It's been about a week of owning the Pixel 8 and I went from 4hrs of usage to around 7hrs! I think something people forget since it's a pixel and everyone is caught up on the details, is that the Pixel 8 this time around up to 27w charging and it feels pretty darn quick! I know it's not perfect, but until you hold and feel this device it's hard to understand why the battery sucks lol (I swear I'm not fan boying) The camera is pretty fun to play with, and I personally haven't had any issues! On a side note, that video test you did was amazing! The pixel could totally work as a full fledge camera for a youtube channel!
Thanks for the comment - good to hear someone talking about some of the good bits of the Pixel 8! That's great that you're getting better battery results already. I agree that the charging on the Pixel 8 is plenty fast - having been used to the 25W of the S22, it feels about the same speed as that (due to the larger battery)! Yeah, I've been really enjoying the camera experience too - I've not had any issues apart from the weird white screen issue and I think that seems to be linked to Google Photos rather than the camera app (although they are both linked together, obviously)! Thanks for the feedback - I thought it would be useful to show the video quality you could get out of the Pixel 8 if it was your only video camera. Glad you appreciated it, and thanks for the comment!!
Xfinity wants to give it to me for free and they pay the 30.00 a month and all with the promo. But then if i decide i do not want it then i have to pay the balanc oi i have it for a year then im stuck paying 360.00 and all. I use my other phone alot and i take photos alot. Please anyone out there give me feedback.
I got the iPhone 14 instead of Pixel 8 because I had concerns around its modem & battery life. The iPhone’s somewhat contrasty photos make me miss Pixel more but at this point it’s not worth the risk. Would love to hear people’s Pixel experience in Asian & African countries.
Conclusion: pixel used the same modem n users still need to worry about battery life. Not a worry at home n on Wi-Fi. So when u really need the battery, it’s not there. All while raising the prices. Mine is going back.
I will too. I'll just wait for the November patch to see if it improves and if they fix the bugs that I'm facing with it, if not, I'll return it. Not funny paying over 1300€ and getting this experience
@@levipb1403 I retuned my p8 today. Nice phone but had stuttering n jumping with 120hz enabled, one handed mode was too inconsistent, AOD stopped working for a bit, poor battery life after a week. Don’t want to be a beta tester again n hope they fix one day. Always feels like a crapshoot with pixel. My 6a is fine n much cheaper. Also, many good stories that s24 will have great ai n speech recognition. Gonna wait for that.
@@arranpbrown I hope you do a future review with the future updates that will come, even if I return it it'll be nice to see how it performs after a while. Love your accent by the way 🤗
I've had the P8 for 12 days and the battery seems to be a bit worse than it was the first week. Trying to figure out what's draining it faster. Tho after hearing this video it may be mobile data usage. I mostly use social media and listen to podcasts at work with my earbuds. That's only about 2 hours per night. I haven't been able to figure out how to turn off 5g however and I'm certain that has something to do with it. All my other devices had an option in settings to use LTE instead but this phone doesn't have that.
I meant to click reply and accidentally removed your other comment about the screen-on-time, sorry!! Great to hear your experience - you can set 4G/LTE as your preferred data connection by swiping down for your quick settings, pressing and holding on the Internet option to get to your Internet settings, and click the little cog next to the data connection. Within the resulting menu there should be an option for 'Preferred Network Type' and you can change that to 4G/LTE rather than 5G - hope this helps! What do you listen to podcasts with? If it's Spotify, then I've found that app goes crazy with background usage, even when you aren't using it - I'd recommend setting the app's battery usage to 'Restricted' and it seems to help! If you can't find that setting, let me know and I can direct you to it 😀
What confuses me is quite a few reviewers mentioned it getting 6 hours or slightly more of screen on time. I do think it’ll take more than 3 days for adaptive battery to really kick in. If you are getting maybe 4 hours in 3 days, then I’d think once it learns your usage patterns it would be well over 5 hours maybe 6 hours of sot. Of course, I’ve noticed with Pixels in most cases about a year or year and a half after their releases the battery life also improves with updates. Seems optimizing each new generation of the Tensor chip takes time and it’s an area where Google needs to improve the optimization before releasing their new phones in my opinion.
Yeah, really good points - it should really be released with the good battery life rather than getting it 1.5/2 years down the line! Thanks for the comment! 👌
You are right. This is exactly what happened to my pixel 6 and is now happening to the pixel 8. The P6 had a poor battery life for about 6 months after the release, until it got fixed with the update. But on pixel 8 I can see great battery improvements after just a week of use.
Really wanna go for the 8 but all I want is good battery life, on a non massive phone and with a good camera. always had a strong distaste for iphones but currently it seems like the only phone that actually fits the bill :(. Like come on google, obvs people are gunna use a lot of mobile data, on a mobile friggin phone lol.
Yeah, I agree, it's seemingly quite difficult to find an efficient enough small phone these days, but maybe the iPhone is the better option when it comes to battery performance. The Pixel could still improve over time though and I'll definitely be giving my thoughts on that in a future video when I have more usage data! I totally get your frustration though!!
@@arranpbrown yeah it is a tricky one, and iphone is barely any more expensive. i would defo expect pixel to improve over time, how much they can i'm not sure the HW just aint it, and i use data a ton. then again im coming from a Exynos S10 its surely bound to be an improvement!
Yup, makes sense! Yeah, that was my thoughts coming from the S22, that it's got to be an improvement over that and it definitely is, just still trying to determine how good the battery actually is at the moment. I'm sure it would be an improvement over the S10 like you said!
My pixel 7 started off with barely getting through the day to comfortably finishing the day with 50-60% left in battery. I donno what google does but its magic.
Yeah, data seems to be a real battery drainer, and the difference when you use it is actually crazy! I'm not on data too much when I'm at work, so it's not too bad, but still definitely not ideal for the times you are on data. Thanks so much for watching and commenting - I appreciate you! 🙌
@@kunalsharma2098 when you say full day what do you mean from morning to night or just the eight hours at work and so if you mean just the eight hours at work yeah I’d say you can make it. But I’m not at a desk job or an office so my phones on data all the time and it’s not a phone I could go out all day and then not head home right away and put it on a charger.
@@kunalsharma2098 Yes that's true but I have a Galaxy s23 Plus and it handles 5G a whole lot better I'm sure the modem is much better on the Samsung doesn't drain nearly as fast .
I love the weight of my pixel 8. Feels very solid, its not too thin or thick and the naterials they used are great. Never been a fan of the glossy finish on the 8 pro
I completely agree - the build quality feels really good. Not a massive fan of the glass back on the 8, I think the ideal would have been the matte back of the 8 Pro combined with the brushed metal sides/camera visor of the regular Pixel 8, but we can't have it all I guess! Thanks for the comment!
Hi Arren I have the s21 , and looking to get a new phone , I am caught between the s23 and pixel 8 the most important thing for me is the photo and video quality , battery does not really bother me I know you can turn off scene optimizer and soften pic in the s23 , but in your option which has the best overall quality camera
My phone before the Pixel 8 was the S22 and I don't believe the cameras were hugely upgraded in the S23. If battery life is not a deciding factor for you then my experience with the Pixel 8 has been excellent, particularly from a photography perspective! I much prefer the quality of the photos that I get from the Pixel 8. It is important to note that the S23 has the extra 3x telephoto lens though, so if you think you need that then you'd be best going with the Samsung. I've not found I particularly missed the telephoto on the Pixel 8 though. For video, it's less of a difference I'd say, as you should be able to install the Blackmagic Camera app on both phones and with that you can change settings to heart's content, which makes the video pretty flexible. Stabilisation was excellent on both my S22 and Pixel 8 as well, so no issues there. Hope this helps!
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran , thank you so much for the quick reply , the camera is the most important thing for me , as I dont use the phone that much , mainly for taking photos / videos , not much mind you , and whatsapp etc , so battery is not a deal breaker , I have the s21 . AS you use the phone for photography too , that has not settled it , I will go for the pixel 8 then, the 3rd lens is not important , as I dont really use the voom when taking photos or videos . will have to check out the black magic app , any tips on best settings . Thank you again Arran , will let you know when I get the phone , maybe next month kindest regards Mike ps keep up the great work with your video reviws
No worries, Mike! Glad I could help! As for the Blackmagic Camera Apps - I would recommend watching a few videos on it as they will be best to show you how to use it. Just search up 'Blackmagic Camera app Android' on RUclips and you should be able to find some good videos on it. Cheers!
Great video friend, i'm expecting the same from this Device before buying it. Eagerly waiting for you battery related video soon, but take your time, because rushing for content might not make a great video which this topic deserves, i hope you get my point. Btw i'm hitting for pro model, so do you think it's battery should be better that regular one?
Thanks for the comments - good to hear you're interested in the Pixel 8 too! Yeah, I don't want to rush the video out talking about the battery so I can get a more clear overview of how good it is over a longer period (1-2 months). I'm pretty sure the Pro should have better battery than the standard 8, as it has a larger battery and also has the LTPO screen which can go down to a 1Hz refresh rate when a higher refresh rate isn't needed. However, as I said in the video, the screen doesn't seem to be a huge battery drain, although the phone doesn't show how much if the CPU usage is caused by the screen pushing 120Hz as opposed to 60Hz. I might have to do a few days running at 60Hz and see if that makes a difference! Cheers!
@@arranpbrown ohh, and plz do one more thing plz. Spend some days with extreme battery saver option also if available, i want to see if extreme battery saver really optimise battery to extend battery life even more, as company is saying 72h of usage...let's try that too mate..that will make your video more different and informative. As everyone don't use their mobiles all time so doing a standby time and normal day to day usage with extreme battery saver option would be practical. I've not seen any information related to that as you also know that no one has shared this information while using extreme battery saver or battery saver at all. And I really hope that with tensor if this is a one day phone, with that feature it might help to cruise 2ish day of possible because it's optimised with google hardware and software wise both. In my pixel 4xl foreg, I do use it quite often but not much of a result comes out because it has a Qualcomm chipset. Keep in touch and all the best. Waiting for the video eagerly. 👍🏻
🥰🤩❤💢💥💫👍 Great Video . I am still using my Samsung S9 + had it 5 years now ,other than the fact it's only 4G it still works perfectly Battery still works great after all day usage . Soon though I want to upgrade just cant make my mind up to go with Google Pixel of the new Samsung S24 Plus ?
Nice one! Great that you've managed to use the phone that long and haven't really had any issues. I'd say I'd battery is particularly important to you and you use a lot of data then maybe the Pixel isn't the way to go, but otherwise, it's really a fantastic phone. The S24 Plus is still an unknown quantity at the moment, so I'd honestly recommend you wait until it comes out to make your decision (if you can wait that long!) because then you'll have all the facts you need! Hope this helps - thanks for watching and commenting!!
Shittiest modem on a phone ever... Nobody on RUclips is talking about how terrible the connectivity is on this phone. Getting signals and using mobile data is awful.
I've actually done the same to be fair - haven't noticed a massive difference in speeds and the battery holds up a bit better with it off. Cheers for the comment!
I subscribed to you to find out the battery as I had the s22 and loved the phone but the battery was horrendous. I was considering the pixel 8 but had battery concerns too. I recently got the s23 and its basically an improved s22 with unbelievable battery life, i should have made the jump sooner because now we are closing in on s24 release date, however, with samsung using exynos in the UK now for non ultra models, i may give the s24 a miss. Thanks for the detailed review
That's good to hear the S23 is much better in terms of battery life! Sounds like it's worth you just sticking with the S23 for a while then it it works well! Thanks for being subscribed and for watching! 🙌
I've not heard that to be honest - I can't see how they could have made it worse and the S22's cameras were pretty good in my opinion - I think the Pixel's main camera is better than the S22 at least, but as an entire camera system the S22/23 is more versatile!
Which one takes the sharpest photos even after zooming IPhone15 or, Pixel 8 ??? ( IPhone supports for super-high-resolution photos (24MP and 48MP).... and which one is the great pick overall ?????
Hey - sorry, totally missed this comment! I would recommend you watch this part of this video: ruclips.net/video/TwvvLuLF9XI/видео.htmlsi=ib6P9FTZi8Y3_Qgu&t=626. They show a comparison, and to my eyes, there isn't much difference between he two phones to be honest!
I have had every pixel phone since the 3A and that's just normal for Pixel phones. The first week you have them. The battery life sucks and then it learns your habits and gets 1,000 times better. Don't judge it off of just a few days
iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy S23, Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 7 pro, Sony Xperia V1, Azus Zenfone 10 or Motorola Edge 40 Pro. Which one would you recommend me?
I think you'd be happy with any of those phones to be honest, but without knowing how you use your phone or your budget, it's hard to make a recommendation. Out of them, I'd probably go for either the iPhone 15, S23, Pixel 8 or ZenFone 10 and all are good choices!
Morning Arran Just ordered my pixel 8 , got it from shop here in spain for 590 euros , its an ex display model , arrives on tue , cant wait to get it and take better photos and videos , thanks for all your help and advise , will let you know how I get on with it . any good tips kindest regards Mike
Nice one! I hope you enjoy it. Only major tip I would recommend is to test your 5G speeds vs 4G speeds in your area. If there isn't a significant difference, then I'd recommend disabling 5G in the settings, as it should yield you slightly better battery life! Otherwise, have a look at the Pixel Tips app on the phone and it should give you some good tips on how to get started with some of the really useful Pixel-exclusive features! Cheers.
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran , got my new phone on wed , it came and box was not open , it was brand new lol , I have had very mixed results with photos and videos , some seem very good , while others are way darker than they should , so Im a bit disapointed in that Also phone is over heating using it for a few mins , doing normal things , also when I get whatsapp messages , it shows a dot and not the number of messages , is there a way to fix that , am in 2 minds to send it back , will give it another week as I go back home on thur for 4 days
@@mikejc011 That's good that it came as new rather than opened, but sorry to hear about the other issues. I've definitely not had the same issue as you've had with the camera producing darker images than usual, and the overheating issue sounds like a hardware fault as it definitely shouldn't be overheating with normal tasks! If it doesn't change in the next week, like you said and particularly keeps overheating, then I'd recommend returning it. I think the notification number thing you are talking about might have been a Samsung exclusive feature, as on the Pixel I think it just shows the dot when there are new messages. If that's a dealbreaker for you, then it might be worth returning the Pixel and considering getting a newer Samsung instead! Sorry I haven't got all the answers, but I hope this at least helps!
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran, I stop a load of apps running yesterday , so does not feel as hot , but still gets warm after a few minutes using it . its just so weird about the camera , if I use the 10 bit HDR when taking a video , it comes out too bright . Did you have any issuse with your battery , its draining so fast , maybe I have a faulty phone . thank you so much for replying Arran , yes of course it helps thanks . I will give it until I come back from Ireland to see how it goes. Not too bothered about the dots lol , I have read there is a app that shows them
@mikejc011 @mikejc011 okay, no worries - still a strange one! So if you use HDR, it boosts the screen up to its maximum brightness to show you highlights more "true to life" which is why it appears so bright. I personally, like you, think this looks too bright so I turned of HDR in the video settings pretty much immediately. As for the battery, it can take a little bit to settle as it works out how you use your phone and then prioritised the apps you use most, so it should improve a bit over time. You may also just be using the phone more as you have been setting it up and testing out the features, which will naturally run down the battery faster! See how you feel about it after you come back from Ireland and if you're still not happy with it, I'd recommend returning it and considering a different phone! No point sticking with something you're not happy with!
It's likely still adapting to your usage patterns and optimizing itself. It might be a good idea to wait for another month or two before passing final judgment on its battery life. I've been using my Pixel 6a as my daily driver, and since upgrading to Android 14, I consistently get 7 to 9 hours of screen-on time while using mobile data. Even after playing games for 30 minutes to an hour, the battery performance remains impressive.
Thanks for the heads up - that's reassuring! Hopefully that's the case and the battery life gets better. 7 to 9 hours of screen on time is the dream! Is that using mobile data fairly frequently too? Or just on WiFi? Cheers for the comment!
@@arranpbrown I consistently achieve approximately 7 hours of screen-on time, even with mobile data continuously active. This includes 1 hour of gaming, around 2 hours of watching RUclips videos, less than an hour of location services enabled, and usage of various social media apps. If I refrain from gaming and primarily use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data, I can extend the screen-on time to an impressive 9 hours, with only around 6 hours of mobile data usage.
@@kunalsharma2098 I wish I could share a screenshot here, as the contrast before and after the Android 14 upgrade was remarkable. Prior to Android 14, while using mobile data, I could only manage around 4 to 5 hours of screen-on time. Notably, the battery-draining "phone idle" issue that plagued Android 13 appears to have been resolved in Android 14.
Possibly for photos, but not for video - iPhone has been the leader for video for a while now! I'm really liking the photos out of this so far though 👌
Yeah, definitely worth upgrading - battery life is definitely better, I'm just not sure how much better yet, might only be a wee bit if it stays like this!
I bought a pixel 6 just 5months before the 8 came out cause of a really good deal. So will probaby upgrade to the 8 once the 10 is out or about to come too 😅
@@arranpbrown 2 yr old phone is ok as I use it as my 2nd phone, alongside the 14promax. I just wanted a smaller and lighter phone, cause the promax tend to give me terrible hand fatigue. And tbh it holds up pretty well against the iphone.
I can get the pixel 8 for £214 with Amex cashback and trade in. But I can get the pixel 7 with free case and google charging stand for £92. I am still undecided which one to choose. Please advise.
Damn - they are both great options to be fair! I would still recommend going for the Pixel 8 for the better screen, the lack (in my experience) of overheating issues, and the better camera system. Plus you'll get access to some Pixel 8 exclusive features that won't be trickled down to the Pixel 7 for a little while too. Just seeing as it's not that much more to get the Pixel 8, I'd say it's worth the extra £122 to be honest. Hope this helps!
Have you tested the 2.4g Wi-Fi speed test??! I am only getting 2mbps download max, 10mbps upload!!! Same wifi connection on my 6a phone is getting 60 Mbps!!! The radio on the pixel 8 is fucked up!!! Test it yourself.... I just received my replacement phone and it has the exact same issue...
I don't think you read the text on screen at that point haha. Because the Pixel only shows battery data in 2 hour increments, it only reached 100% by 3pm and I took it off and by 4pm, it was already down to 75%, so that's why it shows it at only looking like it's at that - difficult to explain really, but hopefully that makes sense. Wasn't trying to trick anyone though, I don't know what I'd gain by doing that 😅
I can guarantee you it was at 100% mate, I specifically got it all the way up to 100% before I went out because I wanted to test it. I don't know what to tell you 😅
This is one of three top reviews I recommend to see the truth about this phone. And my conclusion is exactly the same, if you can repeat the photo, then it can be ok, it can deliver the quality. But otherwise, it is horrible. I have actually performed a test in which the phone crashed multiple times when simply shooting 50MP photos in night mode. No serious company should deliver a phone which fails in such scenario, especially when the main feature is the camera. I recorded the test and whole procedure so I could check exactly how many photos were lost. The thing is, this phone not only loses photo when it crashes, but also buffered/unprocessed ones. For me that was 56% of photos taken over 25min. So I do photos of my guitars/gear, and since I lack space, I like to put the items, do the shoot, and put them back to proper place. So generally I take photos, lots of them, fast, then I do culling on my pc, and I re-do the takes if needed. Well, for that kind of usage or any heavy session, this absolutely sucks. And the overheating is also coming from the software I think, I can be wrong, but it looks like Pixel uses stupid software design, and simply continues to process photos no matter what, in first in first out order. So when you lookup the photo, you need to wait for a minute if you just finished taking a lot of pictures. Also running processing is also killing the already overheated phone. In comparison, Iphone turns off photo processing when battery is low but still provides you processing on demand whenever you lookup the photo. It is a software quality difference leading to ... less hardware problems (less overheating).
Really interesting comment - thanks for taking the time to write this. That's really good to know about the camera issues - I've not really encountered them myself as I rarely shoot huge bursts of photos, but it sounds like the phone isn't geared up to do that based on what you've said (even though there is a huge focus on the camera features), so that's quite disappointing! Thanks for taking the time to do some testing and hopefully anyone who is planning on using the Pixel 8 for a similar use case to you will see this comment before they decide to buy it!
Because I think it's actually more realistic for someone to be upgrading to this from a two year old phone than picking this up if they have a phone that came out last year. Additionally, why would I compare the £700 Pixel 8 to an over £1000 S23 Ultra? It makes more sense to compare it to something in the same price range because someone who is thinking of buying it is more likely to be considering something similarly priced. Finally, I have experience of using the S22, so I was just using that as the base of comparison otherwise there is no context as to how this phone performs. Hope that makes sense.
I have the s22+ and I get 4-5hours of sot on wifi and on mobile data its a lot worse, i am wanting the pixel 8 pro but i want to know if i will get better battery from it or if i should just go for the s23+ since Snapdragon8gen2 is the best for efficiency
There are a few differences - the 8 Pro has a larger 6.7" screen over the 8's 6.2" screen, the Pro has an extra telephoto camera and also a temperature sensor. It has a bigger battery too. And there are some software limited features that are only available on the 8 Pro rather than the regular 8 too!
How can comment on the battery after a few days?!!!!!! Everyone (except you it seems) knows it takes a while to work out the optimum performance for a user. Maybe do food blogs instead?
Wow, such a negative comment... 😅 That's why I said "don't buy it *yet* ", because the phone had only recently been released when I made this video! I also have a 1 month later review which covers my battery performance results after a month of use, so you might want to check that out for more of an idea of how the battery performs over a longer term 🙂
Great review. I just ordered mine with the black friday discount at $600. I tested both the 8 pro and regular 8 and found the 8 pro to be enormous. The 8 size and form factor is just excellent
I don't have an iPhone, so I can't tell you honestly. But from what I've seen, the mobile data battery performance on the Pixel 8 ain't great, so I reckon it's probably better on the iPhone!
I have just got my pixel 8 yesterday and I already had an oppo x5 lite, I was comparing them together and I was disappointed with the pixel 8 as the oppo is louder and clearer but maybe that's because the oppo is not waterproof, but also the display quality in my opinion is nicer on the oppo although its cheaper and older, there is like green/yellowish colour in the pixel's screen, I'm not sure about battery life yet as my sim on the pixel haven't been activated yet and I didn't use it much but the oppo gets charged faster, however I found the pixel to be abit faster and the camera on the pixel 8 I found it a bit better than the oppo x5 lite
Fair enough - I've never really looked into the Oppo X5 Lite, but interesting to hear the differences, especially for a cheaper phone! I guess where Pixel comes into its own is the software and cameras rather than the hardware, so I think once you have had a chance to use some of those features, your opinion might be different! But thanks for sharing! 👌
Interesting - I don't really cast things from my phone all that often, but that must be a pain! I've found the charging on the Pixel 8 to be fine - have you come from a phone with faster charging? I think this has ever so slightly faster charging than my S22 did (27W over 25W), so I've not really seen much of a difference in the charging speed between the two phones to be honest. Thanks for your comment! 👌
I cast game to my TV at times, larger screen. Also, during the holidays I like to show pictures and video on TV, not everyone has a ChromeCast. Would have been nice since the camera takes really good quality photos and given the opportunity to show it off.@@arranpbrown
The speaker are not good enough, When speaking on a crowded and noisy place the speaker are too shallow. The battery last a full day if not using vpn feature. But yeah a downgrade compare to the Sony xperia zx2 compact of 8 years ago. I have to say I'm also frustrated by the proprietary block on usbC to jack 3.5mm, I'm unable to use most of the market available brand!
I would agree about the speakers, but I think the call speaker at the top of the phone is good! I wasn't aware of the USB-C to 3.5mm proprietary issue, but that is a pain! Thanks for the comment.
To be fair, I said I'm not going to spend too much time on anything I discussed in the previous video, but not that I wouldn't provide updates on things that have changed about the same features, if that makes sense. Also, that was referring to my one-month review, not this video - hope that clarifies!
I'm afraid it's difficult to help when I don't know how you use your phone. I'd recommend looking in the battery settings and seeing what apps are using the most battery, as they'll be what is causing it to heat up. If you identify that, then either disable background activity on those apps, or just get rid of them. I've found that any CPU intensive tasks are usually what causes the battery to run down faster. I have really experienced any issues with the phone heating up though. Hope this helps.
I'm using Pixel 8 Pro for 2 weeks. Almost every feature is so... wow!. I need to say that this time google did really great job presenting us some new technologies. It likes we've got new toys. However, the pixel 8 pro's battery sucks... (better than its previous ancestor, but still not good enough for flagship level)... The battery thing is the most important factor for my daily life. So, I might probably need to move myself back to my old iPhone 13 Pro Max soon :(
Good to hear you like the features at least! I think the iPhone 13 series were some of the best optimised batteries for a while, so I'm not surprised you aren't seeing the same battery level as that phone to be honest! Thanks for the comment! Interesting to hear your take 👌😁
Whats it's msnual brightness nits ? I know its 2000 nits in auto peak brightness. Reviewers never mention it's manual standard brightness using the slider
@@arranpbrown so if I use the slider indoors ( normal use) it'll go up to around 1400 nits. Not that I plan on having it that bright as 600-800 nits is a sweet spot 😊
That is my understanding - I can tell you from experience, putting the slider up to maximum indoors is almost blinding 😅 it gets super bright! Thanks for the comment!
You know, the camera features just tell me people have Waaaay too much free time. For professionals, sure, but for regular folks manipulating a record in time is really a first world non-existent problem.
Fair enough - I think it's different if you actually enjoy photo editing as a hobby though too, which I quite enjoy! But I get your point. Thanks for the comment!
Glad to hear you're enjoying it! I'm loving mine too 😁. Nice one - I'm quite happy with the Obsidian colour, but I like both the other colours too to be fair!
That's a good point - it's another software limitation by Google so there is no reason why it shouldn't work on the Pixel 8 to be fair. I would really like those manual controls without having to pay an extra £300 😅
I love the pixels but since they can’t get their battery life optimized without having to jump through all sorts of hoops, I’m sticking with Apple. I much rather prefer android though.
Fair point! As long as you're happy with the phone you've got. Maybe the Pixel 8's battery life will improve with a future update, but we'll have to wait to see! Thanks for the comment!
Good to know - thanks for sharing! I'm pretty sure I could also achieve that if I was just watching videos and playing a few games to be fair, it really depends on how you use the phone. I think you'll see a big difference when you use data as it definitely seems to nuke the battery!
I'm also on week 2 - it just took me a little while to make this video so you're actually looking back in time at my experience when I first got it! 😅. I'm really enjoying it so far and I've only encountered a few software quirks! I'm still confident the battery should improve over time, so I'll keep my fingers crossed 🤞 thanks for sticking around and there will definitely be more Pixel videos coming alongside my other content! 👌
My s21 was even worse. Thought for sure it was a faulty device, but changed some settings around and waiting for it to learn my habits, it got much better and has been ever since. I'd wait another couple weeks and see if I were you
Agreed, that's why in the first few sentences of this video, I make it clear that this is an 'initial review' and 'first impressions', not a full review. I also go on to say I've obviously got more testing to do to get an overall view of this phone. More videos coming in the future once I can give my full thoughts.
Ideally, I don't want to have to disable those kind of settings as I use them on a daily basis - especially Bluetooth with my Galaxy Watch 4 and wireless earbuds. But something I could use if I need to make the battery last longer at any point - cheers!
Welcome! I'm not sure I can fully answer that question as I haven't used the S23, only S22, but if you want a more powerful phone, then you probably want the S23 as the Pixel isn't built to be powerful! I think the camera on the Pixel 8 is probably better - it's better than the ones on the S22. The jury is still out on how the battery life compares though! Hope this helps a bit!
It depends what you want to be fair, the main camera on the Pixel 8 is honestly fantastic and I reckon it's quite a bit better than the main camera on the S23, based on my experience with the S22. But the ultrawides are likely on par with each other and the Pixel doesn't have a telephoto (unless you go for the 8 Pro of course). I haven't missed the telephoto since I got the Pixel tbh, and I much prefer the processing of the photos on the Pixel - the photos straight out of the camera honestly look fantastic! There have been quite a few rumours of the S24 going back to the Exynos Chip, so it's whether you want to take that gamble - I was not happy with the efficiency of the one in the S22. The best thing for you to do is to wait for the S24 to come out before you make the decision (if you're willing to wait) because then you'll know everything about all the phones, and the Pixel 8 will have been out for months by that point so long term reviews will be out and will give you a better understanding of what it's really like as a phone, but I don't think you can go wrong with the Pixel 8 or S23 - really up to what you personally want!
@@arranpbrown thx for the long response! Hows the tensor G3 chip on pixel 8? Cus i heard that previous pixel phones have poor battery, overheating, poor signal, some bugs. Does it happen to pixel 8 and are those issues already fixed? Btw, currently i own a 4 year old A70 and considering to get compact phones. Im considering Iphone 15 pro, pixel 8, s23/s24.. Whats your suggestion? Thx so much!
The G3 seems to be fine - I've not really experienced any of those issues that you've mentioned. The battery is fine so far, but I wouldn't consider it good, but as I said in the video, it needs time to adapt to how I use my phone. The only bugs I've encountered are the ones I mentioned in the video and they are fairly minor. They are all good options over a 4 year old phone tbh. Pixel 8 is obviously the cheapest though. I've heard the iPhone 15 Pro has the worst battery of all the new iPhones because it's got that power hungry chip, but that could get better over time. I would recommend doing your research and finding out which one suits you, because I don't know what you need out of a phone haha. There are plenty of videos out there on the 15 Pro and the S23 already, so probably worth watching a load of them and seeing what appeals to you!
For me to get the best battery life is to disable 5g to LTE. My carrier don't have 5G anyways and so there is no reason to toggle it at the moment. Id say my standby time improved quite a bit. Tensor chip is still needs refinement. Ultrasonic finger print scanner is missing. If this was $700CAD( Canadian prices) for pixel 8 live with the compromises, But to charge starting $949CAD pixel 8 in this economy, I think you miss the mark google. 7 years update? Remember Stadia? look what have you done?
Good points - yeah, I think disabling 5G might be a good option for a lot of people to extend the battery life. 4G is fast enough for 95% of things most people do on the phone when they are out anyway. Interesting take though - I'm quite happy with the phone experience overall and I think the pricing is still fairly reasonable - it would have been a killer deal if they had been able to keep it down to £600, but I think it's still fairly good for £700. Thanks for the comment!
I have heard that turning off adaptive connectivity under Network and Inyernet will stop it from switching across to network services when you are trying to use WiFi.
Yeah, I turned that off pretty much straight away, so I don't really know what it's like with it on - I'm just used to turning on WiFi and turning data off when I get somewhere and vice versa when I'm leaving somewhere, so it doesn't really bother me!
Why is Google continuously making the 7,8 smaller than the year before? Its basically the size of the 7a now and the rounded corners look horrible in my opinion. I personally like the more square looking corners of the 6 as well as the black glass visor over the metal ones of the 7 and 8s.
Totally fair and you're entitled to your opinion! I personally like the design of this more than any Pixel I've seen before, but again, that's just my preference.
Also, on the point about them making it smaller, maybe it's to differentiate it further from the Pixel 8 Pro? Or also, Apple's iPhone 15 is 6.1" so maybe they are aiming to get closer to the size of the competition - not sure really. I personally really like the size of this phone though - it's ideal for me!
Yeah, you're right - there is a chance they bring the AI features to anyone who subscribed to Google Photos in the future as they have with other features in the past!
Yeah, you are stuck with 12.5MP photos unfortunately - however, for the majority of people in the majority of situations, that's not going to matter. However, another example of Google software blocking features that the Pixel 8's hardware is capable of, which is disappointing!
Nice one! I find that clear cases often age really badly, plus you can see the dirt and dust inside them, but it is good to be able to see the phone's design! Agreed - the glass can scratch pretty easily in certain situations - I've got a little knick on mine, but it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it. Thanks for watching!
@@arranpbrown yeah and dealing with horrible halo effects to so figured I'd try films instead so far I keep my phone clean lol clean hands wipe it down one case is clear with white mandala and other is clear with purple ish flowers so lol I do want 1 that matches this skin tone yo mine as well so lol
Unfortunatelly, still its battery life is extremely bad. You can leave phone just lay on table and its dicharge rate is over 2,5% per hour (with active dual SIMs and WiFI, no 3rd party apps in background). Based on battery menu section - main part is eating processor and Mobile network (but it was whole time on WiFi). This is really extremely bad and big problem! Unfortunatelly, I cant recommend that phone, until it will be somehow repaired (hope, its just SW flaw)...
It's been about a week of owning the Pixel 8 and I went from 4hrs of usage to around 7hrs! I think something people forget since it's a pixel and everyone is caught up on the details, is that the Pixel 8 this time around up to 27w charging and it feels pretty darn quick! I know it's not perfect, but until you hold and feel this device it's hard to understand why the battery sucks lol (I swear I'm not fan boying) The camera is pretty fun to play with, and I personally haven't had any issues!
On a side note, that video test you did was amazing! The pixel could totally work as a full fledge camera for a youtube channel!
Thanks for the comment - good to hear someone talking about some of the good bits of the Pixel 8! That's great that you're getting better battery results already. I agree that the charging on the Pixel 8 is plenty fast - having been used to the 25W of the S22, it feels about the same speed as that (due to the larger battery)! Yeah, I've been really enjoying the camera experience too - I've not had any issues apart from the weird white screen issue and I think that seems to be linked to Google Photos rather than the camera app (although they are both linked together, obviously)!
Thanks for the feedback - I thought it would be useful to show the video quality you could get out of the Pixel 8 if it was your only video camera. Glad you appreciated it, and thanks for the comment!!
Xfinity wants to give it to me for free and they pay the 30.00 a month and all with the promo. But then if i decide i do not want it then i have to pay the balanc oi i have it for a year then im stuck paying 360.00 and all. I use my other phone alot and i take photos alot. Please anyone out there give me feedback.
I bought the Pixel 8 as soon as it came out, and I have absolutely NO Issues with it. By far the best phone ive ever had. Very proud with it.
Same experience over here and I felt a significant battery endurance after November security patch update.
Dude test your 2.4g wifi speed test...
I got the iPhone 14 instead of Pixel 8 because I had concerns around its modem & battery life. The iPhone’s somewhat contrasty photos make me miss Pixel more but at this point it’s not worth the risk.
Would love to hear people’s Pixel experience in Asian & African countries.
I have a Pixel 8 and im very proud, its actually the longest battery life ive ever had on a phone, however I live in America not other countries.
New Pixels' modems suck donkeyballs. They should 100% return to TSMC. Samsung is terrible.
Conclusion: pixel used the same modem n users still need to worry about battery life. Not a worry at home n on Wi-Fi. So when u really need the battery, it’s not there. All while raising the prices. Mine is going back.
Fair enough! I'm going to stick it out for now and see how I feel about it in a few months.
I will too. I'll just wait for the November patch to see if it improves and if they fix the bugs that I'm facing with it, if not, I'll return it. Not funny paying over 1300€ and getting this experience
@@levipb1403 I retuned my p8 today. Nice phone but had stuttering n jumping with 120hz enabled, one handed mode was too inconsistent, AOD stopped working for a bit, poor battery life after a week. Don’t want to be a beta tester again n hope they fix one day. Always feels like a crapshoot with pixel. My 6a is fine n much cheaper. Also, many good stories that s24 will have great ai n speech recognition. Gonna wait for that.
Totally fair enough - if you're not happy with the product then definitely don't stick with it!
@@arranpbrown I hope you do a future review with the future updates that will come, even if I return it it'll be nice to see how it performs after a while. Love your accent by the way 🤗
I've had the P8 for 12 days and the battery seems to be a bit worse than it was the first week. Trying to figure out what's draining it faster. Tho after hearing this video it may be mobile data usage. I mostly use social media and listen to podcasts at work with my earbuds. That's only about 2 hours per night. I haven't been able to figure out how to turn off 5g however and I'm certain that has something to do with it. All my other devices had an option in settings to use LTE instead but this phone doesn't have that.
I meant to click reply and accidentally removed your other comment about the screen-on-time, sorry!! Great to hear your experience - you can set 4G/LTE as your preferred data connection by swiping down for your quick settings, pressing and holding on the Internet option to get to your Internet settings, and click the little cog next to the data connection. Within the resulting menu there should be an option for 'Preferred Network Type' and you can change that to 4G/LTE rather than 5G - hope this helps!
What do you listen to podcasts with? If it's Spotify, then I've found that app goes crazy with background usage, even when you aren't using it - I'd recommend setting the app's battery usage to 'Restricted' and it seems to help! If you can't find that setting, let me know and I can direct you to it 😀
Battery life was pretty rubbish at first, but the new beta update seems to have fixed the drain I was experiencing while on mobile data.
Nice, I'll have to try it out!! Thanks! 👌
How can I try that Beta Update? If it's really fix The battery issued, that's really good news.
And do Google tell us their release date of this fix?
What confuses me is quite a few reviewers mentioned it getting 6 hours or slightly more of screen on time. I do think it’ll take more than 3 days for adaptive battery to really kick in. If you are getting maybe 4 hours in 3 days, then I’d think once it learns your usage patterns it would be well over 5 hours maybe 6 hours of sot. Of course, I’ve noticed with Pixels in most cases about a year or year and a half after their releases the battery life also improves with updates. Seems optimizing each new generation of the Tensor chip takes time and it’s an area where Google needs to improve the optimization before releasing their new phones in my opinion.
Yeah, really good points - it should really be released with the good battery life rather than getting it 1.5/2 years down the line! Thanks for the comment! 👌
@@arranpbrownactually battery adapter kicks in usually around a week or two
You are right. This is exactly what happened to my pixel 6 and is now happening to the pixel 8. The P6 had a poor battery life for about 6 months after the release, until it got fixed with the update. But on pixel 8 I can see great battery improvements after just a week of use.
Really wanna go for the 8 but all I want is good battery life, on a non massive phone and with a good camera. always had a strong distaste for iphones but currently it seems like the only phone that actually fits the bill :(. Like come on google, obvs people are gunna use a lot of mobile data, on a mobile friggin phone lol.
Yeah, I agree, it's seemingly quite difficult to find an efficient enough small phone these days, but maybe the iPhone is the better option when it comes to battery performance. The Pixel could still improve over time though and I'll definitely be giving my thoughts on that in a future video when I have more usage data! I totally get your frustration though!!
@@arranpbrown yeah it is a tricky one, and iphone is barely any more expensive. i would defo expect pixel to improve over time, how much they can i'm not sure the HW just aint it, and i use data a ton. then again im coming from a Exynos S10 its surely bound to be an improvement!
Yup, makes sense! Yeah, that was my thoughts coming from the S22, that it's got to be an improvement over that and it definitely is, just still trying to determine how good the battery actually is at the moment. I'm sure it would be an improvement over the S10 like you said!
My pixel 7 started off with barely getting through the day to comfortably finishing the day with 50-60% left in battery. I donno what google does but its magic.
Awesome! Let's hope the same happens with the Pixel 8 down the line then! Thanks for the comment! 👌
My battery is ok but they need at least a week to settle a little. Was the same for my 23 ultra although not as drastic.
Yup, definitely hoping the battery settles into giving me more like 5-6 hours of screen-on-time at least, but we'll see. Thanks for the comment!
Battery review bit is indeed why I clicked on the review - sticking with the Pixel 5 for now. Nice balanced review, highlighting real-world points.
Thank you - I'm glad it helped! 🙌
Yep ... I've had my P8 a week or more and I would say the battery is just ok... I'm always on data with work .
Yeah, data seems to be a real battery drainer, and the difference when you use it is actually crazy! I'm not on data too much when I'm at work, so it's not too bad, but still definitely not ideal for the times you are on data. Thanks so much for watching and commenting - I appreciate you! 🙌
@@arranpbrownI think 5G drainage will always impact any phone.
Full day usage easily?
@@kunalsharma2098 when you say full day what do you mean from morning to night or just the eight hours at work and so if you mean just the eight hours at work yeah I’d say you can make it. But I’m not at a desk job or an office so my phones on data all the time and it’s not a phone I could go out all day and then not head home right away and put it on a charger.
@@kunalsharma2098 Yes that's true but I have a Galaxy s23 Plus and it handles 5G a whole lot better I'm sure the modem is much better on the Samsung doesn't drain nearly as fast .
I love the weight of my pixel 8. Feels very solid, its not too thin or thick and the naterials they used are great. Never been a fan of the glossy finish on the 8 pro
I completely agree - the build quality feels really good. Not a massive fan of the glass back on the 8, I think the ideal would have been the matte back of the 8 Pro combined with the brushed metal sides/camera visor of the regular Pixel 8, but we can't have it all I guess! Thanks for the comment!
Hi Arren
I have the s21 , and looking to get a new phone , I am caught between the s23 and pixel 8
the most important thing for me is the photo and video quality , battery does not really bother me
I know you can turn off scene optimizer and soften pic in the s23 ,
but in your option which has the best overall quality camera
My phone before the Pixel 8 was the S22 and I don't believe the cameras were hugely upgraded in the S23. If battery life is not a deciding factor for you then my experience with the Pixel 8 has been excellent, particularly from a photography perspective! I much prefer the quality of the photos that I get from the Pixel 8. It is important to note that the S23 has the extra 3x telephoto lens though, so if you think you need that then you'd be best going with the Samsung. I've not found I particularly missed the telephoto on the Pixel 8 though. For video, it's less of a difference I'd say, as you should be able to install the Blackmagic Camera app on both phones and with that you can change settings to heart's content, which makes the video pretty flexible. Stabilisation was excellent on both my S22 and Pixel 8 as well, so no issues there. Hope this helps!
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran ,
thank you so much for the quick reply , the camera is the most important thing for me , as I dont use the phone that much , mainly for taking photos / videos , not much mind you , and whatsapp etc ,
so battery is not a deal breaker , I have the s21 .
AS you use the phone for photography too , that has not settled it , I will go for the pixel 8 then,
the 3rd lens is not important , as I dont really use the voom when taking photos or videos .
will have to check out the black magic app , any tips on best settings .
Thank you again Arran , will let you know when I get the phone , maybe next month
kindest regards
Mike
ps keep up the great work with your video reviws
No worries, Mike! Glad I could help!
As for the Blackmagic Camera Apps - I would recommend watching a few videos on it as they will be best to show you how to use it. Just search up 'Blackmagic Camera app Android' on RUclips and you should be able to find some good videos on it. Cheers!
@@arranpbrown Thanks Arran , will have a look at it later this week , when I have more time. thank you again for everything
Great video friend, i'm expecting the same from this Device before buying it. Eagerly waiting for you battery related video soon, but take your time, because rushing for content might not make a great video which this topic deserves, i hope you get my point. Btw i'm hitting for pro model, so do you think it's battery should be better that regular one?
Thanks for the comments - good to hear you're interested in the Pixel 8 too! Yeah, I don't want to rush the video out talking about the battery so I can get a more clear overview of how good it is over a longer period (1-2 months). I'm pretty sure the Pro should have better battery than the standard 8, as it has a larger battery and also has the LTPO screen which can go down to a 1Hz refresh rate when a higher refresh rate isn't needed. However, as I said in the video, the screen doesn't seem to be a huge battery drain, although the phone doesn't show how much if the CPU usage is caused by the screen pushing 120Hz as opposed to 60Hz. I might have to do a few days running at 60Hz and see if that makes a difference! Cheers!
@@arranpbrown ohh, and plz do one more thing plz. Spend some days with extreme battery saver option also if available, i want to see if extreme battery saver really optimise battery to extend battery life even more, as company is saying 72h of usage...let's try that too mate..that will make your video more different and informative. As everyone don't use their mobiles all time so doing a standby time and normal day to day usage with extreme battery saver option would be practical. I've not seen any information related to that as you also know that no one has shared this information while using extreme battery saver or battery saver at all. And I really hope that with tensor if this is a one day phone, with that feature it might help to cruise 2ish day of possible because it's optimised with google hardware and software wise both. In my pixel 4xl foreg, I do use it quite often but not much of a result comes out because it has a Qualcomm chipset. Keep in touch and all the best. Waiting for the video eagerly. 👍🏻
🥰🤩❤💢💥💫👍 Great Video . I am still using my Samsung S9 + had it 5 years now ,other than the fact it's only 4G it still works perfectly Battery still works great after all day usage . Soon though I want to upgrade just cant make my mind up to go with Google Pixel of the new Samsung S24 Plus ?
Nice one! Great that you've managed to use the phone that long and haven't really had any issues. I'd say I'd battery is particularly important to you and you use a lot of data then maybe the Pixel isn't the way to go, but otherwise, it's really a fantastic phone. The S24 Plus is still an unknown quantity at the moment, so I'd honestly recommend you wait until it comes out to make your decision (if you can wait that long!) because then you'll have all the facts you need! Hope this helps - thanks for watching and commenting!!
I still have my Samsung S7😂
so do I😅@@elizabethmiranda7867
Shittiest modem on a phone ever... Nobody on RUclips is talking about how terrible the connectivity is on this phone. Getting signals and using mobile data is awful.
Interesting - I've not had any issues with connectivity tbh! It's more that the modem uses up a lot of the battery!
I had issues with 5g on my 6a in my area, so i just turned it off. Works fine on LTE, though I realize slower than 5g doesn't really impact my use.
I've actually done the same to be fair - haven't noticed a massive difference in speeds and the battery holds up a bit better with it off. Cheers for the comment!
I subscribed to you to find out the battery as I had the s22 and loved the phone but the battery was horrendous. I was considering the pixel 8 but had battery concerns too. I recently got the s23 and its basically an improved s22 with unbelievable battery life, i should have made the jump sooner because now we are closing in on s24 release date, however, with samsung using exynos in the UK now for non ultra models, i may give the s24 a miss. Thanks for the detailed review
That's good to hear the S23 is much better in terms of battery life! Sounds like it's worth you just sticking with the S23 for a while then it it works well! Thanks for being subscribed and for watching! 🙌
You did the right thing.
@@arranpbrowni have a one doubt brother some reviewers saying s23s camera getting too worse. Is this real?
I've not heard that to be honest - I can't see how they could have made it worse and the S22's cameras were pretty good in my opinion - I think the Pixel's main camera is better than the S22 at least, but as an entire camera system the S22/23 is more versatile!
I think I heard all s24s will have snapdragon in the UK
Pixels adapt to your use...holding off won't change anything. It learns how you use a device and the battery improves incredibly.
I guess I just want to make sure that's the case before I recommend this phone!
Which one takes the sharpest photos even after zooming IPhone15 or, Pixel 8 ??? ( IPhone supports for super-high-resolution photos (24MP and 48MP).... and which one is the great pick overall ?????
Hey - sorry, totally missed this comment! I would recommend you watch this part of this video: ruclips.net/video/TwvvLuLF9XI/видео.htmlsi=ib6P9FTZi8Y3_Qgu&t=626. They show a comparison, and to my eyes, there isn't much difference between he two phones to be honest!
I have had every pixel phone since the 3A and that's just normal for Pixel phones. The first week you have them. The battery life sucks and then it learns your habits and gets 1,000 times better. Don't judge it off of just a few days
Excellent, detailed and balanced account to enable folks to make an informed decision as to whether it’s the right phone for them!
Thanks!!
iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy S23, Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 7 pro, Sony Xperia V1, Azus Zenfone 10 or Motorola Edge 40 Pro. Which one would you recommend me?
I think you'd be happy with any of those phones to be honest, but without knowing how you use your phone or your budget, it's hard to make a recommendation. Out of them, I'd probably go for either the iPhone 15, S23, Pixel 8 or ZenFone 10 and all are good choices!
@@arranpbrown thank you.
Morning Arran
Just ordered my pixel 8 , got it from shop here in spain for 590 euros , its an ex display model , arrives on tue , cant wait to get it and take better photos and videos , thanks for all your help and advise , will let you know how I get on with it . any good tips
kindest regards
Mike
Nice one! I hope you enjoy it. Only major tip I would recommend is to test your 5G speeds vs 4G speeds in your area. If there isn't a significant difference, then I'd recommend disabling 5G in the settings, as it should yield you slightly better battery life! Otherwise, have a look at the Pixel Tips app on the phone and it should give you some good tips on how to get started with some of the really useful Pixel-exclusive features! Cheers.
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran , got my new phone on wed , it came and box was not open , it was brand new lol ,
I have had very mixed results with photos and videos , some seem very good , while others are way darker
than they should , so Im a bit disapointed in that
Also phone is over heating using it for a few mins , doing normal things , also when I get whatsapp messages , it shows a dot and not the number of messages , is there a way to fix that , am in 2 minds to send it back , will give it another week as I go back home on thur for 4 days
@@mikejc011 That's good that it came as new rather than opened, but sorry to hear about the other issues. I've definitely not had the same issue as you've had with the camera producing darker images than usual, and the overheating issue sounds like a hardware fault as it definitely shouldn't be overheating with normal tasks! If it doesn't change in the next week, like you said and particularly keeps overheating, then I'd recommend returning it. I think the notification number thing you are talking about might have been a Samsung exclusive feature, as on the Pixel I think it just shows the dot when there are new messages. If that's a dealbreaker for you, then it might be worth returning the Pixel and considering getting a newer Samsung instead!
Sorry I haven't got all the answers, but I hope this at least helps!
@@arranpbrown Hi Arran, I stop a load of apps running yesterday , so does not feel as hot , but still gets warm after a few minutes using it .
its just so weird about the camera , if I use the 10 bit HDR when taking a video , it comes out too bright .
Did you have any issuse with your battery , its draining so fast , maybe I have a faulty phone .
thank you so much for replying Arran , yes of course it helps thanks .
I will give it until I come back from Ireland to see how it goes.
Not too bothered about the dots lol , I have read there is a app that shows them
@mikejc011 @mikejc011 okay, no worries - still a strange one! So if you use HDR, it boosts the screen up to its maximum brightness to show you highlights more "true to life" which is why it appears so bright. I personally, like you, think this looks too bright so I turned of HDR in the video settings pretty much immediately. As for the battery, it can take a little bit to settle as it works out how you use your phone and then prioritised the apps you use most, so it should improve a bit over time. You may also just be using the phone more as you have been setting it up and testing out the features, which will naturally run down the battery faster!
See how you feel about it after you come back from Ireland and if you're still not happy with it, I'd recommend returning it and considering a different phone! No point sticking with something you're not happy with!
It's likely still adapting to your usage patterns and optimizing itself. It might be a good idea to wait for another month or two before passing final judgment on its battery life.
I've been using my Pixel 6a as my daily driver, and since upgrading to Android 14, I consistently get 7 to 9 hours of screen-on time while using mobile data. Even after playing games for 30 minutes to an hour, the battery performance remains impressive.
Thanks for the heads up - that's reassuring! Hopefully that's the case and the battery life gets better. 7 to 9 hours of screen on time is the dream! Is that using mobile data fairly frequently too? Or just on WiFi? Cheers for the comment!
@@arranpbrown I consistently achieve approximately 7 hours of screen-on time, even with mobile data continuously active. This includes 1 hour of gaming, around 2 hours of watching RUclips videos, less than an hour of location services enabled, and usage of various social media apps.
If I refrain from gaming and primarily use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data, I can extend the screen-on time to an impressive 9 hours, with only around 6 hours of mobile data usage.
Hey, how was the battery before 14, numbers would be also appropriated.
@@kunalsharma2098 I wish I could share a screenshot here, as the contrast before and after the Android 14 upgrade was remarkable. Prior to Android 14, while using mobile data, I could only manage around 4 to 5 hours of screen-on time. Notably, the battery-draining "phone idle" issue that plagued Android 13 appears to have been resolved in Android 14.
It incredible. What android 14 has done for my Pixel 6 & 7pro I wouldn’t have believed it had I not experienced it firsthand.
Better than the iPhone 15 camera?
Possibly for photos, but not for video - iPhone has been the leader for video for a while now! I'm really liking the photos out of this so far though 👌
Worth upgrading from your Samsung s22?
Yeah, definitely worth upgrading - battery life is definitely better, I'm just not sure how much better yet, might only be a wee bit if it stays like this!
I bought a pixel 6 just 5months before the 8 came out cause of a really good deal. So will probaby upgrade to the 8 once the 10 is out or about to come too 😅
Haha sounds like a plan - if you're happy with a two year old phone then you may as well save yourself a load of money!! 😅👌
@@arranpbrown 2 yr old phone is ok as I use it as my 2nd phone, alongside the 14promax. I just wanted a smaller and lighter phone, cause the promax tend to give me terrible hand fatigue. And tbh it holds up pretty well against the iphone.
@fullbass1426 ahh okay, nice one - definitely a good candidate for a second phone then I guess!
I can get the pixel 8 for £214 with Amex cashback and trade in. But I can get the pixel 7 with free case and google charging stand for £92. I am still undecided which one to choose. Please advise.
Damn - they are both great options to be fair! I would still recommend going for the Pixel 8 for the better screen, the lack (in my experience) of overheating issues, and the better camera system. Plus you'll get access to some Pixel 8 exclusive features that won't be trickled down to the Pixel 7 for a little while too. Just seeing as it's not that much more to get the Pixel 8, I'd say it's worth the extra £122 to be honest. Hope this helps!
@@arranpbrown Hi Aaron, you have a good point that makes me sway to Pixel 8. It is really helpful. Thank you🙂
Glad I could help and I'm sure you'll enjoy the Pixel 8 if you pick one up! 😁
Have you tested the 2.4g Wi-Fi speed test??! I am only getting 2mbps download max, 10mbps upload!!! Same wifi connection on my 6a phone is getting 60 Mbps!!! The radio on the pixel 8 is fucked up!!! Test it yourself....
I just received my replacement phone and it has the exact same issue...
If its anything like the 7 the battery life will improve drastically after a few weeks.
Good to know - I'm waiting for an update to see if that makes much of a difference because I'm definitely not seeing any 'drastic' changes yet!
The screenshot shows the battery was only charged up to 75% at around 3PM no where it indicates 100% charge on the graph and graph don't lie
I don't think you read the text on screen at that point haha. Because the Pixel only shows battery data in 2 hour increments, it only reached 100% by 3pm and I took it off and by 4pm, it was already down to 75%, so that's why it shows it at only looking like it's at that - difficult to explain really, but hopefully that makes sense. Wasn't trying to trick anyone though, I don't know what I'd gain by doing that 😅
@@arranpbrownI've used Pixel since the original model and no It doesn't do that..? If It's charged to a 100% It will show it on the graph.
I can guarantee you it was at 100% mate, I specifically got it all the way up to 100% before I went out because I wanted to test it. I don't know what to tell you 😅
This is one of three top reviews I recommend to see the truth about this phone. And my conclusion is exactly the same, if you can repeat the photo, then it can be ok, it can deliver the quality.
But otherwise, it is horrible. I have actually performed a test in which the phone crashed multiple times when simply shooting 50MP photos in night mode.
No serious company should deliver a phone which fails in such scenario, especially when the main feature is the camera.
I recorded the test and whole procedure so I could check exactly how many photos were lost. The thing is, this phone not only loses photo when it crashes, but also buffered/unprocessed ones.
For me that was 56% of photos taken over 25min.
So I do photos of my guitars/gear, and since I lack space, I like to put the items, do the shoot, and put them back to proper place. So generally I take photos, lots of them, fast, then I do culling on my pc, and I re-do the takes if needed. Well, for that kind of usage or any heavy session, this absolutely sucks.
And the overheating is also coming from the software I think, I can be wrong, but it looks like Pixel uses stupid software design, and simply continues to process photos no matter what, in first in first out order. So when you lookup the photo, you need to wait for a minute if you just finished taking a lot of pictures. Also running processing is also killing the already overheated phone.
In comparison, Iphone turns off photo processing when battery is low but still provides you processing on demand whenever you lookup the photo.
It is a software quality difference leading to ... less hardware problems (less overheating).
Really interesting comment - thanks for taking the time to write this. That's really good to know about the camera issues - I've not really encountered them myself as I rarely shoot huge bursts of photos, but it sounds like the phone isn't geared up to do that based on what you've said (even though there is a huge focus on the camera features), so that's quite disappointing!
Thanks for taking the time to do some testing and hopefully anyone who is planning on using the Pixel 8 for a similar use case to you will see this comment before they decide to buy it!
So, not much has changed in terms of battery. I get similar SOT on mobile data on my Pixel 7. They really need to optimize the Tensor.
Why are you comparing this to a 2 year old phone..there is s23 ultra..makes no sense whatsoever
Because I think it's actually more realistic for someone to be upgrading to this from a two year old phone than picking this up if they have a phone that came out last year. Additionally, why would I compare the £700 Pixel 8 to an over £1000 S23 Ultra? It makes more sense to compare it to something in the same price range because someone who is thinking of buying it is more likely to be considering something similarly priced. Finally, I have experience of using the S22, so I was just using that as the base of comparison otherwise there is no context as to how this phone performs. Hope that makes sense.
great video! looking forward to your month recap,
Thank you!
I have the s22+ and I get 4-5hours of sot on wifi and on mobile data its a lot worse, i am wanting the pixel 8 pro but i want to know if i will get better battery from it or if i should just go for the s23+ since Snapdragon8gen2 is the best for efficiency
Thanks for the comment! I'll try and answer that question in a future video once I've had some more time for real-world testing. 👌
i got the pixel 8 pro but don't know for sure whats the difference with the normal pixel 8
There are a few differences - the 8 Pro has a larger 6.7" screen over the 8's 6.2" screen, the Pro has an extra telephoto camera and also a temperature sensor. It has a bigger battery too. And there are some software limited features that are only available on the 8 Pro rather than the regular 8 too!
How can comment on the battery after a few days?!!!!!! Everyone (except you it seems) knows it takes a while to work out the optimum performance for a user. Maybe do food blogs instead?
Wow, such a negative comment... 😅 That's why I said "don't buy it *yet* ", because the phone had only recently been released when I made this video! I also have a 1 month later review which covers my battery performance results after a month of use, so you might want to check that out for more of an idea of how the battery performs over a longer term 🙂
How is network signal in weaker coverage area?
Great review. I just ordered mine with the black friday discount at $600.
I tested both the 8 pro and regular 8 and found the 8 pro to be enormous.
The 8 size and form factor is just excellent
Cheers! Nice one - great that you can already get a nice discount on the Pixel 8! I think it's a great deal at $600!! Enjoy, and thanks for watching!
Whats the name of the mic you used in the video test section?
It's the Hollyland Lark Max - I've got an entire video about it here: ruclips.net/video/VZb7ChI9l4s/видео.html 😀
@@arranpbrown appreciate it!
does iphone 15 have better battery performance with Mobile Data ?
I don't have an iPhone, so I can't tell you honestly. But from what I've seen, the mobile data battery performance on the Pixel 8 ain't great, so I reckon it's probably better on the iPhone!
I have just got my pixel 8 yesterday and I already had an oppo x5 lite, I was comparing them together and I was disappointed with the pixel 8 as the oppo is louder and clearer but maybe that's because the oppo is not waterproof, but also the display quality in my opinion is nicer on the oppo although its cheaper and older, there is like green/yellowish colour in the pixel's screen, I'm not sure about battery life yet as my sim on the pixel haven't been activated yet and I didn't use it much but the oppo gets charged faster, however I found the pixel to be abit faster and the camera on the pixel 8 I found it a bit better than the oppo x5 lite
Fair enough - I've never really looked into the Oppo X5 Lite, but interesting to hear the differences, especially for a cheaper phone! I guess where Pixel comes into its own is the software and cameras rather than the hardware, so I think once you have had a chance to use some of those features, your opinion might be different! But thanks for sharing! 👌
Casting/Mirror Casting is not working on Pixel 8 Pro on non Google devices such as Firestick, Roku. Very Slow charging, battery is ok.
Interesting - I don't really cast things from my phone all that often, but that must be a pain! I've found the charging on the Pixel 8 to be fine - have you come from a phone with faster charging? I think this has ever so slightly faster charging than my S22 did (27W over 25W), so I've not really seen much of a difference in the charging speed between the two phones to be honest. Thanks for your comment! 👌
I cast game to my TV at times, larger screen. Also, during the holidays I like to show pictures and video on TV, not everyone has a ChromeCast. Would have been nice since the camera takes really good quality photos and given the opportunity to show it off.@@arranpbrown
The speaker are not good enough,
When speaking on a crowded and noisy place the speaker are too shallow.
The battery last a full day if not using vpn feature. But yeah a downgrade compare to the Sony xperia zx2 compact of 8 years ago.
I have to say I'm also frustrated by the proprietary block on usbC to jack 3.5mm, I'm unable to use most of the market available brand!
I would agree about the speakers, but I think the call speaker at the top of the phone is good! I wasn't aware of the USB-C to 3.5mm proprietary issue, but that is a pain! Thanks for the comment.
BROOOOOO I CAME FROM THE 6 MONTH VIDEO YOU KEPT SAYING I WONT TALK ABOUT THE THINGS I TALKED ON THE PREVIOUS VIDEOOOOOO
To be fair, I said I'm not going to spend too much time on anything I discussed in the previous video, but not that I wouldn't provide updates on things that have changed about the same features, if that makes sense. Also, that was referring to my one-month review, not this video - hope that clarifies!
Hi I'm using the pixel 8 it's always heating up,is there a fix,help pls
I'm afraid it's difficult to help when I don't know how you use your phone. I'd recommend looking in the battery settings and seeing what apps are using the most battery, as they'll be what is causing it to heat up. If you identify that, then either disable background activity on those apps, or just get rid of them. I've found that any CPU intensive tasks are usually what causes the battery to run down faster. I have really experienced any issues with the phone heating up though. Hope this helps.
I'm using Pixel 8 Pro for 2 weeks. Almost every feature is so... wow!. I need to say that this time google did really great job presenting us some new technologies. It likes we've got new toys. However, the pixel 8 pro's battery sucks... (better than its previous ancestor, but still not good enough for flagship level)... The battery thing is the most important factor for my daily life. So, I might probably need to move myself back to my old iPhone 13 Pro Max soon :(
Good to hear you like the features at least! I think the iPhone 13 series were some of the best optimised batteries for a while, so I'm not surprised you aren't seeing the same battery level as that phone to be honest! Thanks for the comment! Interesting to hear your take 👌😁
Might pick one up for 375 USD refurbished. Seems like a steel
I think it's a nice phone for that price, for sure!
Whats it's msnual brightness nits ? I know its 2000 nits in auto peak brightness. Reviewers never mention it's manual standard brightness using the slider
Good point, I believe it's 1400 nits as that is the HDR brightness of the display.
@@arranpbrown so if I use the slider indoors ( normal use) it'll go up to around 1400 nits. Not that I plan on having it that bright as 600-800 nits is a sweet spot 😊
That is my understanding - I can tell you from experience, putting the slider up to maximum indoors is almost blinding 😅 it gets super bright! Thanks for the comment!
You know, the camera features just tell me people have Waaaay too much free time. For professionals, sure, but for regular folks manipulating a record in time is really a first world non-existent problem.
Fair enough - I think it's different if you actually enjoy photo editing as a hobby though too, which I quite enjoy! But I get your point. Thanks for the comment!
Woop a fellow glasgow guy doing awesome reviews 🙌 subscribed 👍
Cheers Kevin! Thanks for the support!! Always good to have a fellow Scot in the comments 😁👌
I got the google pixel 8 over a month ago I love it lol no issues yet better then my Samsung Galaxy s21 lol I got pink
Glad to hear you're enjoying it! I'm loving mine too 😁. Nice one - I'm quite happy with the Obsidian colour, but I like both the other colours too to be fair!
@@arranpbrown yeah i liked the grey to but when we got mine there was black or pink so the bf got me pink lol
I saw someone porting the pro camera mode to the pixel 7 pro, i wonder if someones got it working on the pixel 8
That's a good point - it's another software limitation by Google so there is no reason why it shouldn't work on the Pixel 8 to be fair. I would really like those manual controls without having to pay an extra £300 😅
I love the pixels but since they can’t get their battery life optimized without having to jump through all sorts of hoops, I’m sticking with Apple. I much rather prefer android though.
Fair point! As long as you're happy with the phone you've got. Maybe the Pixel 8's battery life will improve with a future update, but we'll have to wait to see! Thanks for the comment!
I get 7-8 hours of screen on time but that's over wifi... haven't tested it with data yet
Good to know - thanks for sharing! I'm pretty sure I could also achieve that if I was just watching videos and playing a few games to be fair, it really depends on how you use the phone. I think you'll see a big difference when you use data as it definitely seems to nuke the battery!
3:39 what "many" other phones have ultrasonic biometric sensor, except Galaxy S 2x family?
There are also a few Vivo phones that use this tech, but too be fair "many" was a bit of a stretch 😅
Fair enough - good to know!
Dude great video! Suscribed!
Thanks so much - I appreciate you!! 🙌
Week 2 on my hazel pixel 8. Looking forward to the ongoing pixel 8 vid series.
I'm also on week 2 - it just took me a little while to make this video so you're actually looking back in time at my experience when I first got it! 😅. I'm really enjoying it so far and I've only encountered a few software quirks! I'm still confident the battery should improve over time, so I'll keep my fingers crossed 🤞 thanks for sticking around and there will definitely be more Pixel videos coming alongside my other content! 👌
I’m an iPhone user (regular 15) but enjoyed the vid, thank you 🙏.
Thanks for watching, Stuart - glad you enjoyed it 🙌
Garbage phone. If you love Android get a Samsung Galaxy S. Otherwise stick with Apple.
Are you a fan of The Critical Drinker?
I've only seen a couple of his videos, but he's pretty funny!
Apalling battery. Power save mode. Only get 4 hour sot. Returning this trash p8 and going for a s23+
4-hour SOT is definitely abnormally low. I'm getting over 7 hours on my pixel 8. Can you tell me how much SOT do you get on the Samsung?
That is pretty low in battery saver mode - not sure if you maybe got a faulty unit!
@@arranpbrown had it since launch day. Battery seems to be getting worse. Always have it on power save. With it off I only get 3-3.5 sot
Fair enough - that doesn't sound great to be fair!
My s21 was even worse. Thought for sure it was a faulty device, but changed some settings around and waiting for it to learn my habits, it got much better and has been ever since. I'd wait another couple weeks and see if I were you
Three days isn’t long enough to review any piece of technology.
Agreed, that's why in the first few sentences of this video, I make it clear that this is an 'initial review' and 'first impressions', not a full review. I also go on to say I've obviously got more testing to do to get an overall view of this phone. More videos coming in the future once I can give my full thoughts.
Disable email Push, and Bluetooth if possible.
Ideally, I don't want to have to disable those kind of settings as I use them on a daily basis - especially Bluetooth with my Galaxy Watch 4 and wireless earbuds. But something I could use if I need to make the battery last longer at any point - cheers!
Hey Arran new viewer here! Is pixel 8 or S23 better overall??
Welcome! I'm not sure I can fully answer that question as I haven't used the S23, only S22, but if you want a more powerful phone, then you probably want the S23 as the Pixel isn't built to be powerful! I think the camera on the Pixel 8 is probably better - it's better than the ones on the S22. The jury is still out on how the battery life compares though! Hope this helps a bit!
@@arranpbrown thx for the reply!
Isnt the camera on pixel 8 on par with s23?
Is it worth waiting for S24 as it will launch next jan?
It depends what you want to be fair, the main camera on the Pixel 8 is honestly fantastic and I reckon it's quite a bit better than the main camera on the S23, based on my experience with the S22. But the ultrawides are likely on par with each other and the Pixel doesn't have a telephoto (unless you go for the 8 Pro of course). I haven't missed the telephoto since I got the Pixel tbh, and I much prefer the processing of the photos on the Pixel - the photos straight out of the camera honestly look fantastic!
There have been quite a few rumours of the S24 going back to the Exynos Chip, so it's whether you want to take that gamble - I was not happy with the efficiency of the one in the S22. The best thing for you to do is to wait for the S24 to come out before you make the decision (if you're willing to wait) because then you'll know everything about all the phones, and the Pixel 8 will have been out for months by that point so long term reviews will be out and will give you a better understanding of what it's really like as a phone, but I don't think you can go wrong with the Pixel 8 or S23 - really up to what you personally want!
@@arranpbrown thx for the long response!
Hows the tensor G3 chip on pixel 8? Cus i heard that previous pixel phones have poor battery, overheating, poor signal, some bugs. Does it happen to pixel 8 and are those issues already fixed?
Btw, currently i own a 4 year old A70 and considering to get compact phones. Im considering Iphone 15 pro, pixel 8, s23/s24..
Whats your suggestion?
Thx so much!
The G3 seems to be fine - I've not really experienced any of those issues that you've mentioned. The battery is fine so far, but I wouldn't consider it good, but as I said in the video, it needs time to adapt to how I use my phone. The only bugs I've encountered are the ones I mentioned in the video and they are fairly minor. They are all good options over a 4 year old phone tbh. Pixel 8 is obviously the cheapest though. I've heard the iPhone 15 Pro has the worst battery of all the new iPhones because it's got that power hungry chip, but that could get better over time. I would recommend doing your research and finding out which one suits you, because I don't know what you need out of a phone haha. There are plenty of videos out there on the 15 Pro and the S23 already, so probably worth watching a load of them and seeing what appeals to you!
For me to get the best battery life is to disable 5g to LTE. My carrier don't have 5G anyways and so there is no reason to toggle it at the moment. Id say my standby time improved quite a bit. Tensor chip is still needs refinement. Ultrasonic finger print scanner is missing. If this was $700CAD( Canadian prices) for pixel 8 live with the compromises, But to charge starting $949CAD pixel 8 in this economy, I think you miss the mark google. 7 years update? Remember Stadia? look what have you done?
Good points - yeah, I think disabling 5G might be a good option for a lot of people to extend the battery life. 4G is fast enough for 95% of things most people do on the phone when they are out anyway. Interesting take though - I'm quite happy with the phone experience overall and I think the pricing is still fairly reasonable - it would have been a killer deal if they had been able to keep it down to £600, but I think it's still fairly good for £700. Thanks for the comment!
I have heard that turning off adaptive connectivity under Network and Inyernet will stop it from switching across to network services when you are trying to use WiFi.
Yeah, I turned that off pretty much straight away, so I don't really know what it's like with it on - I'm just used to turning on WiFi and turning data off when I get somewhere and vice versa when I'm leaving somewhere, so it doesn't really bother me!
Why is Google continuously making the 7,8 smaller than the year before? Its basically the size of the 7a now and the rounded corners look horrible in my opinion. I personally like the more square looking corners of the 6 as well as the black glass visor over the metal ones of the 7 and 8s.
Totally fair and you're entitled to your opinion! I personally like the design of this more than any Pixel I've seen before, but again, that's just my preference.
Also, on the point about them making it smaller, maybe it's to differentiate it further from the Pixel 8 Pro? Or also, Apple's iPhone 15 is 6.1" so maybe they are aiming to get closer to the size of the competition - not sure really. I personally really like the size of this phone though - it's ideal for me!
AI features dont happen on the phone
Yeah, you're right - there is a chance they bring the AI features to anyone who subscribed to Google Photos in the future as they have with other features in the past!
Staying with the s23
*Can't change the resolution on the camera 📸*
I guess I should have got that Pro
Yeah, you are stuck with 12.5MP photos unfortunately - however, for the majority of people in the majority of situations, that's not going to matter. However, another example of Google software blocking features that the Pixel 8's hardware is capable of, which is disappointing!
@@arranpbrown sigh.
I'll get through it
overpriced . samsung device will be the best this year and will provide the best hardware out there with the same price range .
Fair play - will be interesting to see what Samsung comes out with and how it compares to the Pixel 8!
I have clear cases lol to show mine off gonna get film screen protector to try lol as tempted glass hasn't been that great so lol
Nice one! I find that clear cases often age really badly, plus you can see the dirt and dust inside them, but it is good to be able to see the phone's design! Agreed - the glass can scratch pretty easily in certain situations - I've got a little knick on mine, but it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it. Thanks for watching!
@@arranpbrown yeah and dealing with horrible halo effects to so figured I'd try films instead so far I keep my phone clean lol clean hands wipe it down one case is clear with white mandala and other is clear with purple ish flowers so lol I do want 1 that matches this skin tone yo mine as well so lol
I just have a 20.000 mah 55w power bank with me so it will be good for me :D
Haha, if you're happy carrying that everywhere with you then you'll be fine 🤣. Thanks for the comment! 😁
Got mine on an amazing deal so
Unfortunatelly, still its battery life is extremely bad. You can leave phone just lay on table and its dicharge rate is over 2,5% per hour (with active dual SIMs and WiFI, no 3rd party apps in background). Based on battery menu section - main part is eating processor and Mobile network (but it was whole time on WiFi). This is really extremely bad and big problem! Unfortunatelly, I cant recommend that phone, until it will be somehow repaired (hope, its just SW flaw)...