Google Pixel 8: All it’s good to know

The Google Pixel 7 vary is nice, however it’s secure to imagine that Google is already working exhausting on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional forward of launch later this yr. Whereas we’re nonetheless some months away, we’re beginning to get an image of what to anticipate from this yr’s flagship vary. 

Present leaks level in the direction of not solely design tweaks with extra rounded corners than the Pixel 7 vary, however a brand new type issue for the Pixel 8, allegedly measuring in at a extra compact 5.8 inches. The Pixel 8 Professional isn’t secure both, with this yr’s top-end mannequin stated to ditch the curved show for a flat display.

Whispers additionally paint an image of upgraded digicam know-how hinting at a brand new digicam sensor, and there are even leaked renders of each handsets doing the rounds on-line.

We’ve rounded up every thing there’s to know in regards to the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Professional proper right here, from launch date hypothesis to leaked renders and purported specs. 

When will the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional be launched?

Whereas Google is but to formally acknowledge the existence of the Pixel 8, it’s secure to say that it’ll probably seem someday within the autumn (or ‘Fall’ for you People) of 2023, probably in October. 

That has been Google’s favoured launch window for the flagship Pixel line over the previous few years anyway, with the Pixel 7 showing on 6 October 2022 and the Pixel 6 showing on 19 October 2021.

Likelihood is, we would not have to attend fairly that lengthy to get our first glimpse on the {hardware} – so long as the Pixel 8 vary follows in the identical footsteps as final yr’s Pixel 7, anyway. You see, whereas the Pixel 7 vary wasn’t launched till October 2022, it made its preliminary debut within the type of a brief teaser method again at Google I/O in Could 2022. 

With Google confirming that this yr’s Google I/O will happen on 10 Could, it’s potential that we’re not too removed from getting our first take a look at this yr’s flagship Pixel vary. 

How a lot will the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional value?

Wanting on the value of the previous few flagship Pixels, it’s clear that Google doesn’t prefer to mess with the pricing. The £599/$599 Pixel 7 matched that of the Pixel 6, for instance, and it’s an identical story with the £849/$849 Pixel 7 Professional too.

With all that in thoughts, we anticipate the Pixel 8 to return in at an inexpensive £599/$599 whereas the Pixel 8 Professional will are available at a barely increased £849/$849. Which may fluctuate barely relying on the financial scenario on the time, however we are able to’t see it diverging an excessive amount of. 

Newest Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional rumours and leaks

Design

With Google going all-in on the brand new design first launched on the Pixel 6 in 2021, it appears not like that the Pixel 8 vary will break the development. Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply that the Pixel 8 vary might be a carbon copy of its predecessor – the Pixel 7 vary had slight modifications in comparison with the Pixel 6 in any case.

In reality, if leaks are to be believed, there might be extra dramatic modifications on the best way with the Pixel 8 vary.

A collaboration between well-known leaker @OnLeaks and MySmartPrice produced leaked renders of the Pixel 8 together with leaked dimensions, and it appears Google has plans to shrink the Pixel 8 right down to ZenFone 9 ranges of compact.

The Pixel 8 will allegedly measure in at 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm with a 5.8-inch show in comparison with the 155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm and 6.3-inch show of the Pixel 7. It additionally seems to maneuver away from the boxy design of the Pixel 7 with far more rounded corners in an identical vein to the iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S23.

The smaller show ought to make the smartphone much more pocketable, and in a world the place telephone shows maintain getting bigger, it’s an fascinating choice for Google to cater to the compact telephone market. 

You may get small telephones, however other than outliers just like the ZenFone 9 and now-defunct iPhone 13 mini, they are typically centered on the mid-range market. A compact telephone with Google’s smarts and digicam processing on the excessive finish of the market might be a winner among the many small-handed. 

@OnLeaks has additionally leaked renders of the larger Pixel 8 Professional with an identical redesign, softening the sharp corners of the telephone, although the larger change would be the inclusion of a flat show for the primary time in fairly just a few years. There’s additionally a brand new sensor sitting beneath the digicam flash on the digicam bar, which is but to be revealed. 

Efficiency

Extremely, particulars in regards to the Google Pixel 8’s efficiency started surfacing on-line simply weeks after the launch of the Pixel 7 vary in November 2022. We all know that Google merchandise leak rather a lot, however nonetheless, that’s very early.

The small print embody codenames for what’s assumed to be the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional – Husky and Shiba – together with a codename for the upcoming Tensor G3 chipset, internally dubbed Zuma. This information got here from WinFuture which allegedly discovered the main points in publicly out there code. 

WinFuture went a step additional by speculating that Zuma might be primarily based on Samsung’s flagship 3nm Exynos 2300 chipset, although with a devoted TPU and different modifications, probably significantly within the AI division as with earlier Google chipsets. It’d make sense given the actual fact Pixel 6’s Tensor relies on the Exynos 2100 and the Pixel 7’s Tensor G2 relies on the Exynos 2200. 

In addition to this, the leak additionally claims that each the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional will sport 12GB of RAM as commonplace, a spec that was beforehand unique to the Pixel 7 Professional. That’ll be a welcome change for Pixel 8 homeowners if true, particularly in comparison with the Pixel 7’s 8GB of RAM.  

Apparently, that leak was backed up by a separate supply in March 2023. Leakers supplied a kernel for a Samsung Semiconductor chipset codenamed Quadra, which is broadly believed to be the Exynos 2300. 

The leak supplied key insights into the Exynos chipset, which can allegedly use a Cortex-X3 at 3.09GHz, 4 Cortex-A715 cores at 2.65GHz and one other 4 Cortex-A512s at 2.1GHz, whereas the Xclipse 930 1.4GHz GPU will deal with graphical efficiency. 

Cameras

Whereas we don’t but know the specifics about Google’s upcoming digicam {hardware}, we do have our first tidbits of details about the software program options out there – and it feels like there might be fairly the improve in retailer for the Pixel 8 vary.

In response to a December 2022 leak, the Pixel 8 and eight Professional are set to make use of Staggered HDR tech for the primary time. Staggered HDR basically takes lengthy and quick exposures immediately, slightly than one after the opposite like with most different interpretations of HDR on smartphones. This could allegedly assist with some inconsistencies in HDR photos, like strobing and ghosting. 

The issue is that the present primary 50MP Samsung GN1 digicam sensor discovered within the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional can’t deal with that sort of job on a {hardware} degree, suggesting that this yr’s flagship vary may see an upgraded primary sensor on the very least. The probably candidate is the improve to the GN1, unimaginatively dubbed the GN2, however that is but to be confirmed. 

A separate supply claims that Google may be engaged on a Video Unblur characteristic in an identical vein to the Pixel 7’s Picture Unblur functionality, serving to to clean out and sharpen blurry movies captured on the smartphone. 

The characteristic was present in an unfinished state within the code for the google Photographs app which may imply a launch earlier than the Pixel 8, however it appears probably that Google will tie this into the brand new telephone and its upgraded Tensor G3 chip.