Google Pixel 6 Pro vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Should you upgrade?

It’s more and more widespread, it appears, to acknowledge that there isn’t as a lot purpose to improve your smartphone as of late as there was even a couple of years in the past. 12 months-to-year adjustments have turn into incremental. The longer you wait, although, the extra these adjustments can add up. So, for those who’re weighing an improve from the Google Pixel 6 Professional to the brand new Pixel 8 Professional, is the leap justifiable?

There’s a variety of spec upgrades right here, however the largest is clearly Google’s third-generation Tensor processor. We’ll benchmark it for our full overview. Within the meantime, it’s protected to imagine that whilst you may not discover the G3’s energy vs the first-gen Tensor in apps like Reddit or Gmail, it may make an enormous distinction in video games, or in apps that rely closely on AI. Certainly, Google says that it could possibly run many AI processes on-device that previously needed to be dealt with within the cloud.

You’ll additionally discover the show. The Pixel 8 Professional has a barely taller 20:9 side ratio, and really drops slightly in decision from 3,120 x 1,440 to 2,992 x 1,344. That pixel density doesn’t matter a lot fortunately, however what does is that the brand new display screen can get intensely shiny, as much as a peak of two,400 nits, even for those who’ll often simply see 1,600 nits when viewing HDR content material. In case you recurrently squint at your telephone in daylight, this could possibly be a purpose to improve.

Some minor upgrades embrace Face Unlock, and improved connectivity within the type of issues like USB 3.2, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7. Extra vital to some can be 30W wired charging, although you’ll want to purchase a appropriate USB PD PPS charger, since Google doesn’t embrace one within the field.

We’ll lastly point out that there’s a brand new 1TB storage choice for US consumers, and all Pixel 8 Professionals now have a built-in thermometer. We’re not fairly certain why Google added it, to be sincere — whereas you need to use it to test the temperature of meals and different objects, nobody was clamoring for that, actually not when smartphone batteries nonetheless final little greater than a day. The corporate is looking for FDA approval to validate the sensor for checking people; at that time it ought to have extra utility.

When it comes to measurement, there’s nearly no distinction between the 2 telephones. You’ll be able to’t reuse your Pixel 6 Professional case (try finest Pixel 8 Professional instances listing for some new ones), however the changes are minor, and if something, the 8 Professional (above) is definitely a tiny bit shorter regardless of retaining a 6.7-inch display screen and altering to that 20:9 side ratio. Google’s distinctive rear digicam bar stays, merely wanting nicer due to design adjustments that originated with the Pixel 7 Professional.

Whereas we’ve got but to finish our Pixel 8 Professional digicam assessments, one factor we are able to say up to now is that whereas its digicam upgrades aren’t important, they could push the boundaries of what you possibly can shoot. The telephone’s telephoto lens as an illustration delivers 5x optical zoom, up from 4x, filling the body higher when capturing issues like surroundings or concert events. Apertures are additionally wider on the entire rear lenses, bettering low-light efficiency.

The telephone’s ultrawide lens is paired with a 48MP sensor, up from 12MP on the Pixel 6 Professional. In case you take lots of ultra-wide photographs, that might imply a big leap in high quality. Different enhancements embrace multi-zone laser autofocus for the rear cameras, and primary autofocus for the front-facing selfie shooter.

Lengthy-term Pixel customers will know that the true story is picture processing. Google likes to brag about its computational pictures methods, to not point out plenty of options and instruments which are unique to Pixels, equivalent to Face Unblur and the Magic Eraser. Whereas not accessible for the telephone’s launch, the Pixel 8 Professional must be the primary mannequin to get Google’s Video Enhance and Evening Sight Video tech for improved low-light recording, and another choices like Greatest Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser. A few of these will filter again to the 6 Professional, however if you would like a cutting-edge digicam telephone, the 8 Professional is it. You’ll additionally want an 8 Professional for Video Enhance, which allows Evening Sight movies, amongst different AI tweaks.

The 6 Professional stays very succesful, as you possibly can see from the photograph samples under. In case you haven’t been working up towards any limitations up to now, don’t really feel pressured to spend cash.

In most respects, nothing has modified right here. The telephones have comparable mAh rankings, and help 23W wi-fi charging with a 2nd-gen Pixel Stand, or 12W when utilizing a generic Qi charger. In addition they help Google’s Battery Share reverse charging.

We’ll want to totally check the Pixel 8 Professional to see if there are any optimizations in battery life. Even when there aren’t, although, help for 30W wired charging (in contrast with 23W on the Pixel 6 Professional) ought to make it faster to high up the telephone. That’s assuming in fact that you’ve a USB PD PPS charger, and also you’ll want one among your individual, for the reason that solely bundled energy accent is a USB-C cable.

Google does promise “past 24-hour battery life” when utilizing a mixture of varied features, and as much as 72 hours when Excessive Battery Saver is enabled. It’s finest to keep away from that mode each time doable although, because it shuts off many options and cripples efficiency.

Google not sells the Pixel 6 Professional, and also you’ll be hard-pressed to search out new items on the market wherever else, particularly with the Pixel 8 lineup slated to ship October 12. Yow will discover refurbished fashions at radically shifting value factors (presumably decrease than what we’ve listed), however even these are briefly provide.

The Pixel 8 Professional is launching at $999, a full $100 greater than the 6 Professional did in 2021. That’s to be anticipated sadly, given inflation and costs for competing telephones just like the iPhone 15 Professional. You’ll pay much more for greater storage tiers, to the purpose {that a} 1TB mannequin prices as a lot as a good desktop PC.

The Pixel 8 Professional is initially launching in 20 markets, together with the US, Canada, India, Japan, and far of Europe. Google will presumably broaden the product’s attain over the subsequent yr.

In case you personal a Pixel 6 Professional, the 8 Professional most likely isn’t essential. Google isn’t abandoning its older telephone but, and the 8 Professional doesn’t introduce something revolutionary. It’s conceivable that true professionals is likely to be fast sells — say in the event that they shoot lots of pictures or video for social media, do stay AI transcriptions, or work outdoor within the solar — however the 6 Professional was already fairly stable in these areas.

In case you’ve obtained the disposable earnings to improve merely since you need to, we really feel like there’s a greater case. Cumulatively, the enhancements to the Pixel 8 Professional could also be sufficient to make it really feel recent, significantly if the factor you worth most is photograph and video high quality. Google appears to be on the high of its recreation in digicam {hardware} and software program. Purchasing as we speak, its solely actual challengers are Apple and Samsung. And with seven years of assured OS and safety updates, the Pixel 8 Professional is a protected long-term funding.

That mentioned, the longer you maintain off, the extra novelty you possibly can count on out of a brand new Pixel. In case you’re going to spend on luxurious purchases from Google this yr, it would make extra sense to purchase a brand new Fitbit or Pixel Watch 2, or perhaps some Google Nest sensible residence gear. In any case, the Pixel 6 Professional will nonetheless get no less than yet another OS improve after Android 14 and two additional years of safety patches. There’s nonetheless life in Google’s first-ever Professional-tier Pixel but.