The Pixel 8 Pro is easily one of the most anticipated phones of 2023. Google knocked it out of the park with the Pixel 7 Pro last year, earning our reader’s choice award and the overall best phone of the year, so its follow-up has some big shoes to fill. Helpful software features and a powerful new Tensor G2 chip made headlines, but a lot of the acclaim stemmed from its gorgeous design. As close to perfect as it was, new renders suggest the 8 Pro might manage to fix the biggest gripes we had with the 7 Pro’s physical appearance.
The folks at Smartprix, together with industry insider OnLeaks, have given us our first look at Google’s upcoming flagship. The two biggest changes you’ll notice right away are that the curved screen has been replaced by a flat front panel, and the three-camera array is now housed in a single pill instead of having the telephoto lens separated in its own cutout.
Previous reports indicate the Pixel 8 Pro is codenamed Husky, while its smaller sibling is sporting the internal name Shiba. It’s likely that the Pixel 8 Pro will retain the 7 Pro’s 6.7-inch screen size, and the display resolution is expected to clock in at 2822x1344p. The flatter screen should be a welcome change for most users, as we’ve often heard complaints about curved displays being prone to color distortion and accidental touches, not to mention the fact that they don’t play nice with screen protectors.
The camera cutout change could be twofold. On one hand, it helps the Pixel 8 Pro stand out from the last generation in an otherwise similar rear design. Secondly, having one larger camera cutout might help the issue some Pixel 7 users were having where the rear camera glass spontaneously shattered.
Dimensions have also been revealed in this leak — the phone should measure 6.40 x 3.01 x 0.34 inches at its thinnest point, with the camera cutout extending the depth to a maximum of 0.47 inches. The corners of the device have a larger radius, making it more rounded overall, and the screen mirrors this change.
If you’re not a fan of curved glass, you might be conflicted here. While the front glass panel has gone flat, the back of the phone still features a pronounced curve. This helps with the ergonomics and hand feel of the device, but leaves it more prone to cracking if you ever were to drop the phone.
Based on a leaked version of Google’s camera app, the Pixel 8 Pro should be capable of shooting in staggered HDR, where a long and short exposure are captured simultaneously instead of in quick succession. We also have reason to suspect the 8 Pro’s fingerprint scanner will be upgraded from an optical sensor to an ultrasonic one.
All told, it’s looking like the Pixel 8 Pro could be a worthy successor to 2022’s phone of the year. We can expect an October announcement based on past Pixel flagship releases, but there haven’t been any leaks to confirm or support that. The midrange Pixel 7a and the all-new Pixel Fold, however, were just tipped for a summer release, so Pixel season is definitely heating up.
Source: Google
Google Pixel 7 Pro
With the Pixel 8 Pro not expected to be unveiled for more than half a year, Android Police’s phone of the year, the Pixel 7 Pro, is still the best Google phone you can get. Gorgeous design, useful software features, and a powerful Tensor G2 chip highlight this all-rounder’s list of appealing features, but there’s so much more to love.
