Google’s Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro: these are the differences

Smartphones have been quite boring in terms of hardware for years: the display, camera and battery are of course gradually improving – but there is little that is surprising. Things look different on the software side: the processors in the devices are now so good that smartphones can do great things.

In the Android world, Google’s Pixel series is the best example of this. This can be seen in the new devices Pixel 8 (from 719 francs) and Pixel 8 Pro (from 999 francs). Our test.

Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8: the main differences

Software or magic?

In terms of hardware, the devices are good and fully equipped – more about that later. But what’s most exciting are the features that the software on the devices enables. And here the Pixel 8 smartphones largely fulfill the promises presented in the test.

A good example of this is the new function: “Best recording”. Everyone has probably taken a group photo with their mobile phone. Even if you only want to photograph three people – you usually take at least three or four photos – because experience shows that everyone never actually looks into the camera and smiles at the same time.

Until now, you had to choose the image with the fewest errors – or, with a lot of effort and a graphics program, cut individual heads from one image and place them on another image.

The Pixel 8 now does this automatically with ‘Best Shot’. Yes really: if you’ve taken a photo of a smaller group (we couldn’t get a larger group together in the short test period) in the same image area multiple times, the Photos app in the Pixel 8 now offers the item “Best shot ” under “Tools”.

A tap with the finger is confirmed with a short pause in the calculation. The device then offers all variants of the captured images for each recognized face. This means that with just a few taps of your finger you can put together a best-of-of-face: the perfect group photo, so to speak. It works so well that it seems truly magical. However, you realize that it is not magic when the device rejects many group photos with the advice that you should select photos in which the faces are easier to recognize.

And that happened to us relatively often in the test. Google will undoubtedly get better at this once this software tool is in widespread use and Google can collect the relevant data. But when it works, it is truly unique. Unfortunately, “Best Shot” is only available for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro for now.

“Magic Editor” for image editing with Google

Another feature is also fascinating: the “Magic Editor”. And there’s something magical about what this feature does.

The results are extremely impressive: In the test, for example, we were able to push people from the front row to the side or remove them completely in a group photo. The selection is made with a tap of the finger. The algorithm then often reconstructed the area covered by the person in an absolutely believable way – for example, it created a pair of legs of the person standing behind, which were suddenly no longer half-hidden, but fully visible.

The “Magic Editor” allows you to edit photos directly on your mobile phone without any knowledge of Photoshop.

Google also makes Magic Editor available for older Pixels.

Audio Eraser: Remove noise in videos

The audio eraser is also practical in some situations. This is a function that filters noise from the video – a kind of subsequent noise reduction for the sound. This works particularly well with constant noise such as traffic, wind or the hum of a hairdryer. Different detected interference sources can sometimes even be switched off separately. The feature doesn’t work miracles, but it still works very well and should improve some shots significantly.

Practical AI ​​for everyday life

Unfortunately, not all features reach us. For example, in the US you can have longer texts summarized in a few bullet points in the Chrome browser. This will later only be available in German.

However, what also works for us is “reading & translating”. This means that you can have articles read aloud from your browser at the touch of a button. Even more impressive, Chrome on the Pixel 8 (Pro) also translates text directly from other languages ​​into German (or another language) if necessary. This works with dozens of languages ​​– the translations were very good in the test.

Additionally, the Pixel 8 (Pro) can automatically generate subtitles during videos or phone calls or instant messages and translate everyday conversations in near real-time to communicate with people in other languages.

Everything you would expect from a smartphone

The equipment is extensive and leaves nothing to be desired considering the prices. The displays both look excellent and offer a 120Hz refresh rate, the phone runs fast and smoothly and the battery can easily last a day, even on the smaller and cheaper model.

This year there is one new secure face unlock, which is available in addition to the optical fingerprint scanner under the display and works quickly and easily. Google’s AI-supported facial recognition reaches the highest level of security for the first time – without additional sensors – and is therefore also approved for e-banking and payment apps such as Google Pay.

The more expensive Pro model offers some extras here and there that the cheaper device lacks. For example, an optical fivefold zoom camera, an even brighter display and a thermometer. This is located next to the cameras and helps detect the surface temperature of objects in the environment. It’s not entirely clear why you need it – it’s explicitly not intended for body temperature, they say (probably still lacking approval from the relevant authority) – but at least the app is straight forward and easy to use.

The main camera is identical on both devices and takes excellent photosthe colors look neutral and might look a bit too cold for some.

Also the Selfie camera impresses with natural colours.

The ultra-wide-angle camera in both models now makes very beautiful macro photos possible thanks to autofocuswhere you can place the camera very close to the object.

The Pixel has been able to take excellent photos in low light for years – Here too, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro show exceptionally good results. Only the Pixel 8 Pro allows videos taken at night (after an update) to be optimized afterwards. Google’s AI also plays a role here.

The Fivefold telephoto camera Naturally, the Pro model can’t keep up with the 10x optical zoom that some Android competitors now offer. However, it is a very good addition to the other two focal lengths; the images are sharp.

The maximum 30x zoom of the Pro model is optimized with AI support. The smaller Pixel 8 offers an AI-powered zoom lens with a maximum magnification of 8x.

Conclusion: The Pixel 8 is the best Android smartphone you can buy for 720 francs

With the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Google is once again pushing the boundaries of what is possible with a smartphone a big step further. On paper, the new Pixel generation may not be able to quite keep up with the top devices from Samsung, Huawei or Xiaomi – in everyday life it often leaves the competition miles behind. This is mainly due to the software – which Google is impressive for seven years of security and feature updates promises.

Ingenious features like the Magic Editor are unparalleled in the smartphone world, the Best Shot feature – if it works – solves a common everyday problem in a smart and easy way. This type of photo editing used to be reserved for people skilled in Photoshop – now anyone can do it.

These and much more Smart features, coupled with a very good hardware package and good battery life, make the Pixel 8 probably the best smartphone in this price range for the average user. The Pixel 8 Pro offers an even better hardware package overall with five times zoom, a brighter and slightly larger screen and other better details (about twelve rather than eight GB of RAM). However, the R280 surcharge may not be worth it for every customer, simply because the Pixel 8 does so well in most areas.