Google Pixel 8 (128GB): $699 / €799 / £699
Google Pixel 8 Pro (128GB): $999 / €1,099 / £999
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I’m excited to see pixel grow but why are we accepting this storage bullshit? 128GB in 2023? Why do we tolerate this storage extortion. Hard drive space costs almost nothing yet they give this unacceptable starting model to sell more cloud bullshit. Apple is even worse at this. Disgusting stuff.
I’m not arguing against your point at all because that seems like a personal matter. However, I am interested in knowing how the typical person uses more than 128GB of storage space. Aside from people with interests that require more space (eg a photographer or traveler), what do people have on their phones that take up more than 128GB of storage space?
Dude android games these days are 10gb+
My point being is that the production cost between 256gb and 128gb driver is almost identical and the phone manufacturers purposefully gimp the product to upsell some random bullshit.
And how many people play these games? I don’t know a single person that does. For all these people, that much storage would be a waste.
Photos (I like to shoot RAW+JPEG), videos and music. Pixels don’t come with micro SD card slots, and other manufacturers have been getting rid of it as well.
Even apps these days are at least 100-200 MB.
Interesting! How do phones typically encode their files, and what are the benefits of shooting RAW+JPEG?
RAW files contain the raw, unprocessed information from the camera’s sensor, whereas the JPEGs have the device manufacturer’s processing on them. RAW images provide a lot of flexibility when editing in applications like Adobe Lightroom. You can recover a lot of detail you otherwise might lose in JPEGs. After processing them you export them as JPEGs.
Here’s a good example I found online:
They take up a lot of space. A picture of my housemate’s cat was 3.2 MB in JPEG and 16.6 MB in RAW.
woah, that’s super cool! thanks for sharing and providing an example 🙂
That still doesn’t answer the question though. I have photos and music on my phone and I still have 60+ GB of free storage
I just happen to have more photos, videos, music and apps than you.
How long have you had your phone for? I’ve had my Pixel 6a for just over a year now.
I have almost 40 GB of music alone.
Wowww! That’s a lot of music. How did you find so much music you like??
I’m pretty old, and like a lot of different stuff, so it adds up.
Pixel 7 pro 256gb model checking in. I don’t take a bunch of pictures and videos but I also hardly ever delete anything and I take pictures and videos in the highest possible quality I can. My phone has 100gb of storage left between apps and media.
I mainly agree with you, i have enough of 128gb. But i know a lot of people that take a ton of pictures and struggle with storage space
Loads of FLAC music, track / map storage for offline camping / offroad, offline music downloads from Deezer (Hi-Res) for playback without network.
Here’s one example: An Insta 360 camera for a single 10 minute video can produce upwards of 10gb of data.
Those video files can only really be transferred to your phone for editing and sharing.
That’s ONE example that doesn’t include gaming (a highly mainstream community) that also requires gigabytes of storage.
I personally like to go camping, offroading, sometimes hiking. The camping can be for days at a time in places with marginal cellular signal. So I personally like having GBs and GBs of mp3s loaded onto my device to listen to.
Probably not a typical use case, but 64+ GB of music isn’t out of the question at all for me
I dont know how, but i have currently 68gb of App data on my phone. Im a photographer and traveler and i already try to push photos to cloud. But sometimes its not possible. So im happy about 256gb, so i dont need to care.
I want to switch to a Pixel 8 Pro, but im considered with that price tag and i need to pay 70€ for additional 128gb of storage…
I mean they promoted it with more MP cameras and better video, that will all take up storage.
I think its fair to call it BS not starting with 256gb as a basis.
You don’t have to accept it, just buy something else. That’s the beauty of Android. I’m using an Xperia 1 IV and really like it. The Mark V is better with heat and a few other things but not enough to switch right away. 512 GB internal, SD card slot, headphone jack… basically everything phone buyers complain about getting removed are all available in one package.
It’s a dark pattern and a trend. It has nothing to do with “accepting it”
Fine, I used a synonym instead of the exact word you used “tolerate”. The point is, the power to tolerate this or not is still in your/our hands. If we only talk and complain, but don’t actually reward with our business the companies who do what we say we want, then the future will absolutely be no on board storage, cloud connected, personal-data-harvesting everything.
So it kind of does have something to do with accepting (or not) these things.
Nah I don’t see any reason to tolerate shitty, greedy practice. I’m calling them out not discussing about practical viability.
How’s the heat with your phone? Was looking at a 5 IV but the potential heating issues has me worried.
And apparently the 5 V isn’t coming to the US.
Overall not too bad, but using the camera, and especially recording video, will cause it to overheat and ask you to take a break much quicker than it really should. Honestly that’s not a minor issue I guess when one of the main features forces you to stop using it after a relatively brief time. I think the 5 series is better at managing that though.
They could also spend an extra $50 for the 256GB one.
Also a viable option…
And what happens when that runs out?
Two of the reasons why I chose a Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2022) over a Pixel 6a with much better other specs was that it has 256GB internal storage and that it has a MicroSDXC slot vs 128GB and no slot. This stuff matters to me.
I guess I’m the only one who uses phone storage like slow motion swap.
Stuff gets migrated off my phone to my own backup a few times a month
I wouldn’t be opposed to 128GB if the price made sense for it. I’m only using 64GB on my current phone, and it also had 128GB.
Google wants you to use cloud storage.
Obviously yeah. Apple even has a monopoly on their cloud solution so it’s even a more extreme example.
I love Google Photos but it makes me feel dirty when they do me like that.
Would seriously consider an iPhone if they offered the 1tb on the non pro model and didn’t skyrocket the price.
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I’m disappointed that so many features seem locked to the Pro and not the regular P8, and a lot of them don’t make sense to me.
A lot of the AI stuff they talked about towards the end of the keynote seem to be locked with the P8P, even though the regular P8 shares the same chip so it has no reason not to be able to do the same things. Why?
Video Boost also seems to be locked to the P8P, which is more disappointing since half of it is run in the cloud and not on device, along with manual camera controls, which I think should be a basic feature every phone camera should have.I was originally eyeing the P8P already, but I’m going to wait for reviews before making a decision. I currently have the P6a, and I already feel frustrated that a few software features like motion mode do not get updated to the earlier models. I feel the same frustration for people who want a regular P8 but are going to be missing out on software features not limited by hardware.
There’s just so much dark patterns and price gaming. It’s so exhausting to just buy a phone. Do you want this 128gb that stores 50 photos or you actually spend +80usd for slightly more usable option of 256gb? Its all artificial bullshit.
Was considering P8, but I feel like they neglected it for P8pro.
Honestly? Really disappointed. Once again Google has done a decent job on the software and AI side and totally phoned it in on the hardware.
There is nothing interesting at all happening on the hardware side. Identical design, no increase in storage or ram, no maglock Qi2 charging, STILL no DP-Alt for display out so no Dex like feature, I could go on. To do such a minimal refresh then have the gall to charge $150 CAD more than last year while locking extra features behind the Pro model?
I struggle to see how this could be considered a good launch. They are trying to command premium prices based on software improvements alone, but with mediocre hardware that will never work. Pixel phones do not hold their value for this reason, and the price will fall with the 8a comes out and has all the identical software features at a fraction of the price.
I will give koodos on the one big thing though, and that’s the 7 years of OS updates. That really makes it hard to consider buying a 7 or 7a when the 8 comes with support like that. It will be very interesting to see if the 8a has the same guarantee (same chip so it should) or if they gatekeep that artificially to sell the higher tier.
I also would have liked to see something novel here for repairability. If they had come out with a new design where the battery was easily accessible that would have gone a long way to prove sustainability and comply with the upcoming EU legislation. As it stands I’m not sure 7 years of OS updates are really that important because the phone will not last that long due to already middle of the road hardware and poor repairability.
TL:DR Google has yet again released a mediocre phone with a high price tag.
Design wise they are following apple Samsung keeping same-ish design for brand recognition
I think that’s giving them a bit too much credit. Also, when I say design I don’t mean they have to ditch the visor, which honestly is the only unique thing they have. I’m saying do something different with the camera punch hole like Samsung did when they put a screen in front of it, or add repairability features, or mag charging, etc.
You’re right that we’re in an era of every phone being a flat slab so you want some visual differentiator, and I honestly think the visor (back when it was all black like the pixel 6) looks better than the exposed grouping of cameras the iPhone has. They can keep that overall look for all I care, just… try. Try to do something interesting or novel, or don’t ask flagship prices.
I think its a good indicator that Google isn’t doing anything crazy with this device and trying to keep it mainstream, this suggest they are serious about it. But I get your point love the time when every one was trying something new something different
I don’t share your optimism on this. I see what you’re saying where some of these features can seem gimmicky, however there is quite a list of flagship features that they have excluded that are not gimmicky and in fact quite mainstream.
Qi2 (magnetic alignment wireless charging) is not gimmicky at all and is incredibly useful ever for the average person. Apple users love this and there are lots of accessories for it.
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors are in most high end phones and solve the problem some people have with the optical ones Google continues to use. It also doesn’t flah you in the face at night.
IR cameras for more accurate face unlock allow the feature to work in low light instead of the algorithms google is using on a regular camera.
They opted not to use the new GN2 camera sensors, instead sticking with the older model.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Google is releasing a midrange phone with midrange specs at a flagship price, hoping their software will make up the difference. For some it will, for others it won’t.
I’ll be waiting to see how the 8a turns out because I am willing to accept these corner cuts at a midrange price.
I think there could be a big hardware change for people who are interested in the photo area. I want to see how that bigger sensor and AI performs. Currently there are not many brands who stand a chance sgainst the Pixel photo quality. Smartphones resching a goof point for a second camera.
But besides this, i also agree that locking Software features is BS and they should not copy Apple with that.
Yuck. Minimal upgrades from last generation yet they increase the price. Artificially limiting software features to the pro.
And those prices are for 128gb? Just so they can overcharge you for more memory upgrades.
7 years of updates is incredible. A good step towards actual, meaningful sustainability.
The best thing is that it’ll push other Manufacturers to do 7 years as well.
I’m hoping Samsung would be pushed to top this when they’re releasing the S24 series and some of the older devices will also get upgraded to a longer software upgrade period. I just upgraded to a Fold5 after using Asus ROG Phone II for four years and messing with custom ROMs (the ROG Phone II just have one year of OS updates) just to stay up to date in regards to security and software updates is not as fun as it was a dozen years ago.
At a certain point, there is no reason to extend support for the handful of devices that will still be active in 2030.
Smartphones have reached a point where it’s more like a PC, where the limiting factor for the phones to get a software update is pretty much arbitrary based on the manufacturer’s decision. If the ROG Phone II is still supported today, I’ll be definitely still using that phone.
This 7 year update promise makes me think that Google are planning to do further modularization of Android to make it similar to desktop OS where the driver is not as tightly coupled to the OS build installed. As one of the main issues when you’re trying to update an Android phone OS is the SoC manufacturer not providing any updates for it so you’re SOL if you want to update your Android smartphone OS.
Apple enjoys a vertical integration for their devices to help them keep updating their devices for 5 or more years.
Pixel 8 is still too big for me. If they would release a Pixel 8 Mini I would love to buy that, even at the same price. Even at the Pro price if it had the same features.
Instead I’ll keep holding out with my current phone.
I didn’t realise it at the time but the Pixel 5 is the perfect size for me at 6". I really hoped the 8 was going to be no more than 6.1" but sadly not.
People think they want an 8" phone but when you get right down to it, 5" is plenty
We’re not talking about phones anymore, are we.
Interesting, I was curious to see how the 8 compared to my 6a, which is perfect for me, and it’s actually a tiny bit smaller with a tiny bit larger screen.
Yeah the Pixel 8 is slightly smaller.
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Google-Pixel-6a,Google-Pixel-8/phones/11859,12143
What is your current phone?
In todays world the Pixel 8 is a small phone. It has nearly the same size as the IPhone 15Pro which is also a small phone.
Is there any flagship phone with smaller dimendions?
There’s not any current flagship phone with (significantly) smaller dimensions, which is my main complaint.
My phone is an S22, for the singular reason that it was literally the smallest (Android) flagship phone available at the time. But it’s still too big.
However my actual phone is irrelevant, even if it would be a ZFold the point is that i will not change from it until I see a proper small option.
For me “small” would be 4-5.5", and i don’t consider the iPhone 15 Pro (or Pixel 8) to be small. I consider that to be a “standard” size these days (6"), where everything larger is “large” and anything in the missing segment of smaller would be “small”.
One problem would be, if they go smaller it gets more expensive and then there is less space for camera/battery and so on. So you pay more for less power.
Maybe Google finds its way like Apple and will get a wider range of phones.
Sure, but those are tradeoffs that are necessitated by the size, so it just comes down to a consumer deciding if they value more the larger battery, or smaller size. Personally i put a lot of value in the smaller size, so would be very accepting of reasonable tradeoffs to achieve it.
I also hope Google (or any major manufacturer) finds its way to include a smaller option in future lineups. :)
And the Pixel 8 is too small for me. If it would be bigger, I would take it. Now I have to get the Pro.
At least you have that option.
I have a Pixel 6 Pro and looking at the raw specs, there is no justification for an upgrade.
The prices differences are weird as well. For my upgrade, it would be $549 for the Pixel 7 Pro and $599 for the Pixel 8 Pro?
Aside from some camera differences, these phones have flat-lined.
Phones in general flatlined. There’s hardly any real life improvement, and the improvements in spec numbers are eaten up by unjustifiably resource hungry apps.
I have a Nexus 4 in my drawer. Roughly 10 years old, but did everything just fine back then, almost the same apps I use today. But even just starting a reasonably recent Android version on that phone results in 5 fps.
P6P is a solid phone and I’ve had great luck with it. I haven’t maxed anything out so wondering why I should get a faster chip with more memory so I can take photos of my dog and message my friends. Google Fi is doing just $400 off a 8P which I may take because I don’t want their watch or buds. I’m not sure what I’ll do.
I jumped on that deal. Will see how it works out.
Thinking of doing the new fi user monthly credits for the P8
There should be improvements in the idle battery life department along with the camera. Probably not earth shattering. Pixel 6 Pro is still a completely competent device and likely will be till the end of its update lifespan and beyond.
I also have a Pixel 6 Pro, and agree with your arguments. The specs look almost the same. However, the differences that do stick out to me are that the 8 comes with a Pixel Watch 2, better camera software, and 7 years of OS updates. With the trade-in, it seems like it might be worth the upgrade for me.
Ok, I didn’t see the offer for the watch. Interesting!
The update issue seems artificial, but I could be wrong. There are different hardware components (requires different kernel drivers) and also a big CPU update, so that could be part of maintaining updates for an older Pixel phone. (Game performance is a non-issue for me since I don’t game on my phone at all.)
While I get that it is problematic for manufacturers to stop updating old hardware, it doesn’t make sense to me why they would stop in this case. (Oct 2024/Oct 2026 for the Pixel 6 Pro)
(Just a little questioning/rant, s’all. Please excuse it.)
I’m in the same boat and remember seeing reports that the chipset is not expected to run much cooler which is my main reason for wanting to ditch the P6P.
I don’t recall them mentioning anything about efficiency or battery life improvements in the presentation, and you know they know they would’ve made a big deal about it if they had any progress to show :(
I’m disappointed that the Pixel 8 is 6.2" instead of 6". I really wanted to support the smaller form factor, but since it’s not as small as I wanted, I may end up going for the 8 Pro.
But I always ask myself, do I really need all these features? Am I really going to use them?
After this introspection, I realized that one-handed use is much more important to me than many futures companies suggest.
on the other side, they’re reducing 0.1 inches every year
6-6.4" 7-6.3" 8-6.2"
128GB? Really?
I bought my OnePlus 8T 256GB 3 or 4 years ago! Who seriously sets a flagship phone in 2023 to go with 128GB? That’s nonsense. Hard pass.
Can’t sell Google Drive storage subscriptions if everyone has tons of storage on their device
They sell Pixel 8s with more storage space.
It’s not nonsense, many people simply don’t need that much storage on a phone. I’m currently at 53% of my 128gb, most of that is Spotify cache.
Why would I want to dump tons of data on my phone?
Because it’s a 1000 flagship phone? If I have to pay crazy money, I want crazy specs, not last decade specs.
That, and not everybody wants to store their stuff on Google services so that they can sniff though all your stuff
Though you have an option to buy a version with more memory, don’t you? IOW you have an option to go either way, what’s wrong with that!
Whats wrong with it is that a flagship phone even offers specs that were available 5 years ago
I’m coming from a 6 Pro and getting the 8 Pro. I’m pretty happy with what I’ve seen:
- 7 years of software upgrades!!!
- Incremental improvements in processor & cameras
- Free watch
- The display isn’t fucking curved
Do you think that you’ll use the pixel 8 longer than 2 years?
It depends on how well it holds up, but I like having the option to keep it longer and better support usually means higher resale value if I do decide to upgrade in two years
- A modem that isn’t do do water.
The specs on the 8 look solid, but I wonder if they’ve improved cell radio performance and the fingerprint sensor over the previous models.
Pretty expensive for the value usually provided by the Pixel line in my opinion.
Love my 7 Pro but the screen scratches WAY too easily! It’s hardly a year old and the screen is covered in scratches and even has a few deep gouges. This is from normal use, no keys/change in the pocket. From what I understand it’s related to a choice for softer glass to avoid shattering.
Bro what? My screen is spotless. I even take it biking and kayaking where it gets dirty on the screen.
You must be really bad with your phone.
Just sharing my experience. I’ve gone back and forth between galaxy phones and pixels since the galaxy s6 and I’ve never gouged a phone screen before this one.
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Yeah it’s insane. I’ve had mine with a protector for months. Took it off and within two weeks I got a deep gauge
It’s wild! Never on a previous phone have I ever had a gouge.
Isn’t it gorilla victus? I thought they are supposed to be one of the toughest in market. In any case I always get a protector for every mobile I get so I don’t have to worry about these that much.
I thought so as well but there are quite a few reddit threads and support queries related to scratched displays. Maybe there’s a few bad batches of gorilla glass floating around on the pixel 7.
That certainly is worrying given I bought one this week…
Usually with mobile glass, and I think this applies to victus 2, the glass is super resistant to breakage, so it’s super tough. However it is not notably less resistant to scratching
No one has quite perfected a display that is super resistant to scratches as well as breakage.
Here’s an article I found that mentions victus 2 isn’t more scratch resistant than original victus, which aligns with what I mentioned above.
I’ll be putting on a tempered glass screen protector, especially since the 8 pro has a flat screen, finally.
Oh they definitely aren’t perfect but should easily resist scratches from keys and what not with normal usage. I don’t see why it is considered to be easily scratch able compared to other mobiles. I also get protection on all sides no matter what.
I’ve got a $10 Spigen jelly case on my p7 and very few light scratches. I’m impressed with the glass.
i kept breaking glass protectors on my 6 and got annoyed so i stopped using a protector. got teeensy scratches on it now but i drop it all the time (on tile) and work a rough job. got an OB on it which goes above the edge of the screen so im sure that helps a bit, but ive never had a phone this durable. 8 is enticing but ill wait til i hit my 2 years and see how reviews are that far in.
I’ve had it for a bit more than a year and a half now, stopped using protectors maybe 3 months in
Using a 7 Pro same circumstances and I do not have this issue at all?
Same, but I keep dropping mine onto random metal things. I have two deep gouges.
The new AI features they presented were pretty cool, but the European prices are just pure insanity.
It’s time for me to renew my Pixel 4 XL for a Pixel 8 pro. 7 years for software update, it’s just unbelievable! 🥳
I think Google is a great company. They make very high quality products that I use daily.
IMHO one of the hardest negative aspects of the company to argue against is their pattern of killing products and features with little to no notice regardless of previous statements. To their credit, my experience with the Stadia shutdown felt fair and reasonable, so it’s not necessarily the end of the world when they do.
Probably something to keep in mind when reading about multi year support statements.
