The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are expected to arrive later this fall, and despite being months away from their release date, we’re already learning a lot about them. Most recently, a new report has shed some light on various specs for the two phones — and it looks promising.
Over the weekend, Android Authority shared a few exclusive details about the Pixel 8 family, citing a “source inside Google” from which they came from. There’s plenty to dig through here, but the most interesting has to do with the reported battery life and charging upgrades.
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Upgrades to battery life and charging
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According to Android Authority, the Pixel 8 will feature a 4,485mAh battery — a 215mAh increase compared to the 4,270mAh battery inside of the Google Pixel 7. Similarly, the Pixel 8 Pro is reported to get a 4,950mAh battery as an upgrade to the Pixel 7 Pro‘s 4,926mAh cell — a much more modest 24mAh increase.
Although the Pixel 8 Pro’s battery increase is hard to get too excited about, it is nice to see Google making meaningful upgrades to the base Pixel 8. And assuming the rumored Tensor G3 chip also has better power consumption than Tensor G2, both phones should benefit from increased battery life in that regard. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have never been battery champs, so larger batteries of any size will be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, it looks like Google’s also giving us slightly faster charging speeds. Coming from the modest 20W and 23W wired charging speeds of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, respectively, the Pixel 8 is expected to offer 24W charging while the Pixel 8 Pro gets 27W speeds.
Is an increase of 4W for both phones a huge change? Not really. Google still has lots of room to improve here, especially when the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers up to 45W and the OnePlus 11 charges at 80W. But, similar to the battery changes, any improvements to the charging situation are welcome to see. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are among the slowest-charging smartphones for their respective prices, so I’m happy to see upgrades here — even if they aren’t as meaningful as I would have hoped.
In addition to the battery and charging upgrades, the Android Authority report goes on to mention a few other Pixel 8 tidbits. The publication claims that both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will have Wi-Fi 7 support. Google added a UWB (ultra-wideband) chip to the Pixel 7 Pro last year, and it’s coming to the Pixel 8 Pro once again — but not to the regular Pixel 8.
Finally, the report indicates that the Pixel 8 series will be available in a few countries that the Pixel 7 was never offered in — including Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Portugal.
There’s still plenty we don’t know about the Pixel 8 series, but the battery and charging upgrades have me a lot more interested than whatever Google’s doing with the Pixel 8 Pro’s bizarre temperature sensor. Battery life and slow charging were two of the biggest areas Google dropped the ball last year, and while the specifics of the upgrades aren’t everything I was hoping for, it’s good to see Google’s listening — even if just a little bit.
I did a Pixel 7a camera test — and it’s bad news for Samsung
Every smartphone manufacturer updates its flagship lineup annually, packing in all of the best components that are available. For Google, this is the Pixel 7 lineup, and Samsung has the Galaxy S23 series.
However, not everyone wants to — or can afford — to pay flagship prices all the time. Thankfully, both Google and Samsung have more budget-friendly options with the Pixel A-series and Galaxy A-series devices. If you want a good smartphone without paying too much, then these are both pretty good phones to check out.
Apple finally fixed my biggest problem with the iPhone 14 Pro Max
Good battery life is a well-known trait of the iPhone. As a battery-anxious person, it's one of the reasons why I shifted to iOS. The iPhone 13 Pro Max took it to the next level with excellent battery optimization that would see the phone last me an entire day with ease – no matter how heavy the usage. The same didn’t happen when I shifted to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And it was primarily due to iOS 16. The initial versions, up until iOS 16.4, were buggy and bad with battery optimization.
I was about to move back to Android, but iOS 16.5 has me hooked. The update is one of the best in the recent past from Apple. While I’ve been testing iOS 17 for the past week on another iPhone, I installed iOS 16.5 in late May on my primary phone – the iPhone 14 Pro Max — and I’m extremely happy with what Apple has done with this version.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max's battery problem has finally been fixed
The chart shows 50% battery left after using the iPhone 14 Pro Max for 5 hours and 43 minutes. Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends
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Last month, Google held its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2023. The event gave us a peek at some exciting new hardware coming soon, including the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet. But Google also dropped the latest in the Pixel 7 lineup, the budget-friendly Pixel 7a. For just $499, you get a 64MP camera, a 6.1-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, the Tensor G2 processor, and wireless charging capabilities.
However, in an interesting move, Google decided to keep the Pixel 6a around, as it is still available to purchase. But it also got a big price cut, bringing it down to a mere $349.
