Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 8 Pro: What’s new and should you upgrade?

Google’s recent flagship Android phones have been winners, with the Pixel 7 Pro demonstrating how far the company has come in just a few short years. With the Pixel 8 Pro, the company adds even more to its top-of-the-line phone without overextending the asking price. Is the premium justified? Find out below in our Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 8 Pro showdown.

The Pixel 8 Pro brings several new features to Google’s flagship phone. Let’s briefly touch on the hardware differences.

The new phone packs a much brighter display than the Pixel 7 Pro, with a 2,400 nits maximum brightness level versus 1,500 nits managed by its predecessor. This should make the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen more legible in bright environments.

You’ll find a new infrared thermometer at the rear of the Pixel 8 Pro. This little sensor powers the Object Thermometer feature, allowing users to measure the temperature of a mug of coffee, surfaces, and other environmental objects using their phones. Google says the sensor may eventually measure a user’s body temperature, which they can log to Fitbit if they don’t own a Google Pixel Watch 2. However, it’s waiting on FDA approval. It seems pretty gimmicky, but we’ll see how this feature’s usefulness evolves. The Pixel 7 Pro misses out on any temperature sensor tech.

The Pixel 8 Pro also gets a Face Unlock boost — a welcome improvement after our harrowing experiences with the Pixel 7 Pro’s equivalent. Google notes that the new feature is of the highest Android biometric class and allows users to make payments. It’s unclear if this feature could come to the Pixel 7 Pro, but Google says it is limited to the new phones “today.”

The upgraded cameras are one of the bigger upgrades on the Pixel 8 Pro. You’ll notice no changes to the rear sensor sizes, with a 50MP main, 48MP wide, and 48MP telephoto on the Pixel 8 Pro’s rear. However, they can now accommodate more light than before, thanks to larger apertures. Google claims the main camera allows 21% more light than the Pixel 7 Pro’s main camera. This camera made the Pixel 7 Pro one of the best camera phones on the market; a more sensitive sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro can only yield improvements. Notably, the new telephoto lens lets in 56% more light, which Google believes should reduce jitter and up zoom quality. Finally, the new ultrawide can play with 105% more light than the equivalent camera on the Pixel 7 Pro. It appears that the Pixel 8 Pro should be the best camera phone Google has produced, but we’ll have to draw our own conclusions once it’s in for review.

Alongside the camera hardware changes, buyers also get some welcome software additions. Google adds Real Tone, Audio Magic Eraser, and Video Boost features for videographers. These features adjust skin tone, allow users to remove specific segments of background audio, and improve video quality using cloud computing, respectively. The latter feature is coming later this year. Judging by the need for the Tensor G3 chipset, the latter seems unlikely to land on the Tensor G2-powered Pixel 7 Pro. Notably, the Google Tensor G3 chipset will eventually power a Summarize feature coming to Google Recorder, which will employ the chipset’s LLM for offline processing. For now, the Pixel 8 Pro debuts with a web summary feature, Google Assistant improvements, and Gboard voice typing updates.

Of course, software is only as good as the update policy behind it, and the latest Pixel is the first to challenge Apple’s iPhone update support duration. With the Pixel 8 Pro, Google is one-upping every other Android OEM and its previous promises with seven years of OS upgrades and security patches. This eclipses the three years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches the Pixel 7 Pro promises. The Pixel 8 Pro is now the best-supported Android phone on the market.

Google keeps the design across the two Pixel generations remarkably similar, but there is one striking difference. You’ll notice the camera bar on the Pixel 8 Pro now includes a larger lens cutout, swallowing up the third sensor that was previously separate on the Pixel 7 Pro. Oddly enough, this makes the Pixel 8 Pro’s rear feel a little crooked, especially in the Porcelain colorway. Even so, the unique design streak continues. You’ll also notice that both phones make room for a flash on the camera bar, but the Pixel 8 Pro has an additional sensor beneath it. This is the infrared thermometer employed in the phone’s Object Temperature feature.

Google continues to use Gorilla Glass all around. The Pixel 8 Pro’s design bears a matte Victus 2 finish, which feels pleasantly silky and isn’t as prone to fingerprints as the Pixel 7 Pro’s shiny Victus 1 sheath. It’s a nice improvement and should mean you needn’t worry about unsightly paw prints on your device. Nevertheless, we’d still recommend you get a good Pixel 8 Pro case to keep the phone knick-free.

Up front, there’s another significant change. The Pixel 8 Pro’s display is now completely flat, discarding the tapered edges found on the Pixel 7 Pro. Again, it’s a small tweak that many users will appreciate. It should also make applying a screen protector an absolute dream compared to its predecessor.

Beyond these changes, the two phones practically share dimensions, button placements,  and screen sizes.

Google’s 2022 flagship launched on October 6, with sales starting on October 13, 2022. It was priced at $899, which made it one of the cheapest fully-fledged flagships in the market that year. You can now find it deeply discounted, further cementing it as a solid value proposition.

Colors on offer include Hazel, Obsidian, and Snow.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro launched on October 4, with preorders going live the same day in core Pixel launch regions. General availability is penned for October 12, 2023, but whichever way you purchase it, you’ll need at least $999. That makes it $100 more expensive than its predecessor but is now in line with rivals from Samsung and Apple.

Colors on offer include Obsidian Black, Porcelain, and Bay (light blue).

It’s a tough task deciding which of these Google phones boast the better price-performance ratio. By virtue of being nearly a year older, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is by far the cheapest of the two devices. We were impressed by its photographic prowess, build quality, and unique aesthetics when we reviewed it, even though it was often slow to charge and ran a little warm under pressure. Has Google solved these issues with the Pixel 8 Pro? Maximum charging speed sees a marginal buff, while it’s too early to say if the Tensor G3 runs cooler than its predecessor. The Pixel 7 Pro still looks the better buy, especially when factoring in the Pixel 8 Pro’s $100 launch price premium. By this logic, we still recommend the Pixel 7 Pro for those craving a Google flagship at a reduced price.

However, if you’re joining the Pixel party from another phone manufacturer or are looking to upgrade from a much older Pixel device, the Pixel 8 Pro brings upgrades where it matters. We love the new anti-fingerprint rear finish, the upgraded cameras, the improved Face Unlock performance and security, and the seven-year upgrade commitment from Google. The Pixel 8 Pro is a long-term investment that will improve over time. For this alone, we think the $100 premium isn’t too steep an ask from Google.

Do you feel the same? Which phone do you think wins the Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 8 Pro duel? Let us know by voting in the poll below.