Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro hands-on

[Crimson Dynamo]

7 years of updates, crazy new AI photography features, thermometer

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[bots]

it's all small incremental updates. The AI photo stuff looks great. Nothing i've seen over the last year or 2 has been a trigger for me to fork out a grand on a new phone though, so i'm quite happy

[Crimson Dynamo]

it's all small incremental updates. The AI photo stuff looks great. Nothing i've seen over the last year or 2 has been a trigger for me to fork out a grand on a new phone though, so i'm quite happy

There is a new Tensor chip, much brighter screen, battery upgrade, big photo enhancements (like best take, below), clear call and audio magic eraser plus the 7 years guaranteed upgrades

compared to iphone/Samsung this is a huge upgrade year on year

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[bots]

it's only a huge upgrade if it's something you want though. That's the problem the companies have. Don't get me wrong, a few years back, i got a new iphone every year, because there were changes that i could benefit from in my day to day existence. The enhancements are now in areas that i would rarely use or care about. I will probably get a new phone when my current phone is damaged or the battery starts losing it's charge, and that will be it

[Quantum Boy]

it's only a huge upgrade if it's something you want though. That's the problem the companies have. Don't get me wrong, a few years back, i got a new iphone every year, because there were changes that i could benefit from in my day to day existence. The enhancements are now in areas that i would rarely use or care about. I will probably get a new phone when my current phone is damaged or the battery starts losing it's charge, and that will be it

I have to agree unless you're particularly into one thing e.g. you do a lot of phone photography. And TBQFH I've yet to see a phone that takes a picture half as good as the Canon DSLR I've had since 2010 ... and I assume a brand new DSLR would be an upgrade on that. And it's not even a top of the line DSLR, it was maybe £400 new.

But yeah... in terms of everyday phone use, I have an S21 and my wife has a 3x more expensive S23 Ultra. The only difference is a slightly bigger screen, better camera and it comes with a stylus. She does take a lot of pictures etc. so it's worth it for her but for any standard app like internet browsing, banking, messaging, YouTube/TikTok et al. there's just no difference at all between them.

For a while, newer phones were quite obviously "faster" in terms of loading apps and app responsiveness etc. but for the last 5 years at least, so long as it's a decent phone it will still be more or less instant with no slowdown so you can't get "faster" no matter what chip you throw in there. My eldest's current phone (S10 - she broke her S20 :idc: ) operates exactly the same as any other phone we have and it's like 6 years old.

It's just not worth upgrading for functionality.

I do tend to get the "standard" flagship Samsung at each upgrade (don't bother with the plus or ultra models) but that's just because I'm on contract anyway, the upgrade is free and I'm not particularly careful with my phones so they do have some bumps/cracks/scratches after two years. If I could keep one in good physical condition for longer I wouldn't bother at all.


In terms of the thread topic ... I'd consider upgrading sideways from Samsung to Google at my next upgrade BUT ... are they properly waterproof yet? The last Pixel I got wasn't waterproof and I dropped it down the toilet after less than 3 months. Short circuited the motherboard = one very dead phone :joker:.

[Crimson Dynamo]

In terms of the thread topic ... I'd consider upgrading sideways from Samsung to Google at my next upgrade BUT ... are they properly waterproof yet? The last Pixel I got wasn't waterproof and I dropped it down the toilet after less than 3 months. Short circuited the motherboard = one very dead phone :joker:.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro boasts an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. This
means that the Pixel 8 can withstand exposure to spilled liquids and even
submersion in water up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes.