Google Pixel 8: newest information, rumors and the whole lot we all know to this point

On condition that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro launched as just lately as October 2022, we’re not anticipating to see Google’s subsequent entries within the Pixel vary – more likely to be the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional – arrive till later into 2023. 

That mentioned, rumors and leaks proceed to move regarding each upcoming gadgets and under we have detailed all the most recent rumblings, alongside our knowledgeable predictions as to their respective launch dates, specs, and costs.

Additional down, you may additionally discover a record of options we need to see from the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional, as a result of whereas the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional are the 2 of the best phones Google has ever made, there’s particular room for enchancment.

Lower to the chase

• What’s it? The following flagship telephone from Google
• When is it out? In all probability October 2023
• How a lot will it value? Seemingly from $599 / £599 / AU$999

Google Pixel 8: launch date and worth

There’s no information but on when the Google Pixel 8 may launch, however that’s straightforward to guess, with Google’s primary numbered telephones nearly all the time touchdown in October of their launch 12 months.

In reality, each Pixel mannequin outdoors of the A-line has been introduced in October, besides the Pixel 5, which was unveiled on September 30, 2020 (so, nearly October) and didn’t ship till October.

Getting extra particular than that’s trickier, because the dates of earlier October reveal occasions have diversified, however it’s probably that the Pixel 8 might be unveiled in both early or mid-October 2023 (after which start delivery round per week after its announcement).

We’re unsure what the Pixel 8 will value, however the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional each had precisely the identical costs as their predecessors, so it’s doable Google will stick to that pricing construction for one more 12 months.

On this case, the Pixel 8 will begin at $599 / £599 / AU$999, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional will begin at $899 / £849 / AU$1,299. That mentioned, we wouldn’t be shocked if Google pushes the telephones’ respective costs up a bit, particularly as the present fashions undercut key competitors just like the iPhone 14 line.

However, experiences have claimed that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional might be a little bit costlier than the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional. They might begin at a $50 to $100 larger, in keeping with tipster Yogesh Brar. It isn’t clear how this pricing would translate to the UK or Australia, however a £50 or AU$100 enhance wouldn’t be out of the query.

Google Pixel 8: design and show

The largest Pixel 8 leak to this point takes the type of high-quality unofficial renders displaying off both the Pixel 8 itself and the Pixel 8 Pro.

These present largely acquainted designs, however with extra rounded corners, main apparently to smaller sizes. Within the case of the Pixel 8 that is mentioned to imply a 6.2-inch show (down from 6.3 inches on the Pixel 7). The Pixel 8 Professional is predicted to maintain the identical 6.7 inches because the 7 Professional, although.

A report from show analyst Ross Young corroborates these sizes, albeit giving the Pixel 8’s display screen dimension as a extra petite 6.16 inches. It is all swings and roundabouts anyway, as 6.16 rounds as much as 6.2 inches in any case.

More recent leaks put the display screen sizes at 6.17 inches and 6.70 inches respectively, although each telephones are mentioned to have a 120Hz refresh charge (which might be an improve for the usual mannequin), and to have larger most HDR brightness ranges than their predecessors (at 1,400 and 1,600 nits for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional respectively).

As for the decision, the identical supply says the Pixel 8 is 1,800 x 2,400, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional is 1,344 x 2,992. However in keeping with one other supply, the Pixel 8 has a 1080 x 2268 screen, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional has a 1344 x 2822 one.

On condition that the Pixel 8 may need a smaller display screen than the Pixel 7, its rumored dimensions are additionally smaller in consequence, at 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional is claimed to be 162.6 x 76.5 x 8.7mm, in each circumstances rising to round 12mm on the digital camera visor.

The Pixel 8 is proven with rear two digital camera lenses like the present mannequin – these presumably being broad and ultrawide ones once more, whereas the Pixel 8 Professional is proven with three and a temperature sensor.

What appears to be a promotional video displaying off the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional has leaked out online, and we get a superb take a look at the rear of the Pixel 8 Professional – and is {that a} new blue shade?

A more moderen report provides a bit extra description to the colors of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. The report says the Pixel 8 might are available Haze, Jade, Licorice, and Peony colours. The Google Pixel 8 Professional, in the meantime, might are available Jade, Licorice, Porcelain, and Sky.

We have additionally now seen leaked hands-on photos of the Pixel 8 Pro, which you’ll see under. It seems to be in a case, however you possibly can see that the display screen is much less curved than the Pixel 7 Professional’s, that the corners are extra curved, and that the digital camera has a barely completely different design, matching the renders above.

Lastly, there’s proof of a thriller Pixel telephone within the works, which based mostly on leaked specs is perhaps the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Professional. 9to5Google has discovered this proof in publicly obtainable code from the Android Open Supply Venture, and it factors to a telephone with a 1440 x 3120 120Hz display screen, a Tensor chipset, and dimensions of 155 x 71mm.

These display screen specs are in step with the present Professional fashions, however the dimensions are extra what we’d anticipate from the usual Pixel 8, so that may imply a decision and refresh charge improve is deliberate for the usual mannequin.

Nevertheless, that display screen decision can be completely different to the leaked resolutions above, so we would take all of those leaks with a pinch of salt for now.

One factor that is apparently flown underneath the radar is the use (or not) of the SIM slot on the Pixel 8, in keeping with Android analyst Mishaal Rahman. Citing leaked renders, Rahman speculates that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional could drop the SIM slot and go eSIM solely, simply as Apple did. If this occurs, it could be a regional factor, with the corporate preserving the slot in non-US areas and dropping it within the US.

Google has usually adopted Apple’s lead, nixing the headphone jack and telephoto lens on its smartphones in response to Apple’s strikes to prioritize wi-fi audio and ultra-wide cameras, although restoring each in some kind or the opposite with the A-Sequence and Pixel 6 and seven Professional respectively. If it might get away with stripping the SIM slot now that Apple’s normalized it, it nearly definitely would.

Google has additionally achieved loads of work in making Android enhance its eSIM administration, and the corporate is reportedly improving that process additional with an upcoming Android replace. Our messy eSIM future might get much more simple. 

Google Pixel 8: digital camera and battery

On the subject of cameras, the primary digital camera sensor is predicted to stay at 50MP, however with an upgraded sensor that lets in more light. The ultrawide digital camera might be upgraded on each telephones too, we’re listening to, however more so on the Pro model – whereas the Professional telephoto zoom is predicted to stay at 5x.

Whereas we nonetheless do not know battery specs, we now have at the least seen the Pixel 8 pop-up on the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)’s certification website, with the itemizing revealing wi-fi charging particulars that recommend the Pixel 8 will retain the identical wi-fi charging speeds as its predecessor (12W except positioned on the official Google Pixel Stand which then delivers 20W of energy, wirelessly).

Nevertheless, wired charging speeds are rumored to be rising: 24W for the Pixel 8 (up from 20W) and 27W for the Pixel 8 Professional (up from 24W). The identical leak has additionally predicted barely bigger battery capacities for each telephones. 

Google Pixel 8: specs and options

Leaked palms of photographs of the Pixel 8 Professional that you would be able to see additional up present a partial specs record, together with 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and mentions of ‘zuma’, which is believed to be the codename for the Tensor G3 chipset.

Past that, a handful of different leaks have emerged relating to each telephones. For one factor, there are reports that the Tensor G3 chipset we’re anticipating to energy the telephone is within the works, and that this can as soon as once more be made by Samsung.

This might be considerably extra highly effective than the Tensor G2 within the Pixel 7 sequence, because it’s rumored to be constructed on a brand new 3nm course of, down from 5nm for the present one. That change is more likely to imply a giant enhance in energy and effectivity.

A extra detailed Tensor G3 leak has revealed all types of issues about it, however the gist is that it needs to be much more highly effective, allow ray tracing, supply improved picture processing and AI expertise, and extra.

Talking of which in an aforementioned leaked video, it seems the Pixel 8 will get a brand new function within the type of Audio Magic Eraser, which appears to make use of AI to separate music, vocals, and background noise on video clips. This was given extra weight by a Google Pixel Superfans survey which mentions the tool in the context of being able to remove unwanted noise at sports games whereas additionally enhancing the audio you need to hear. 

One other leak, in the meantime, suggests the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional might be codenamed Shiba and Husky respectively, and that they each may need 12GB of RAM and run Android 14.

We additionally know that satellite communication capabilities are likely to be offered by the Pixel 8, very similar to the iPhone 14. Hiroshi Lockheimer (the senior vp of Android) has mentioned that help for the function might be coming with Android 14; so it’s probably the Pixel 8 would be the first Google telephone to supply it.

Plus, one supply predicts the arrival of Wi-Fi 7 for the Pixel series. One other leak from Brar appeared to corroborate everything we’d already heard about the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, tipping it to be a light, refining replace. 

There have been predictions that the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Professional are going to return with upgrades to the built-in Digital camera app, with some shuffling of the varied modes and a greater distinction between picture and video modes.

Lastly, some say that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional might have an prolonged help life cycle with up to 5 years of software updates in comparison with 3 with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7. 

Google Pixel 8: what we need to see

Under we’ve listed the 5 issues that we most need the Pixel 8 line to supply.

1. A 120Hz display screen for each fashions

The Pixel 7 Professional has a 120Hz display screen, simply as you’d anticipate from a flagship telephone, however the usual Pixel 7 doesn’t – it’s caught at 90Hz.

On condition that even among the best cheap phones now have 120Hz screens, that appears considerably unacceptable, so we actually hope Google presents a 120Hz display screen on each the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Professional.

2. Extra energy

The Pixel 7 line makes use of the Google Tensor G2 chipset, and it’s a chipset that has rather a lot going for it.

Designed particularly for these telephones, it excels in areas like machine studying and AI, however on the subject of uncooked energy, the Tensor G2 is a little bit missing, because it performs worse in most benchmarks than key rivals just like the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 and the Apple A16 Bionic. In reality it performs considerably worse.

So, we’d prefer to see a give attention to energy from the Tensor G3 (or regardless of the subsequent mannequin finally ends up being known as), in order that the Pixel 8 line is extra aggressive on that entrance. Nevertheless, we don’t need that to return on the expense of the issues Tensor chipsets are at present good at.

3. Higher battery life and quicker charging

Each the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional ought to comfortably get you thru a day of pretty heavy use, based mostly on our checks, however they aren’t going to get you thru a second day, and even midway by means of a second day normally.

So, their longevity is respectable however removed from distinctive, they usually additionally each cost fairly slowly, so we’d prefer to see enhancements to each the battery life and the charging velocity for the Pixel 8 line.

4. Longer-term help

Google has promised three years of Android model updates and 5 years of safety patches for the Pixel 7 line, which has some Android telephones beat however doesn’t come near the variety of years of help Apple usually presents with its iPhones.

Since Google makes Android and is utilizing a bespoke chipset designed particularly for the telephones right here, there actually shouldn’t be any cause it may’t help its telephones for longer, so we’d prefer to see prolonged help supplied with the Pixel 8.

5. 10x optical zoom on the Professional

The Google Pixel 7 Professional presents 5x optical zoom, up from 4x on the Pixel 6 Pro, however we’d prefer to see a much bigger bounce for the following mannequin, bringing it as much as 10x in step with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

That mentioned, we nonetheless need a shorter distance zoom – of ideally 2x or 3x – to be supplied as effectively, so there are two distinctly completely different zoom distances obtainable. The Google Pixel 7 Professional is already one of many best camera phones, however with this improve the Pixel 8 Professional might be even higher.