Google Pixel 8
Jam-packed with high-end hardware and cutting-edge features, Google’s betting that the next smartphone revolution centers around advanced, algorithm-driven photo editing and AI-focused SoCs. While it’s a touch more expensive than before, the base model Google flagship is an all-around winner that’s hard to find fault with.
Google Pixel 6
Once an industry leader, the Pixel 6 is now more of a midrange master at this point. If you have one and still like it, you may surely get more life out of it unless you’ve got your eye on the advanced software implementation that comes with the most recent release.
While theGoogle Pixel 6got off to a rough start, a few months of post-launch updates turned it into a respectable flagship and worthwhile investment. By every measure, thePixel 8exceeds it in terms of performance, build quality, and features.
However, the new $100 increase over previous models makes the 8 less of a slam-dunk decision, especially since the Pixel 6 still has one year of full Android updates along with decently capable hardware. If you’re looking for the best in photo editing magic and processing power, the Pixel 8’s the right choice. But the Pixel 6 isn’t dead yet.
Price, availability, and specs
With Google pushing the envelope in terms of performance and software, the new Pixel 8’s $700 price isn’t exactly surprising. Now an established industry-leading flagship, the latest Pixel blends top-of-the-line hardware with novel, advanced features you can’t get anywhere else. And with its now unbeatable Android update lifespan, it’s a better investment than ever. For that matter, if you already own a Pixel 6 in good condition, you can trade it in for a $115 credit from Google or something else in that neighborhood if you hand it over to your carrier instead of Google.
But $700 is still quite a bit of cash (as is $585 for current Pixel 6 owners). These days, it’s possible to find a new, unlocked Pixel 6 for about $350 from the right seller, which is right in line with the costs of ourfavorite budget-friendly smartphones. In fact, $350 was the original list price of thePixel 6a, and the standard Pixel 6 is clearly a better device.
The real kicker for the Pixel 6 is availability. Google doesn’t sell it anymore, so you’d have to go through a third-party retailer. And if youcanfind something close to that $350 mark from a reputable vendor, you’ll most likely be limited to 128GB of storage and the standard, relatively uninteresting Stormy Black finish. Once it passes the $400 mark, the Pixel 6’s price-to-performance ratio drops like a rock.
The Pixel 6 marked amajor departure from previous modelsin terms of appearance with the introduction of the now-iconic Pixel visor. Representing two rounds of design refinements, the lighter and notably smaller Pixel 8 looks very much like a Google device. The move to a metal camera bar that highlights the lens array, along with more rounded corners, gives the latest flagship a decidedly signature look.
We’re still putting the Pixel 8 through its paces in terms of durability, but experts have already noted that the Pixel 8 Pro’s rugged enough to last for its entire seven-year Android update lifespan. The Pixel 6 wasn’t fragile by any means, but improved back glass and two additional years of engineering mean the Pixel 8 is as rugged as anything else out there.
The Pixel 6 wasn’t exactly unwieldy, but the Pixel 8’s pretty much a dream to hold. Its smaller dimensions and weight, combined with slightly redesigned sides and shrunken bezels, lead to one of the most ergonomic smartphones on the market. While the Pixel 6 felt like a high-end device at launch, the 8 feels even more so.
The Pixel 6’s 90 hertz, 1080p display was one of the best in the world at the time, and the Pixel 8’s display is essentially a brighter, bolder, more fluid version of it. The resolutions match, but the newer model’s a hair smaller and, therefore, offers a little more pixel density (not that you’ll notice). The Pixel 6 was fixed at 60 or 90 hertz, but the 8 ranges from 60 to 120 based on content, making motion handling as smoother as can be, no matter what frame rate your videos and games run at.
Rather than how many pixels or how fast they refresh, the real differences are in just what those pixels can produce. The Pixel 6’s 800-nit peak brightness basically led the industry at the time, and its 71.5% coverage of the DCI-P3 was definitely respectable (though not at the front of the pack). The Pixel 8’s display shines through as a clear winner, as its whopping 2,000-nit peak brightness and outright impressive 89.4% DCI-P3 coverage make it an absolute pleasure to look at, even in direct sunlight.
Make no mistake, the Pixel 6 sported a high-end display for 2021. The Pixel 8 boasts the same in 2023, except what’s considered high-end has advanced considerably. The only really unfortunate carryover is Google’s continued use of an optical fingerprint sensor, a bit of a head-scratcher given the better performance of most ultrasonic types. On the plus side, the Pixel 8’s face unlock works significantly better than the Pixel 6’s, which wasn’t even rolled out at launch and still works a little inconsistently.
Experts and everyday users alike soured on the Pixel 6’s software experience from the beginning. The first few troublesome months had a handful of reviewers wondering just how thoroughly Google had tested its most recent Android implementation, given the high incidence of bugs. Most of those bugs got squashed over the next few months, but Google’s OS philosophy remained the same.
That is to say, there’s nothingwrongwith Google’s own Android flavor, but it’s not quite as dynamic as others like Samsung’s OneUI. The launcher’s just a little more locked down than other OEMs', with custom icons and reconfigurable search bars still in Pixel owners' dreams. At least the Pixel 8 launch hasn’t seen the kind of frustrating and sometimes experience-breaking software issues of the 6 launch.
One big software upgrade to the Pixel 8 is actually tied to its Google Tensor G3 chipset. This high-end piece of tech enables all sorts of digital wizardry, including an (arguably creepy)face replacement techniquethat leverages advanced algorithms and the G3’s advanced cores to make edits that once required professional talent. Its Magic Editor, Zoom Enhance, and Audio Magic Eraser features all rely on Google’s in-house SoC. Also, the speed and architecture of Google’s Bard AI assistant are greatly boosted by the G3 chip.
Google did one more thing with the Pixel 8 that shocked the world by promising a remarkable seven years of full Android updates. That’s even longer than the six years of support Apple typically gives iPhones. It’s impressive by any measure and one of many great reasons to upgrade from the Pixel 6 to the 8, as the 6 will see its final Android update in October 2024.
Performance
The original Google Tensor SoC housed in the Pixel 6 is no slouch, and all but the most demanding users should find it OK for everyday tasks. Heavy use like gaming or frequent multitasking will bog it down. Its thermal management isn’t great, either, as it tends to run hot and throttle more than we’d like. Nonetheless, it delivers a snappy Android experience and does a good job with most apps.
The Tensor G3 on the Pixel 8 is a different beast entirely. Its redesigned architecture centers on the high-speed Cortex-X3 core that enables its host of mind-blowing AI features. Single-threaded, multi-threaded, or machine learning-focused — whatever kind of workload you throw at it, the Tensor G3 will handle it swimmingly.
It doesn’t quite match other heavy-hitters like the Apple A17 Bionic in terms of raw computational power, but it’s not meant to. Instead, the four efficiency cores, four high-powered cores, and a single AI-focused core make for one of the most seamless smartphone experiences we’ve ever had. And if that weren’t enough, the Pixel 8’s hardware raises the efficiency bar compared to the 6, too.
We couldn’t complain much about the Pixel 6’s battery life, as it easily lasted all day with minimal use. But we were able to drain it on heavy-use days without trying too hard. The Pixel 8 blows that out of the water despite an almost identical battery capacity.
We repeatedly went entire days with hours of screen time on various resource-intensive apps and had plenty of juice left at the end of the day. The Tensor G3 chipset’s increased efficiency and Android’s ever-improving power management both contribute to this impressive display of battery life. The Pixel 8 lasts longer between charges than not only the Pixel 6 but even other modern flagships like the iPhone 15.
Charging is a slightly more contentious issue. In our measurements, the Pixel 6 never quite reached its billed max speed of 30 watts, even when using Google’s first-party charger. Its 21-watt wireless peak only came with Google’s ownPixel Stand 2, which never really got off the ground because it just wasn’t that great.
The Pixel 8 does a better job at refueling, but it’s still not great. From empty to full took us 1 hour and 33 minutes, which isn’t terrible, but it is far off competitors like Oppo that cut that time in half or more. On the flip side, slower charging speeds help minimize long-term battery degradation, which makes it all the more likely your Pixel 8 will last through its entire update cycle. Plus, the battery life is so great that you shouldn’t need frequent, high-wattage top-ups just to get through the day.
We loved the Pixel 6 photo experience and still do. It solidified the Pixel lineup’s place among thebest phones for taking picturesand still produces great images and videos to this day. It wasn’t perfect, though, as ultrawide performance lent itself to a lot of blurry details, and Google’s various AI photo editing tools were still in their infancy.
Two generations later, the Pixel 8 makes it clear that Google’s trendsetting imaging performance wasn’t a fluke. Pictures and videos tend to come out just right the first time, with white balance, saturation, and focus handled beautifully. The Pixel 7 was even already at the top of the pack, and this latest iteration represents the push beyond imaging algorithms and high-resolution sensors into user-friendly, high-tech photo editing.
In other words, not only will the Pixel 8 take some of the finest photos and videos a smartphone can, but it also lets you do more with that imaging data than any other mobile device will. It’ll even use the pictures of familiar faces in your photo gallery (a family member’s, for example) to replace subject errors like one person’s blinking eyes in a family photo. Is this creepy? A little bit. Is this kind of high-tech manipulation where the smartphone photography market is headed? Almost certainly.
Which one’s right for you?
If you want the latest and greatest in performance, battery life, connectivity, and features, the Pixel 8 is a no-brainer. While we loved the Pixel 6 (once Google got its act together), two generations of developments make for a massively improved phone. Image quality, display vibrance, peak brightness, HDR performance, battery life, photo editing, raw performance — every part of the Pixel 8 makes big strides past the Pixel 6. If you want the best, this is it.
One of 2023’s best
A new SoC, even sleeker design, and long-term software support make this easily the most capable Pixel yet. If you’re willing to deal with the increased sticker price, the Pixel 8 could well provide several years of excellent performance.
The Pixel 6 is still a great phone. Should you buy a new one in 2023? Only if you can find it for around $350 because its somewhat dated hardware puts it solidly in the midrange category these days. If you already own the Pixel 6 and aren’t having any issues, the upgrade only makes sense if you’re itching for more raw performance and the AI features that the latest Tensor chipset enables. But its battery life, Android experience, and camera performance remain well above average, even though it’s two years old.
Still a good phone
While it’s no longer anywhere near the cutting edge, the Pixel 6 still delivers a satisfying Android experience in a competent, well-designed package. It’s worth picking up at a significant discount, and current users only need to rush out to upgrade if they’re really missing the new AI features.
