of these options might arrive on older Pixel telephones in the end, maybe people who run on Tensor chips, however they’re accessible on the newer Pixel telephones first.

As for the cameras, the Pixel 8 encompasses a 50-megapixel most important digicam and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide digicam, the identical because the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6. This 12 months, there is a higher-resolution 10-megapixel selfie shooter. digicam.

The Pixel 8 runs on Google’s years-old Tensor chip once more, however this 12 months it is the next-gen model often known as Tensor 3, however we cannot know the way a lot it improves on Tensor 2 (within the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7A) and Tensor 1 (within the Pixel 6 ) till we’ve got time to check it. The brand new telephone’s 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage are unchanged from earlier Pixel telephones, though its 4,575 mAh battery falls between the capacities of the Pixel 7 (4,355 mAh) and the Pixel. 6 (4614 mAh).

There’s additionally assist for a better 120Hz refresh fee on the display in comparison with the Pixel 7’s most 90Hz, permitting for smoother scrolling and navigation. The Pixel 8 additionally has a sooner charging pace of 13W versus 5W on older Pixel telephones for Qi-compatible units, though wired charging stays on the identical 30W as on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6.

For extra particulars on how Google’s new Pixel 8 compares to its predecessors, take a look at the specs chart under for a side-by-side view. If you wish to know extra concerning the Pixel 8 Professional, you possibly can learn this comparability piece to get some concepts.