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As the most recent flagship consultant for Google’s Pixel line, the Google Pixel 8 Professional is a top-tier system worthy of its $999 beginning value for these keen to spend as a lot.
It isn’t making an attempt to point out off with the very best benchmark numbers, a gaudy digital camera megapixel rely, or the flashiest design. Quite, it delivers robust efficiency, stellar battery life, and one of the best general digital camera system we have examined on Android.
The Pixel 8 Professional can be chock-full of recent AI options from Google. Whether or not they’re helpful relies on your specific priorities, and a few options are noticeably more practical than others. I feel you possibly can take or go away them typically; both manner, they do not diminish the Pixel 8 Professional expertise.
Google Pixel 8 Professional
The Pixel 8 Professional provides one of the best Android digital camera system we have examined, robust battery life and efficiency, and Google’s Pixel-exclusive AI options.
An exquisite show and highly effective efficiency
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The Pixel 8 Professional has precisely the kind of display screen you’d anticipate for a premium Android telephone within the $1,000 vary, and I am unable to ask for something extra or higher. It is a big, sharp, 6.7-inch OLED show that helps a super-sharp 1344p decision. It additionally consists of LTPO know-how that varies the refresh price between 1Hz and 120Hz relying on what you are doing to scale back battery consumption.
I would really maintain the Pixel 8 Professional’s show on the default, much less sharp 1008p decision (not a typo) setting to scale back battery consumption, as I can barely inform any distinction with the 1344p possibility.Â
As for efficiency, the Pixel 8 Professional runs on Google’s Tensor G3 processor. On paper and in benchmark outcomes, it isn’t as highly effective as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Gen 3 chipsets that run different high-end Android telephones. In day by day use, nevertheless, the general expertise of operating apps and the Android working system is almost equivalent to these processors. Apps open rapidly and run enthusiastically and easily with little or no stuttering.
Google is assured that the Pixel 8 Professional and its Tensor G3 processor have legs to final a very long time, too. The corporate says it will help the Pixel 8 sequence with seven years of safety updates and Android OS upgrades, basically giving the telephone seven years of life. That is just like Apple’s legendary lifespan and help for iPhones.
A strong high-end design, however Google is not taking any dangers
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Google has solidified its Pixel telephone design identification with the Pixel 8 Professional, which appears to be like just like the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 sequence. It is a pretty generic telephone slab design with rounded corners and edges, and it consists of high-end supplies like steel and glass.
It is clear, nevertheless, that Google is not taking many dangers to strive something new with the Pixel 8 Professional’s design.Â
I respect the Pixel 8 Professional’s clean, modern glass again and matte end. It is subjective, however I feel it is a greater appear and feel than the shiny glass backs of the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 7 sequence telephones.
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The rear glass’ texture does not matter a lot should you use a case, nevertheless, and we suggest any of the finest Google Pixel 8 Professional circumstances to protect the telephone and Google’s signature digital camera bar, which spans throughout the rear of the Pixel 8 Professional and contrasts towards the matte glass again with shiny polished steel.
Google made a small year-over-year refinement on the Pixel 8 Professional, the place all three digital camera lenses are contained in the black oval. It makes for a cleaner look than the Pixel 7 Professional’s digital camera bar, the place the telephoto lens sits independently, separated from the opposite cameras.
The most effective, most constant digital camera system
The Pixel 8 Professional strengthens Google’s fame for having one of the best cameras on any telephone.
In our testing, the Pixel 8 Professional has the highest general digital camera system among the many finest Android telephones with its three powerhouse lenses: a 50MP predominant digital camera, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 48MP 5x zoom.
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The Pixel 8 Professional takes very good images with wealthy pure colour and dynamic lighting that maintains depth and natural-looking distinction between mild and darkish particulars.
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Certainly, the Pixel 8 Professional takes probably the most true-to-life images out of any telephone we have examined. In contrast to most different telephones, particularly these from Samsung, the Pixel 8 Professional does not strive too exhausting to ship an “spectacular” picture with extreme processing, like overly boosted colour saturation or over-eager HDR.
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And when the Pixel 8 Professional must intervene with some additional processing, like brightening up this darkish cat’s face towards a vibrant background, it does so tastefully and conservatively with out going overboard.Â
There is a huge hole between the principle and 5x zoom cameras, and the Pixel 8 Professional makes use of digital zooming if you wish to zoom between these two cameras. Digital zooming often degrades picture high quality, however Google addresses the difficulty remarkably nicely. Once you zoom to 3x, for instance, the Pixel 8 Professional combines the principle and ultrawide cameras to provide a photograph that is virtually as sharp and clear as a devoted optical 3x digital camera.Â
The Pixel 8 Professional is usually nice for recording video with the identical balanced colours, brightness, and distinction as its images, and help for 4K decision at 60 frames per second.Â
Robust battery life, common charging speeds
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The Pixel 8 Professional is a excessive performer in battery life, having accomplished our intensive battery take a look at with 62% remaining. That is on the excessive finish in comparison with different telephones with 6.7-inch shows, which largely scored beneath or round 60%.
It means the Pixel 8 Professional ought to last more all through the day than the Galaxy S24 Plus, which scored 60%, however you will probably nonetheless must cost it in a single day.Â
(General, the finest Google Pixel telephone for battery life is the Pixel Fold, which scored 69% in its folded telephone mode and 65% in its unfolded pill mode. The Pixel 8 Professional had the second-best consequence amongst present Pixel telephones.)Â
Our battery take a look at includes two hours of video streaming at a set brightness, one hour of music streaming whereas linked to a Bluetooth speaker, 5 runs on the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark take a look at, and two runs of the intensive 3DMark Wild Life Stress Check.Â
The Pixel 8 Professional helps as much as 30W charging speeds, which is quick however not particularly outstanding. It is able to 23W wi-fi charging speeds should you use Google’s 2nd-generation Pixel Stand, or 12W with a normal Qi charger. Google does not embody any charger with the Pixel 8 Professional.Â
Google retains including new AI options, however they don’t seem to be causes to purchase the Pixel 8 Professional
Maybe realizing there are few methods to distinguish its Pixel telephones on a {hardware} stage, Google has been touting its good AI software program options, beginning with the Pixel 6 sequence when Google first launched its Tensor processors to assist energy AI options.Â
There is a lengthy listing of AI options that Google has added to Pixel telephones during the last three generations which can be designed to be useful or make picture edits simpler. Google added extra for the Pixel 8 sequence, and I wasn’t totally impressed with all of them.Â
One of many greatest new AI picture modifying options is Magic Editor, which claims to do quite a lot of spectacular edits to a photograph. For instance, it enables you to resize objects or topics or transfer them to a unique a part of the picture. It really works OK generally, however it typically leaves behind a noticeable patch with unusual textures whenever you make objects smaller or transfer them elsewhere within the picture. It isn’t one thing I would use fairly often, if in any respect, as a result of the lighting on objects not often appears to be like proper after they’re moved. And you’ll neglect about it if the thing you are transferring has a shadow.
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I additionally tried turning a cloudy day right into a sunny day in a photograph or turning a sunny day into golden hour lighting, as Google has touted, and it is by no means produced a convincing consequence. Particularly for turning overcast days into sunny ones, there’s one thing simply not fairly proper.
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Google additionally launched an Audio Magic Eraser to assist take away or no less than scale back undesirable sounds in a video, like wind noise or undesirable chatter. It is surprisingly efficient and will assist save a video with extreme surrounding noise.Â
Different latest AI options embody webpage summarizing in Chrome, which solely works generally. For instance, it does not work for a assessment I wrote, however it does work with one in every of my versus posts. Principally, it is inconsistent, and never realizing whether or not it can work or not makes me neglect concerning the characteristic in a short time.Â
To be clear, whereas not totally spectacular (to me), Google’s Pixel AI options do not detract from the telephone’s wonderful core qualities, together with efficiency, digital camera high quality, and battery life. Nevertheless, I would not purchase the Pixel 8 Professional as a result of of the AI options.Â
Relying in your priorities, you might occur on AI options which can be genuinely helpful and that work nicely. And in case you have expertise with the Pixel 6 or later and you’ve got loved Google’s AI options, you will solely take pleasure in them extra on the Pixel 8 Professional.
For instance, Magic Eraser is one in every of my favourite AI options on Pixel telephones. On the Pixel 8 Professional, it was capable of successfully take away all of the individuals within the background within the picture beneath, making it seem to be it was simply me and my daughter on the seaside.
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Must you purchase the Pixel 8 Professional?
Antonio Villas-Boas/Enterprise Insider
When you’re out there for an Android telephone within the $1,000 vary, we extremely suggest the Pixel 8 Professional.Â
The Pixel 8 Professional has all the bottom components of a worthwhile, high-end Android telephone: an adaptive 120Hz OLED show, highly effective efficiency, and premium design and supplies. It has wonderful battery life as a large-screen telephone, and it is our prime choose for general digital camera high quality among the many finest Android telephones. Â
Whereas Google’s new AI options aren’t sufficient of a purpose to purchase the Pixel 8 Professional on their very own, they do not maintain the telephone’s efficiency again. Some options are spectacular and handy, others may very well be improved, and your mileage could fluctuate extensively relying in your supposed use.Â
