Google Pixel 8

At Rs. 163,999, the Google Pixel 8 is good value for buyers who care most about photos, clean software and long support, and weaker value for anyone who games heavily.

Its strengths are a bright 120Hz OLED screen, a consistent 50MP main camera, IP68 dust and water protection and seven years of updates. Its weaknesses are a Tensor G3 chip that runs warm, average battery life and stereo speakers that do not get very loud.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro costs Rs. 253,999 for the same chip and main camera, plus a telephoto lens and bigger battery. Verdict: the Pixel 8 is the smarter buy for most people, as long as gaming performance is not a priority.

The Pixel 8 has a 6.2-inch OLED panel at 1080 x 2400 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2000 nits peak brightness. It is easy to read outdoors, and automatic brightness behaves well.

Colours are accurate and viewing angles are good. HDR shows on streaming apps look rich, with good contrast in dark scenes. Scrolling and typing feel fluid, helped by excellent vibration feedback.

The panel is not LTPO: it switches between 60, 90 and 120Hz but cannot drop lower, so the always-on display costs more battery than on the Pro. The bezels are much slimmer than before; reports differ on whether a small chin is still noticeable. Gorilla Glass Victus protects the front.

The Google Tensor G3 (4nm) with 8GB RAM handles daily use well: apps open quickly, animations are smooth and multitasking is fine.

Gaming is the weak spot. Demanding 3D games struggle at the highest graphics settings, so low or medium settings give stable frame rates and cooler temperatures. In a 30-minute GPU stress run the phone drops to about 63% of its peak, well below rival flagship chips.

The phone gets warm with 5G, maps and camera use, and heavy photo editing can feel slow. Occasional bugs, such as a briefly unresponsive screen, have been reported. Signal is generally good, though it may drop more often during hotspot use, as the modem is a revised older design.

The 50MP main camera (f/1.7, OIS) is the highlight. Daylight photos are sharp with wide dynamic range, realistic colours and balanced contrast, and autofocus is fast. Processing can occasionally overdo HDR or smooth fine detail.

Portraits stand out for subject separation, skin tones and natural background blur, though portrait mode crops in by at least 1.5x. The 12MP ultrawide also handles dynamic range and exposure well. Indoor photos and selfies can look dark and over-contrasty.

Video reaches 4K 60fps on both the rear and selfie cameras, with smoother shadows than earlier Pixels. Stabilisation is strong in good light but shows blur and artefacts as light drops. Best Take, Magic Editor and Audio Magic Eraser add useful editing power, but Pro controls and full 50MP shots are reserved for the Pixel 8 Pro.

The Pixel 8 has a 4575 mAh battery. Real-world screen-on time is around six hours with normal use and closer to five hours with gaming or other heavy tasks. Light users will finish the day comfortably; heavy users may reach the charger by evening.

Wired charging is rated at 27W. A full charge takes about 1 hour 15 minutes with a fast USB-C PD charger, and Google quotes 50% in about 30 minutes. No charger is included in the box.

The phone also supports 18W wireless charging with Google's Pixel Stand (2nd gen) and reverse wireless charging.

The Pixel 8 launched with Android 14 and Google's clean Pixel interface. Google's official policy promises seven years of updates from the date it first went on sale on the US Google Store, covering OS versions, security patches and feature drops.

Useful features include song recognition on the always-on display, flight details on the lock screen, natural-sounding read-aloud for web pages, conversation-mode translation and AI-generated wallpapers that theme the whole interface.

Limitations matter too. Magic Editor and AI wallpapers need an internet connection, and some Assistant features launched only in the US, so availability in Pakistan may differ. A few camera features are software-locked to the Pro model.