Introducing Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, a remarkable creation by Google, centered around AI to offer a more personalized and helpful smartphone experience. These cutting-edge phones are loaded with groundbreaking features, all powered by the formidable Google Tensor G3. Moreover, they come with a promise of seven years of continuous software support, including Android OS enhancements, security updates, and periodic Feature Drops. Let’s delve into these new phones and explore their captivating design and enhanced features.
A Sleek Aesthetic for Everyday Life
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro exude elegance with their softer silhouettes, exquisite metal finishes, and a commitment to recycled materials.
The Pixel 8 boasts contoured edges and a more compact form compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 7. It fits comfortably in your hand and features a 6.2-inch Actua display that offers unparalleled real-world clarity, outshining the Pixel 7 with a 42% increase in brightness. The Pixel 8 also comes with satin metal finishes and a polished glass back, available in three sophisticated colours: Rose, Hazel, and Obsidian.
Meanwhile, the Pixel 8 Pro steps up the game with its 6.7-inch Super Actua display, which is the brightest one yet, ensuring vibrant and true-to-life Ultra HDR images, even in direct sunlight. It sports a matte glass back with a polished aluminium frame, offered in three stunning colours: Porcelain, Bay, and Obsidian.
What sets the Pixel 8 Pro apart is the addition of a new temperature sensor on the back, allowing users to quickly measure an object’s temperature. It can be used to determine if your pan is sufficiently heated for cooking or if your baby’s milk is at the perfect temperature. Google has even applied to the FDA, aiming to enable Pixel’s Thermometer App to take body temperatures and sync the data with Fitbit.
Enhancements in Camera Technology
Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro come equipped with upgraded camera systems that promise exceptional photo and video quality, along with game-changing editing tools.
The Pixel 8 Pro introduces improvements in every camera, starting with the main camera, which excels in capturing high-quality photos and videos in low-light conditions. The larger ultrawide lens enhances Macro Focus, the telephoto lens captures 56% more light and provides optical-quality 10x zoom photos, and the front-facing camera now features autofocus for impeccable selfies.
The Pixel 8 shares the updated main camera of the Pro version and adds a new ultrawide lens that enables Macro Focus. The camera app has undergone a user-friendly redesign, making it easier to navigate and capture content in your preferred photo and video modes. Pixel 8 Pro users can enjoy Pro Controls, offering greater creative control over the Pixel Camera, with settings such as shutter speed, ISO, 50 MP photos across the zoom range, and more.
Additionally, Pixel offers innovative features like “Best Take” for group photos where the AI combines images to ensure everyone looks their best. “Magic Editor” in Google Photos employs generative AI to enhance the aesthetics of your photos, allowing you to reposition subjects and make backgrounds pop with ease. “Audio Magic Eraser” is a remarkable tool to reduce unwanted noise in videos. It uses advanced machine learning to separate and control different audio layers.
Later this year, Pixel 8 Pro will receive “Video Boost,” leveraging Tensor G3 and Google’s data centres to enhance video quality, with adjustments for colour, lighting, stabilization, and graininess. This feature also enables “Night Sight Video” for superior low-light video quality.
Features for Increased Productivity
Pixel now offers “Summarize,” a feature that generates summaries of webpages for quick understanding of key points. Your Pixel can also read webpages aloud and translate them, making articles accessible on the go.
Pixel’s AI has been refined to better understand natural human speech, allowing for more seamless interactions. The improved “Call Screen” can help filter out 50% more spam calls on average and provide contextual replies for simple calls, minimizing the need to answer unwanted calls.
Seven Years of Software Support
Google Tensor G3, coupled with the Titan M2 security chip, ensures your Pixel remains secure and resilient to advanced threats. Furthermore, Pixel 8’s Face Unlock meets the highest Android biometric standard, enabling access to compatible banking and payment apps, such as Google Wallet.
For the first time, Google is committed to offering seven years of software support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. This includes regular OS upgrades, security updates, and exciting Feature Drops, guaranteeing that your Pixel continues to evolve and improve over time.
Experience faster performance and new health & safety features with Google Pixel Watch 2
Introducing the Google Pixel Watch 2, a significant upgrade from the original, featuring improved performance, extended battery life, advanced safety features, and enhanced health tracking capabilities.
Made from 100% recycled aluminium, it’s 10% lighter and more comfortable for all-day and night wear. With a new quad-core CPU and low-power co-processor, the watch offers 24 hours of battery life, including an always-on display. Furthermore, the addition of three new sensors, including a more accurate heart rate sensor, brings deeper health insights to users.
Pixel Watch 2 enhances personal safety with features like Safety Check, Medical ID, and Emergency Sharing. The watch runs on Wear OS 4, offering a range of customizable options, smarter notifications, and accessibility improvements.
It also seamlessly integrates with other Pixel devices and syncs with the Fitbit app, providing a comprehensive view of health and wellness. With various watch faces and accessories, you can style it your way for any occasion.
In perfect harmony with Pixel 8 & 8 Pro, work seamlessly with Pixel Pro Buds
Pixel Buds Pro is receiving its most significant update yet, packed with enhanced Google AI-powered features and greater compatibility across the Pixel lineup. In addition to introducing two new colour options, Bay and Porcelain, designed to perfectly complement the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2, the update enhances various aspects of the earbuds’ functionality.
One notable improvement is the introduction of Bluetooth Super Wideband support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, which enriches voice calls by doubling the bandwidth, resulting in fuller, clearer, and more natural sound quality. Clear Calling, also benefiting from this wider bandwidth, minimizes background noise during calls, ensuring better voice clarity. Furthermore, AI-driven Conversation Detection enables seamless hands-free transitions between conversations and audio playback, enhancing user convenience.
Pixel Buds Pro also reduces audio latency for gaming, providing a more immersive gaming experience on compatible games when used with Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Lastly, the update includes a feature for hearing wellness, offering insights into listening habits and suggestions to maintain long-term hearing health. Additionally, the Pixel Buds app is now available on Chromebooks, facilitating easy management of earbud settings, noise control modes, and firmware updates via the web app.
Pricing & Availability
The Google Pixel phones are available from S$1,099 (Pixel 8) and from S$1,549 (Pixel 8 Pro) at selected retailers. As for the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Pro Buds, they are retailing from $525 and $299 respectively.
