FlashDim, Google One, and more

The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional carry an improved digital camera expertise, a quicker SoC, and a complete host of enhancements that can take your Android 14 expertise to new heights. Whether or not you’ve already pre-ordered your Pixel 8 or are simply curious, we’ve picked out the 5 greatest apps for Pixel 8 customers. 

Google One

Value: Free / Subscription

Okay, so technically, the Google One app isn’t that vital. It’s a easy app that allows you to management your Google One subscription, see how a lot house you’re utilizing, and so forth. That mentioned, we completely suggest a Google One subscription for Pixel customers. In any case, you’ve gotten a superb digital camera within the palm of your hand; it’s additionally nice at video. This all takes up space for storing, and Google One ensures you possibly can really preserve unique photographs, although you may as well select to compress them if you’re anxious about operating out of room. A plan begins at simply $1.99 a month for the 100GB plan, $2.99 a month for 200GB, $9.99 a month for 2TB, and 5TB for $24.99 a month. You additionally get entry to the Google One VPN in any respect fee tiers as a pleasant bonus.

Google Opinion Rewards

Value: Free 

The Google Opinion Rewards app is ideal for Pixel house owners because it’s a simple technique to get cash you should use in direction of apps, video games, and even your Google One subscription. We already talked about how helpful Google One is for storing recordsdata, photographs, and video. However do you actually need one other subscription you need to pay each month? The excellent news is that Opinion Rewards frequently provides you easy surveys that take only a few minutes and pay you for it. It’s simple to earn sufficient to pay for the subscription and also have a little left over. I haven’t paid for my Google One subscription out of pocket even as soon as, all due to this app. 

Though Snapseed may use a significant design overhaul to assist modernize it a bit, don’t underestimate this app. That is an easy-to-use picture editor and whereas the Pixel has restricted instruments of its personal, I nonetheless discover myself utilizing this to shortly resize photographs, enhance white stability, and rather more. The expertise is simple to be taught and offers you with fairly a number of choices for a free app. It’s additionally accessible on iOS, making it an ideal cross-platform device for many who personal an iPad or one other iOS machine and desire a constant picture modifying expertise. 

The Pixel 8 has an honest GPU and may deal with just about each cellular recreation with relative ease. Nonetheless, what for those who’re in search of a extra console-like expertise? That’s the place Xbox Recreation Move comes into play, supplying you with entry to a whole lot of Cloud video games by way of streaming. This contains latest hits like Starfield, and even indie darlings like Plague Story: Requiem. The catch is you’ll want a strong web connection, an Xbox Recreation Move Final Move ($16.99 a month), and a Bluetooth gaming controller. Should you don’t thoughts overcoming these hurdles, you’ll basically have a  cellular Xbox of types, although clearly, you gained’t have full entry to each Xbox recreation. 

One among my favourite issues about my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 was the flexibility to simply improve or lower the depth of the flashlight mode proper from the short settings. Should you’re in search of an analogous degree of management for the Pixel 8, you gained’t discover it baked in. Nonetheless, FlashDim is an effective way so as to add the identical sort of performance. Along with controlling brightness, you’ll additionally discover a number of further options like a built-in SOS perform and the flexibility so as to add a fast tile for quicker entry. That is an app I can personally suggest and use frequently with my present every day driver, a Pixel 7. 

Extra nice Pixel apps price testing

Whereas the above have been 5 of the perfect apps for the Pixel 8, there are various extra apps price testing on Google Play. In search of extra options? We suggest testing our guides to the perfect Android video games and Android apps. As a little bit of a bonus, listed here are 5 different app options along with the core options above: 

• Google Maintain: From making grocery lists to reminders and how-tos, Maintain an easy-to-use answer for all of your notes. 
• Spotify: Arguably the easiest streaming music participant, although it’s greatest advantages require a subscription. One among my favorites is the advisable playlists and ‘radio modes’ for my favourite bands. 
• Microsoft SwiftKey: This could possibly be the proper match if you’re in search of a extremely customizable keyboard. Better of all it’s free.
• Pocket Casts: This is without doubt one of the hottest podcast apps and has an easy-to-use UI. This might make it good for Pixel customers, particularly with Google Podcasts being shelved.
• Streaming apps: Not only one suggestion however we suggest grabbing all of your favourite streaming apps resembling Netflix, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and Max.