May 11, 2024
A blue Google Pixel 8 Pro, laying face-down next to a small pumpkin and squash.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

I’ll come out and say it proper now: The Google Pixel 8 Professional is an impressive smartphone. Really, I’ll do you one higher. It’s simply the very best Pixel cellphone Google has ever launched. Hell — the Pixel 8 Professional simply could also be my favourite Android cellphone of 2023.

I gave the Pixel 8 Professional a whole lot of reward in my overview of the cellphone this previous October. I went as far as to name it the “greatest Pixel I’ve ever used.” A daring declare, for certain. However is all of that also true after utilizing the Pixel 8 Professional for properly over a month? Is it nonetheless the Pixel cellphone I’ve been ready for, or has my common unhealthy luck with Pixel bugs tarnished my expertise?

All the things I nonetheless love in regards to the Pixel 8 Professional

Someone taking a photo with the Google Pixel 8 Pro in a landscape orientation.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

The Pixel 8 Professional’s design actually impressed me in my overview, and that hasn’t modified one bit after weeks of day by day use. A whole lot of this boils all the way down to the extra rounded design this yr, which was 100% the correct name on Google’s half. Even with all of the design enhancements Apple made to the iPhone 15 Professional Max this yr, I discover myself reaching for the Pixel 8 Professional over it, partly due to simply how good Google’s in-hand really feel is. And, sure, that Bay blue coloration continues to be top-of-the-line I’ve seen on a smartphone this yr.

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The one unfavourable I’ve to say at this level is that the chrome steel body surrounding the digital camera sensors has already picked up a whole lot of small scratches — one thing I additionally observed on the Pixel 7 Professional final yr. They’re solely seen in sure lighting, and they look like purely beauty, however I definitely wouldn’t complain if Google ditched chrome steel subsequent yr for one thing like titanium as a substitute.

I additionally want to offer main props to the Pixel 8 Professional’s digital camera setup. Google’s Pixel telephones are well-known for having wonderful cameras, however that hasn’t stopped the Pixel 8 Professional from being any much less spectacular right here. The above gallery exhibits only a handful of a few of my favourite pictures I’ve gotten over the month.

Google Pixel 8 Professional video take a look at (4K 60fps)

And it’s not simply nonetheless images the place the Pixel 8 Professional impresses. Though I don’t often take a whole lot of video on my smartphone, I’ve been making an effort to take action on the Pixel 8 Professional. And every time I do, I’m thrilled with the outcomes I get. From the buttery easy stabilization, beautiful colours, and crisp particulars, the Pixel 8 Professional takes exceptional-looking video. Have a look for your self with the clip above.

I’ve taken the Pixel 8 Professional to dimly-lit live performance halls, pumpkin patches, nature trails — you identify it. Irrespective of the setting and it doesn’t matter what I need to take an image of, the Pixel 8 Professional produces unbelievable outcomes. It’s been so good, in reality, that I made a decision to maneuver my cloud picture library from Apple Pictures to Google Pictures so I can preserve utilizing the Pixel 8 Professional as my foremost digital camera of alternative. It truly is that good.

Someone holding the Google Pixel 8 Pro, showing its lock screen.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

And it doesn’t cease with the design and cameras. The 6.7-inch OLED show on the Pixel 8 Professional has been completely pretty. Its colours are vibrant and punchy, the 120Hz refresh price is as easy as will be, and the every-so-slightly curved edges really feel incredible once you’re swiping and scrolling on it. Moreover, Android 14 on the Pixel 8 Professional has been a lot enjoyable to make use of. The lock display customization instruments are nice, your entire UI is fast and snappy, and even stranger additions just like the AI wallpaper generator are good touches.

I may go on and on. The in-screen fingerprint sensor is dependable, having Face Unlock work for logging into purposes has been wonderful, the buttons really feel wonderful and clicky, and the audio system sound nice — you get the purpose.

Google received so a lot proper with the Pixel 8 Professional, and the whole lot that I beloved after I first took the cellphone out of the field has continued to impress a month later.

Bugs? What bugs?

The Google Pixel 8 Pro sitting upright on a park bench.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

I additionally had a whole lot of good issues to say in regards to the Google Pixel 7 Professional final yr, however my expertise with that cellphone was finally ruined by software program bugs and efficiency points. The Pixel 8 Professional was easy crusing after utilizing it for a few week earlier than I revealed my overview — however how is it holding up after a really busy month?

To my absolute shock, it’s been incredible. I haven’t encountered any crashing apps, no bizarre UI results with YouTube, and no weird formatting that breaks my Fast Settings — all issues that plagued my Pixel 7 Professional final yr. I had one occasion the place the always-on show randomly stopped working, however disabling and re-enabling it within the Settings app instantly mounted it, and it’s been working flawlessly since.

I’ve additionally been constantly impressed by Google’s Tensor G3 chip. The earlier two generations of Tensor chips within the Pixel 7 and Pixel 6 handsets have been … not good. They have been infamous for overheating, had very poor energy effectivity, and have been typically simply not dependable for day by day use.

The home screen on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

Though the Tensor G3 chip isn’t probably the most highly effective cell chipset out there as we speak, it’s been an amazing improve over Google’s earlier makes an attempt. My Pixel 8 Professional has been very quick and responsive, whether or not I’m enjoying back-to-back matches of Marvel Snap or multitasking throughout a handful of various apps. And even with heavier use, the cellphone stays a lot cooler than earlier Pixels. I’ve been capable of get it to heat up just a few occasions throughout significantly lengthy gaming classes, however I’d anticipate that from any fashionable smartphone.

Is that this to say the Pixel 8 Professional gained’t abruptly develop new, sudden points over the approaching weeks and months forward? Completely not. Pixels are infamous for getting worse over time, and I’ll be conserving a detailed eye on the Pixel 8 Professional to see if that occurs. However it’s been just about flawless thus far, and that’s not one thing I can say in regards to the earlier two generations of Google’s telephones.

The Pixel 8 Professional’s two ongoing points

Battery settings on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

For probably the most half, the Google Pixel 8 Professional’s first month has been off to an outstanding begin. However there are two points with the cellphone that proceed to be a nuisance.

The primary is battery life. I complained about this in my Pixel 8 Professional overview, and it continues to be an issue as we speak. I wouldn’t say the Pixel 8 Professional’s battery life is outright “unhealthy” or “horrible,” but it surely’s additionally a noticeable step down in comparison with different Android telephones out there.

As I discovered in my overview, I’m nonetheless getting a full day with the Google Pixel 8 Professional with out having to fret about charging it earlier than mattress. I’ve had some days the place I may stretch it to a bit below a day and a half, but it surely by no means goes past that. Plus, doing so solely occurred after I used the Pixel 8 Professional sparingly all through the day. Different telephones from earlier this yr — just like the Motorola Edge Plus and OnePlus 11 — simply ship two days of use per cost with out having to carefully monitor how a lot you utilize them. The Pixel 8 Professional has a nice battery, but it surely very clearly isn’t on the identical degree as a few of its rivals.

The opposite situation is charging. The Pixel 8 Professional is sluggish relating to charging.  Going from zero to 100% at all times takes round an hour and a half, and whereas that’s nice if you happen to simply cost the cellphone in a single day when you sleep, it’s not best if it is advisable to cost as rapidly as attainable in a brief period of time. That is one other space the place corporations like Motorola and OnePlus have taken a big lead over Google, and it stays disappointing that the Pixel 8 Professional is lagging right here.

That is the Google cellphone I’ve been ready for

The Google Pixel 8 Pro sitting upright on a park bench.
Joe Maring / Digital Traits

My month with the Pixel 8 Professional thus far has been an evening and day distinction in comparison with my time with the Pixel 7 Professional. Final yr’s Google flagship was buggy, inconsistent, and simply not a cellphone I wished to maintain utilizing as soon as my overview was revealed. With the Pixel 8 Professional, I’m dreading the day when I’ve to take my SIM out of it and pop it into a brand new cellphone I have to overview.

Am I nonetheless anxious in regards to the cellphone abruptly deteriorating into an unusable mess? A little bit bit. Google’s Pixel telephones haven’t been type to me over the past couple of years, and I’m weary to neglect about that any time quickly. However the Pixel 8 Professional is so exceptionally good that that anxiousness is rising much less and fewer with every day.

The Google Pixel 8 Professional nonetheless has rather a lot to show over the approaching yr, but when issues preserve going the best way they’ve over the previous month, I’ve a sense this would be the Android cellphone that is still in my pocket all through a lot of 2024.

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