Google’s nextflagship smartphoneshave finally been officially announced following several months of teasers and leaks. The two smartphones, which come in the form of the Pixel 8 Pro and the Pixel 8, were revealed at the company’s Made by Google event alongside thePixel Watch 2and new Pixel Buds Pro.
This is everything you need to know about the successors to thePixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, including price, release date and what each of the devices offer. We also have aPixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8 comparisonyou can check out if you want to know the differences between the two models.
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro release date and price
Google announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro on 4 October with pre-orders beginning immediately. The devices will land on 12 October if you pre-order so there’s not long to wait.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
If you’re wondering what the devices will cost, then wonder no more. The Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999 in the US and£999 in the UK, while the Pixel 8 starts at $699 in the US and£699 in the UK. For reference, the Pixel 7 starts at $599, while the Pixel 7 Pro starts at $899, so both the Pixel 8 Pro and the Pixel 8 see a significant price bump.
In terms of availability, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will be available in the following countries: US, Canada, UK, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
Google Pixel 8
Google’s Pixel 8 offers most of the high-end Pixel 8 Pro’s key features, including a powerful processor, a great design and a stellar camera, for a lower price.
The Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro feature similar designs to their predecessors, though there have been a couple of refinements. The two devices retain their premium builds however, along with anIP68 water and dust resistance. They share the same design traits too, with both offering a metal camera housing that spans the width of the glass rear. The Pixel 8 has a dual camera lens system within that housing, while the Pixel 8 Pro has a triple lens system so there is some variation between the two - more on camera in a minute - but overall, their designs are very similar.
Aluminium is the material of choice for the frame of both the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro, with the Pixel 8 opting for a matte frame and a glossy glass rear, and the Pixel 8 Pro opting for a polished frame and a matte glass rear.
On the front, both the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro have a flat display for this year. In the past, thePixel 7 Prohad a curved display so the Pixel 8 Pro takes a new approach here. Both have acentralised punch-hole cameraat the top and both have anunder-display fingerprint sensorswithin their displays.
In terms ofcolour options, the Pixel 8 comes in Obsidian, Hazel and Rose, while the Pixel 8 Pro comes in Obsidian, Porcelain and Bay. It’s worth noting that the Pixel 8 Pro also has a temperature sensor within its design.
Elsewhere, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro both have USB-C and they both have stereo speakers that support spatial audio.
The Google Pixel 8 sports what Google is calling an Actua display, while the Pixel 8 Pro has a Super Actua display. Both are OLED panels, which should result in rich and punchy colours with plenty of pop, deep blacks and bright whites. The Pixel 8 Pro is an LTPO panel too, delivering arefresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz- a step up from the Pixel 7 Pro, while the Pixel 8 has a refresh rate between 60Hz and 120Hz, which is also a step up from its predecessor that had a 90Hz refresh rate. In a nutshell, it means the Pixel 8 Pro may be better at adapting to various content types compared to the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 8, though it’s also possible this difference won’t be too noticeable unless you had the devices side-by-side.
The Pixel 8 measures 6.1-inches and it offers a 2400 x 1080 display, delivering a pixel density of 428ppi. There’s a 20:9 aspect ratio on board and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protects the screen. The Pixel 8 Pro has a 6.7-inch screen size with a 2992 x 1344 pixel resolution, which delivers a 489ppi. It too has a 20:9 aspect ratio, though protection steps up a notch to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro have an Always-on display with Google’s At a Glance and Now Playing features. They also both haveHDR supportand full 24-bit depth for 16 million colours.
The Pixel 8 has a 1400 nits HDR brightness though, with a peak brightness of 2000 nits. The Pixel 8 Pro meanwhile, has a 1600 nits HDR brightness and a peak brightness of 2400 nits, which is one of the brightest displays on the market.
Hardware and specs
The Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro both run on the Google Tensor G3 hardware, which is the succeeding chip to theTensor G2 chipwe saw on thePixel 7and 7 Pro. That new Tensor G3 hardware is said to use more modern cores, so should be much more powerful, with 9 CPU cores in a 4+4+1 configuration. That’s four Cortex-A510 cores (little), four Cortex-A715 (big) and finally a Cortex-X3 which is a high-performance core. Then there will be a Mali-G715 GPU, again with more power than the Tensor G2.
Like the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the Pixel 8 has 8GB of RAM and the 8 Pro offers 12GB RAM. The Pixel 8 comes with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, while the Pixel 8 Pro adds a 512GB along with a 1TB option in the US. As usual, there’s no microSD support on either of them.
The Pixel 8 has a 4485mAh battery with 30W wired charging and support for fast wireless charging, while the Pixel 8 Pro offers a 5050mAh battery, also with 30W wired charging and fast wireless charging. None of these charging rates are especially fast - in fact, they’re pretty slow overall. That said, they are pretty much on par with Apple and Samsung so it’s not all that surprising.
The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro also offereSIMsupport - in some regions at least. Some regions also get Wi-Fi 7 support on board the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, including the US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia. All Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models have Bluetooth 5.3 support and they all come with NFC and Google Cast capabilities.
On the software front, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro run onAndroid 14. Google has moved to extend the software support on its devices however, with seven years promised, which is longer than Samsung, as well asiPhonenow. Apple typically offers around six years of iOS support.
There have been several changes to the camera offerings of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro compared to their predecessors. You can see a breakdown of all the technical details about the camera arrays of each model below:
To summarise, that means the Pixel 8 Pro gets a healthy resolution upgrade on its ultrawide along with a wider aperture, and the telephoto aperture will open up a bit more, too. What’s most exciting, though, is that the selfie camera finally gets autofocus capabilities. This is a feature that’s still lacking on the majority of flagships, and it makes a huge difference to the image quality, as we learned with theVivo V27 Pro.
The Pixel 8 meanwhile, stays largely the same as its predecessor, with only a wider aperture on its main camera and macro focusing capabilities on its ultrawide to set it apart.
There are some camera feature additions too, including Pro controls on the Pixel 8 Pro, allowing for the adjustment of shutter speed and ISO. Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro get a feature called Best Take - which looks great - and you’ll find the usuals on board too like Magic Eraser, Astrophotography and Night Sight.
While not a camera feature, there’s also an extension of the Magic Eraser function called Audio Eraser. This allows you to remove background noises from a video, meaning you can clean up your video and get better results thanks to a bit of AI. Google Photos also gets a serious upgrade to its editing capabilities.
Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro rumours: What happened?
Here’s what the rumours said about the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro before they were announced.
08 August 2025: Leaked spec sheets dish all the details on the upcoming Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
Aspec sheet shared by Evan Blasslists all the key features of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, along with how they compare to their predecessors.
15 July 2025: Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro pricing leaks before the big announcement
A tweet from Kamila Wojciechowska reveals thepricing of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
20 July 2025: Massive leak reveals all Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro camera specifications
A report from91Mobilesgives us all the juicy camera details for Google’s upcoming flagship phones, and there are a couple of surprises.
16 August 2025: Google shows off the Pixel 8 phones early and this time there’s a hidden surprise
We have been treated to somereal imagery of the Rose Pixel 8 and Porcelain Pixel 8 Pro- and it’s fair to say that both colours are pretty fetching.
19 June 2025: The Google Pixel 8 will launch on October 4
Google hasinvited mediato a Made by Google hardware event where the Pixel 8 is expected to launch.
26 August 2025: Google gives us our best Pixel 8 Pro look yet with this leak
Animage featured on the Google Storeshowed a phone not yet released - the Pixel 8 Pro.
11 August 2025: Google Pixel 8 could get longer software support
Google could be looking to make the Pixel more competitive byextending the duration of software supportoffered for its phones.
12 August 2025: Google Pixel 8 could be eSIM only
The Google Pixel 8 could be eSIM onlyaccording to this leak.
16 July 2025: Leaked Google Pixel 8 Pro promo reveals an exciting new AI feature
Theability to erase noiseleaks as a new feature of the forthcoming Pixel 8 series.
15 July 2025: Pixel 8 and 8 Pro storage options and colourways leak
A report fromWinFuturetells us that the Pixel 8 Pro will come in 128GB. 256GB and 512GB varieties as well as numerous colour options.
29 July 2025: Pixel 8 Pro real-life photos show exactly what you’ll get from Google’s next phone
This latest leak is essentially the holy grail of leaks - it’s the prototype phone, photographed,shared on Redditand then deleted.
24 August 2025: Battery details surface for Pixel 8 series
Faster charging and bigger batteriescould gracethe new Pixel 8 models.
16 June 2025: Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro tipped for radical display changes
Somebig changes are comingto Google’s next Pixel phones.
10 June 2025: Leaked Google Pixel 8 specs hint at big camera upgrades across the board
The Pixel 8 series is shaping up to be abig camera upgrade this year.
01 July 2025: Google Pixel 8 Tensor G3 leak points to some big performance upgrades
Googleisn’t messing aboutwhen it comes to its next Pixel silicon.
08 June 2025: Google Pixel 8 Pro leaks in video with a hot new feature you just have to see
Looks like Google isturning up the heatwith the next-gen Pixel.
09 June 2025: The Google Pixel 8 is set to shrink, allegedly sporting a 6.16-inch display
Analyst and seasoned leaker, Ross Young, claims the Pixel 8 will sporta 6.16-inch OLED panel, while the Pixel 8 Pro uses a 6.7-inch panel, the same as the 7 Pro.
15 June 2025: Google Pixel 8 Pro could use multiple-camera magic for better Night Sight results
According to the code divers at 9to5Google, the latest Google Camera update includes references toa new type of Night Sight technologythat would allow for even more detailed shots.
26 July 2025: Early Google Pixel 8 renders have one big surprise for Pixel 7 fans
The leak comes courtesy of MySmartPrice and tipster @OnLeaks.The rendersshow a phone that is similar to the current Pixel 7 overall, but it’s far from identical.
21 June 2025: Is this our first real look at the Pixel 8 Pro?
Thisrender leakcomes courtesy of SmartPrix and @OnLeaks with a black version of the Google Pixel 8 Pro shared.
05 August 2025: Leaked roadmap reveals plans for Google Pixel Fold, Pixel 7a, Pixel 8 and beyond
A report publishedby Android Authority claims the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will arrive later in 2023 and not feature any significant changes over the current Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. It’s said the Pixel 8 will be smaller than the Pixel 7, delivering a more compact form factor though.
The two phones are also claimed to feature an updated Google Tensor processor called Tensor G3.
02 July 2025: Leak points to a new camera module on the Google Pixel 8
A leak suggeststhe 2023 Pixel phones will gain staggered HDR support, something that’s not possible with the main sensor on the Pixel 6 and 7 series
09 June 2025: The Pixel 8 leaks have begun including codenames and specs
A WinFuture report claimedthe Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are codenamed Shiba and Huskey respectively.
It’s also said they will run Android 14, a chip called Zuma and the Pixel 8 will get a 2268 x 1080 display, while the Pixel 8 Pro will move to a 2822 x 1344 display.
