Google Pixel 8 Pro first impressions: is Google the new Apple?

The Pixel 8 Pro is Google’s new flagship. What Apple has painfully lacked in recent years, Google currently seems to be perfecting: innovation. I didn’t have big expectations for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Then the keynote completely unexpectedly blew me away. This is my first impression.

The new features at a glance

• new Tensor G3 processor
• 120 Hz display with up to 2,400 nits
• 50-megapixel main camera with Pro mode
• optimized Night Sight, in the future in video mode as well
• Video Boost: The mode optimizes recordings with AI, for example brightness and HDR.
• Audio Magic Eraser: automatically removes disruptive noise from videos in the future.
• People, animals and things can be removed from photos, and now also moved and resized.
• Best Take: With group photos, you choose the best shot for each person, and the head is swapped accordingly.

On top come features that Google has had for a while: Live Translate for conversations in real time, Car Crash Detection, reading online articles aloud at an adjustable speed, and Call Screening, which protects you from spam calls. New is a temperature sensor in the camera module that measures, for example, the temperature of surfaces.

And then, at the end, there is the update guarantee: seven years, both security updates and operating system. In theory, I wouldn’t have to buy a new smartphone until 2030. Whether I want that is another question, because then my channel would be pretty monotonous.

Design: Google catches up with Apple

We used to sit spellbound in front of the TV for the Apple keynote, thrilled by the glimpse into the future. What Apple, in my opinion, was always better at than everyone else was the hardware: jewels in terms of design, built extremely well. For several years now, though, other manufacturers have been catching up enormously. Since the S22 Ultra, I’ve found the Samsung devices extremely high-quality and elegant, from the flagship to the entry-level model. What Google delivers this year is a direct challenge to Apple’s monopoly on the highest-quality smartphone design.

• The display is now flat and no longer curved at the sides.
• The frame is made of polished aluminum. If I didn’t know, I would guess stainless steel.
• The glass back is matte for the first time.

We know this combination of glossy frame and matte back from the iPhone, and visually the Pixel is no longer inferior to it. Because it’s aluminum instead of stainless steel, the Pixel 8 Pro weighs only 213 g despite 6.7 inches. The iPhone 14 Pro Max with a stainless steel frame and the same display size weighs 240 g, 27 g more. The iPhone 15 Pro Max with a titanium frame weighs 221 g, still 8 g more.

Verdict of the first impressions

I could understand anyone who said they only buy Apple, if not for technical innovation, then for the quality feel. Now there’s a new sheriff in town: The Pixel 8 Pro is miles ahead of Apple on technical innovation and has caught up on design and build quality. I can imagine that some will think three times about buying a new iPhone, or will go for the €350 cheaper Pixel 8 Pro after all, for which in theory they won’t have to buy a new smartphone for seven years. Google has led the way on features and functions, the way Apple once did. Today Apple introduces features that Google has released, and no longer the other way around.