Yesterday Google presented the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro, its two high-end proposals. The ambition is greater than ever: evolutions at the processor level, the promise of seven years of operating system updates and a greatly improved camera system, especially in the Pro model.
We are going to explain in detail how the set of cameras of these two devices works, which come with the goal every year: to try to become the top references in mobile photography.
Technical specifications of the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro
|
Google Pixel 8 |
GOOGLE PIXEL 8 PRO |
|
|---|---|---|
|
screen |
Actua 6.2″ OLED Display 2400 x 1080 px LPTO 120Hz Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
Super Actua OLED Display 6.7″ 2,992 x 1,344 px (489 ppi) LPTO 120Hz Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
|
processor |
Google Tensor G3 Titan M2 security chip |
Google Tensor G3 Titan M2 security chip |
|
RAM |
8GB LPDDR5X |
12GB LPDDR5X |
|
storage |
128/256GB UFS 3.1 |
128/256/512GB UFS 3.1 |
|
OS |
Android 14 7 years of Android updates |
Android 14 7 years of Android updates |
|
rear cameras |
Main: 50 Mpixels f/1.65 Ultra wide angle: 12 MP f/2.2 Night Sight in photo and video |
Main: 50 Mpixels f/1.65 Ultra wide angle/Macro: 48 MP f/1.95 Telephoto: 48 MP f/2.8, 5x optical zoom Super Res Zoom 30x Night Sight in photo and video |
|
frontal camera |
10.5 Mpixels |
10.5 Mpixels, f/2.2 |
|
battery |
4,575mAh Fast charging at 27W 18W wireless fast charging |
5,050 mAh Fast charging at 45W 23W wireless fast charging |
|
connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.3 5G NFC USB-C |
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.3 5G NFC USB-C |
|
dimensions and weight |
150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm 187g |
162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8mm 213g |
|
others |
Under-screen fingerprint reader facial recognition IP68 certification Temperature sensor |
Under-screen fingerprint reader facial recognition IP68 certification Temperature sensor |
|
price |
From 799 euros |
1,099 euros |
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is one of the most complete sets
At the level of photographic hardware, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is one of the most complete proposals today. Despite this, for yet another year, the main sensor used draws attention. Google has not specified the data, but there are two clues that tell us what it is: the Google page indicates that it is “a large improved sensor with an f/1.65 aperture”, so the changes in luminosity come from a lens that, It has actually been renewed.
Regarding the sensor, its size of 1/1.31 inches reveals that it is once again the Samsung Isocell GN1. The GN2 is much larger and has a size of 1/1.12 inches, so the jump is ruled out. This means that the Google Pixel 8 Pro has a 2023 sensor, the same as the Google Pixel 7 Pro and Google Pixel 6 Pro.
The second chamber is a 48 megapixel ultra wide angle with macro functions. The most relevant thing here is the resolution: it is the highest ever seen in the angle of a Pixel and well above the 12 megapixel cameras that we usually see. The lens is also quite bright, f/1.95.
The big change in luminosity this year comes with lenses
Google indicates that, thanks to the new lenses, These Pixels are 21% more sensitive to light compared to the previous generation. Likewise, they point out that autofocus will work much faster in low-light photographs.
Lastly, we have a 5x telephoto lens with 48 megapixel resolution and compatible with Super High Res Zoom. This means that it is capable of digitally reaching up to 30x magnification, promising not to lose too much quality along the way. The aperture of this telephoto is f/2.8, in line with what we usually see in today’s high-end.
Regarding the Google Pixel 8, we have the same main camera and lens, so the results should be identical. The main difference is that this phone does not have a telephoto sensor and that its ultra wide angle is 12 megapixels, with a much less bright lens (f/2.2). It is thus a commitment to the main camera, although it inherits the most important thing from the Pixel 8 Pro: the AI.
Everything is a bet on AI
The least important thing in a Pixel is the camera sensors (to a certain extent, of course). Google’s commitment is to AI, the main reason for these devices. Google was a pioneer in computational photography, and this generation was not going to be any less. The Pixels continue to be the Androids that try the most to adjust the skin tone to reality with their ‘Real Tone’ technology, which they have given an additional turn in this generation.
‘Real Tone’ now also works in video, so the phone can analyze the person’s skin tone in real time to adjust it automatically. Speaking of video, Google claims to be on par with Apple with its iPhone 15 Pro Max and even claims to have surpassed it in HDR.
The new star function is Video Boost, a system in which our video is uploaded to the Google cloud and processed to obtain a high-quality video with improved dynamic range. It is also possible, in the event that we record a night video, to process it with the technology of Night Sight (the Pixel night mode), so we will have a video in night mode, something we had not seen to date.
In the case of the Google Pixel 8 Pro, the manual controls for the first time to a Pixel, something that the most fans of photography have been asking for for years. This mode, in addition to allowing you to control the shutter speed, temperature, focus, ISO and more, opens the door to 50 megapixel RAW and JPEG.
It is the first time that we will have access to high-resolution 50 megapixel images on a Pixel, a novelty that has gone completely unnoticed and that may represent a before and after for the Pixel if the quality is as expected.
AI does not only apply when taking photographs: the key is in the subsequent editing. The Google Pixel 8 launches the ‘Best Take’ function, which will allow modifying the faces of subjects using AI. If we don’t come out smiling or with the desired face, the AI can take care of fixing it. It remains to be seen to what extent it is a stitching of previous shots or, directly, a completely artificial replacement using AI.
To put the cherry on top, the Google editor will allow you to modify the photographs to the limit. Change the sky, position of the subject… Using AI we can convert the photo into whatever we want, even if it is not real. In short, a set that improves thanks to the new lenses and that bets absolutely everything on AI.
Image | Google