The flagship of Google’s Pixel 8 family of phones is the Pixel 8 Pro. Announced in October 2023, the Pixel 8 Pro launched alongside the Pixel 8 as one of the first phones to really push the message of artificial intelligence. That really comes through in the camera, which has led the way both in terms of results and what AI will let you do.
I’ve been using the Pixel 8 Pro since it launched and despite reviewing about 20 phones a year, the Pixel 8 Pro has been my constant companion.
I’ve been reviewing phones for over 15 years and I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about the Pixel 8 Pro — and whether it’s a sound choice of smartphone.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: At a glance
Google Pixel 8 Pro review
The Google Pixel 8 Pro sits at the top of Google’s phones, with the Pixel 8 offering a smaller size (and one less camera), while the Pixel 8a takes a step down again to justify its position as the most affordable model of the Pixel family.
The Pro is all about giving you more, so this phone is larger, more powerful and has the most accomplished collection of cameras of the family.
It comes in three colours, Bay (blue), Obsidian (black) and Porcelain (white), and there’s no avoiding that it’s a large handset.
It has the same characteristic design as the other Pixel 8 devices, with a camera bar across the back, while this phone has a glass back for a premium feel. It’s waterproof too, which you’d expect on this level of phone.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Display and hardware
The 6.7inch display on the front of the phone is one of the highlights — literally — as Google boosted the brightness. For a while, this was one of the brightest phones you could buy. That’s not just for the sake of it, it’s really to do two things.
The first is to cut through reflections on sunny days and the second is to make your content look better. When viewing HDR (high dynamic range) photos or video, this phone looks outstanding.
Google uses the same hardware to power this phone as you’ll find in both the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8a and it runs nice and smoothly, especially on this top model. But that hardware isn’t the most powerful or efficient and some flagship phones are faster and better placed if you want to play a lot of games, and that’s especially noticeable in the battery life.
While the Pixel 8 Pro will get you through a day of light use, when you push the phone hard and turn up that screen brightness, it will get through the battery pretty quickly.
That’s been something I’ve been happy to live with — because I think the advantages of this phone outweigh that negative — but it’s something to consider.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Features
One of the big advantages of choosing a Pixel phone is that there are no additional apps added that you don’t want. You’ll find the core Google apps in place and that’s it. Google has also committed to supporting the phone for seven years. That guarantees Android version updates and security updates until May 2031.
For a number of years, Google Assistant has been a cornerstone of Google’s phones, allowing you to speak to the voice ssistant to control your device, to get information, open apps, get directions and control any smart home devices that you have. That’s slowly changing over to Gemini (Google’s next AI assistant) and currently, you have access to both.
But most of the conversation about the Pixel 8 Pro circulates around the camera, its highlight feature.
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Camera
There are three cameras on this phone and they’re all backed up by Google’s “computational photography”. That means it’s using artificial intelligence to interpret what you’re taking a photo of and optimise the results.
There are no complicated manual camera modes: you point, press the button and, in most situations, will get a great photo, even in lowlight conditions.
It’s one of the best and most consistently reliable experiences you’ll find on a smartphone camera. Of particular note here is the 5x optical zoom lens. This will get you closer to the action with great results and this is what the Pixel 8 Pro offers over the regular Pixel 8.
It also offers AI editing skills, allowing easy removal of people in the background of photos, or even letting you edit the sky or position of things in a photo using Magic Editor — it’s easy, powerful and gives great results.
Google Pixel 8 Pro camera sample photos
Good Housekeeping’s verdict on the Google Pixel 8 Pro
The Pixel 8 Pro is a great flagshipgrade phone that stands out for its camera performance, long software support and clean Android experience, free from bloat. The display is wonderfully bright and vibrant, and the daytoday experience is great.
Google is at the forefront of AI in smartphones, leading to some great features — especially in the camera — and that’s what sells this phone. With the assurance that updates will keep coming, it’s a solid choice of smartphone and one of the best phones for photography that you can buy.
Chris Hall is a freelance journalist who specialises in consumer technology, pursuing a passion that started over 20 years ago. In 2008 he took on a fulltime Reviews Editor position at technology website Pocketlint.com, before stepping up to EditorinChief in 2012. Chris led coverage over a 15year tenure, exposing him to every gadget, system and technology you’d ever want to know about.
Chris left the EditorinChief position at Pocketlint.com in 2023 having published over 4,000 articles on consumer technology. His experience covers everything from smartphones and headphones to cars and computers. Chris doesn’t just test for reviews, he lives with a lot of technology, building a smart home and looking for a simpler solution to a connected home. This is much to his family’s irritation, because everything is always changing, especially the remote controls.
As a freelance writer, Chris has contributed to The Telegraph, T3.com, TechRadar and Autocar while launching his own technology website The Disconnekt – writing news about the latest technology, guides to help people make the best choices when shopping for technology, as well as reviewing extensively.
Chris has appeared on BBC News and Sky News, BBC Radio and The Times Radio talking technology, and even once played a part on The Apprentice. Chris has also been an expert judge at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards and the Uswitch Awards.
When not writing about technology or rearranging the technology in his home, Chris can be found on his bike, trying to get lost in the Surrey hills.
