Introduction
 |
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are Google’s latest flagship smartphones, offering innovative hardware and software and competing with premium rivals, such as Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 (Ultra) or the Huawei P60 Pro for the attention of smartphone users with deep pockets.
Both devices are powered by Google’s in-house Tensor G3 chipset in combination with a Titan M2 security coprocessor and are running the latest versions of Android mobile OS, but there are also plenty of differences between the two models, not least in the imaging department.
Let’s take a closer look at those differences so you can decide which of the two Google Pixel smartphones is more suited to your personal needs and taste.
Buy now:
Screens
 |
The displays on both Pixel 8 devices use a 20:9 aspect ratio but differ in size, resolution and other specifications. The Pixel 8 uses a 6.2-inch Actua OLED display with 1080 x 2400 resolution (428ppi) and a variable 60-120Hz frame rate. It offers up to 2000 nits brightness (1400 nits in HDR mode) and is protected by a layer of Corning’s Gorilla Victus glass.
The Pro’s larger 6.7-inch OLED screen is of the LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) variety and comes with a 1344 x 2992 resolution (489ppi) and 1-120Hz variable frame rate. Its peak brightness is rated at 2400 nits (1600 nits in HDR mode) and is covered with Gorilla Victus 2 cover glass.
Both displays are excellent and noticeably improved over previous Pixel generations, offering good readability even in bright daylight. Despite the slight variation in specs, differences in brightness, color and contrast, or smoothness of motion are pretty much undetectable by the naked eye. Pixel density is slightly higher on the Pro model but images and text are clear and sharp on both phones, which makes size the primary differentiator.
If you like viewing videos or photos on your phone, the 8 Pro gives you a little more screen real estate. Equally, reading text on the bigger display is slightly less strenuous on the larger model.
Size
 |
Device and display dimensions are of course, strongly related and while both phones feel very solid and well built, at 187g (6.6oz) the Pixel 8 is noticeably lighter than the Pro model (213g / 7.5oz) and also fits more easily into smaller pockets. The 8 Pixel Pro is quite a bit taller and wider than the vanilla Pixel 8, making it more difficult to store as well as hold and operate with one hand. What size you prefer arguably comes down to personal preference.
Ultra-wide camera quality
 |
Pixel 8 and 8 Pro both use the same main camera module, but the ultra-wide cameras are different. While the Pixel 8 ultra-wide specs are pretty much identical to last year’s Pixel 7 series (12MP, F2.2), the Pixel 8 Pro comes with a larger and higher resolution sensor (48MP) and a faster aperture (F1.95), offering increased light collection capability.
Overall, the Pixel 8 Pro’s ultra-wide produces some of the very best super-wide-angle image results we have seen on a smartphone, with good edge-to-edge sharpness and detail, good exposure with a wide dynamic range, even in low light, nice colors and excellent control of unwanted artifacts like chromatic aberration.
Despite the hardware differences, the Pixel 8’s camera is close in quality, especially when shooting in good light. In our review, we noticed a touch more corner softness but otherwise, there wasn’t much between the two models. Differences become more evident in low light and high-contrast situations where the Pro model maintains better detail and lower noise levels, thanks to the larger sensor and faster aperture. In very low light, it’s also capable of producing more consistent exposure. With all of this taken into account, in most situations you would struggle to see glaring differences, especially when viewing images at typical web or social media display sizes.
Telephoto camera quality
 |
Telephoto image quality is arguably the major differentiator between the two Pixel 8 models. While the Pixel 8 Pro has a dedicated stabilized 5x tele (112mm equiv.) with a 48MP sensor and F2.8 aperture, the Pixel 8 relies on cropped and computationally enhanced images captured by the main camera.
At a 2x tele factor (49mm equiv.) image, both cameras use the main camera’s high-resolution sensor for digital zooming. At this tele setting image quality is virtually indistinguishable between the two models and very close to the camera’s 1x output.
The 8 Pro’s tele advantage becomes more obvious from a 3x tele zoom factor (75mm equiv.) onwards. The 8 Pro first starts using image fusion methods to combine image information from the main and tele camera modules, before completely switching to the tele. Its images show better detail and lower noise levels than the Pixel 8 and the gap widens with increasing zoom factors. In addition, the 8 Pro offers a maximum tele zoom factor of 30x (750mm equiv.) while the Pixel 8 is limited to 8x.
RAM/storage/color options
 |
The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro also differ in RAM, storage and color options. The Pixel has 8GB of RAM while the Pro model has 12GB. On both devices the available RAM is more than enough for very snappy operation, even when undertaking complex editing tasks in the Photos app. However, background apps should stay open longer on the Pro and the extra RAM provides an additional degree of future-proofing – something important to consider since Google has promised 7 years of updates for the latest Pixel phones.
In terms of storage the Pixel 8 maxes out at 256GB while the Pixel 8 Pro (at least in the US) goes up to a full terabyte. Given Google’s cloud storage options, both should be plenty but if you really want to keep all those 4K video clips on the device, the 8 Pro looks like the better option in this department.
Both devices are available in the Obsidian (dark gray) colorway. The Pro model also comes in Porcelain and Bay (light blue) while potential non-Pro Pixel buyers can also pick from Hazel (grayish-green) and Rose.
Selfie camera autofocus (Pro only)
 |
The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro front cameras share the same sensor (10.5MP Dual PD at 4.6 x 3.4mm) and F2.2 aperture but only the Pro model features an autofocus system. It is therefore more flexible in terms of shooting distances, which is especially noticeable when shooting close-up selfies.
The Pro achieves good focus on selfie shots, even when the subject’s face almost fills the frame. In comparison, the Pixel 8’s fixed focus lens has been optimized for a longer shooting distance, resolving less detail at close distance. The difference is much less noticeable when shooting at an arm’s length or with a selfie stick.
Pro Controls (Pro only)
 |
Pro Controls is a feature exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro. In the Pro’s version of the camera app, tapping the settings icon in the bottom right will get you access to a range of manual camera controls, including shutter speed, ISO and white balance.
Essentially this provides the same creative control you’d get from the manual mode on your DSLR or mirrorless camera, only the aperture is fixed. With Pro Controls active, Current settings are displayed at the top of the screen and parameters can be changed via a virtual slider, making for easy operation.
You can also activate the Pro model’s 50MP JPG and Raw output options in the same settings pane.
Raw output
 |
On both Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, when Raw + JPEG is activated, a DNG file is saved with each JPG.
We’ve found that the potential for highlight recovery or lifting of shadows is quite limited in these DNG files, but with careful editing, you might be able to squeeze a small amount of extra detail out of them by applying some small-radius sharpening and/or additional detail in Raw conversion. The end result can be quite impressive for a smartphone camera and should be usable even for large-format printing.
Just be aware that with Raw mode activated, the camera slows down considerably, taking around a second or so to get ready for the next shot, so it’s not ideal for capturing many frames in quick succession.
50MP output (Pro only)
 |
For Pro users, along with DNG Raw files you also can get a 50MP JPG that makes use of the native sensor resolution. In everyday use we did not notice any obvious differences in terms of dynamic range or otherwise. For most people, the default 12MP output will be more than enough, but for occasions where pixel count is a priority, there is no harm in activating this option.
Other differences
 |
Other differences between the two devices include a temperature sensor in the 8 Pro that allows you to read the temperature of objects like beverages and cookware by scanning them. The 8 Pro also has a slightly larger battery capacity (4950 mAh versus 4575 mAh) but this is largely balanced out by the higher energy consumption of the larger display, so the claimed battery life for both devices is listed as 72 hours (with Extreme Battery mode active).
On the video side of things, there are two more Pro-model exclusive features that look potentially very interesting but will only become available with a feature drop later in the year: Video Boost uploads video clips recorded on the Pixel 8 Pro to the cloud where they will be further processed on Google servers to optimize the color, lighting, stabilization and noise. The finished clip should be available on your device a couple of hours or so after recording.
Night Sight Video is the equivalent of the still image feature and should offer better exposure and a wider dynamic range when recording video footage at night. These seem promising but we’ll reserve judgment until we’re able to try them ourselves.
Buy now:
Author:
This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
