Phones Google Pixel 8/8 Pro

[Vegastouch]

Not true. I have used Android right back to the Nexus 5. I've had many Android phones since, Google, Samsung and OnePlus amongst others. I have also had most of the iPhones back to the first generation. I feel neutral in the Android/iOS debate but the fundamental paradigm for both is that you have an icon representing an app and you click on it to launch the app. You're right that there is no right or wrong way, but given the relatively small screen of our mobile devices and thinking about the number of taps it takes to achieve something my choice is to have my most used apps just one or two taps away. I don't want to stare at an image and then have to dig down to find the app.

Well I don't stare at it lol.

And dig isn't a word I'd use. I just swipe left to the next page that takes 1 second if i need something else...like Google search. I dont have it on my main homescreen(i dont use Pixel launcher), or i can just hold the power button to bring it up.

I mean really how many apps do you use daily?

I'd bet you don't use half those apps on a regular basis....but if you do, again, to each their own and you are one busy guy. You do you. Freedom of choice is great.
I just don't like clutter and that Apple forces us to do that. I stopped using them 10 years ago.

 

[slitherjef]

Meanwhile as I mull over which line to use this device on and if I want to unlock the bootloader and possibly root (and go through the pita of keeping the thing updated...) The thoughts of just canceling the needless order I did a little while ago

Why? Well I really didn't *need* this thing or the pixel buds (figured I'd damage the watch in short order at work)... My pixel 2xl still kind of works cracked screen and such ...

 

[magicman32]

I finally found it.

Yeah I missed a step in there, Network/internet, sorry about that lol

 

[nospleen]

Meanwhile as I mull over which line to use this device on and if I want to unlock the bootloader and possibly root (and go through the pita of keeping the thing updated...) The thoughts of just canceling the needless order I did a little while ago

Why? Well I really didn't *need* this thing or the pixel buds (figured I'd damage the watch in short order at work)... My pixel 2xl still kind of works cracked screen and such ...

I am all about being responsible with money and making good choices. BUT, with that said, I was once mulling over a purchase. Looking back, it was not something I needed, nor was it going to change my financial situation negatively in any manner and I was obsessing over the decision. I was chatting with a buddy, who clearly grasped that I was overthinking. As he got up to walk out of my office, he stopped at the door and turned around said, “I don’t think you should get it, you can always have fun in your next life!” He turned and walked away and i placed my order, lol…

I say leave your order and if you like it, keep it. If not, you can return. Just my .02!

 

[Aneres11]

Right, it’s been enough time now for me to give my thoughts on the Pixel 8 Pro so far.

Probably not as in depth a post as I normally do when I pick up a new phone, as this is very much a refinement on what was there before and a lot of the changes / improvements have already been discussed or I have posted about.

The hardware. Much improved. The phone feels really good in the hand, but I never felt like the Pixel 7 didn’t. The small tweaks with the rounder corners, frosted back and flat screen just make it that much better to me.
Unfortunately, Google still didn’t get the memo about the polished surround and camera bar. That is one area that just needs to go. Or, they need a different material.

I am trying to imagine what an all matte finish would look like (back glass and camera visor) and I think it might look a bit cheap? I do think they need to find a solution to this though as it is an absolute finger print and scratch magnet.
Also, I absolutely do not do skins, so wouldn’t entertain one on a phone. For me, it just completely cheapens the look 😬.

If there were a list of things I wanted to see an improvement with on my Pixel 7 Pro, it was the following:

- Flat screen
- Better battery
- Brighter display
- Dolby Atmos

Google have absolutely delivered on 3 of those things. The top 3 - all good. And the phone is so much better for it.
The change to the display alone making it flat and also brighter is good enough reason for me to upgrade. But the improved battery life is amazing. Unless you choose to run the screen at full resolution…
The phone is set to ‘high resolution’ out of the box, something I didn’t even notice until a few days in when I was digging through the menus.

I changed the display to ‘full resolution’ a few days back (1344 x 2992) and there was a HUGE hit to my battery life. I think I ended the day with less than 4 hours SoT which was a massive difference to what I was getting with this setting knocked off.

Thankfully, I can’t notice a difference with full resolution on, so I just kept it turned off and my battery was back to being great again.

The brighter display has been a winner and is such an upgrade. I can’t stress enough how welcome this is, particularly when using the device in bright sunshine outdoors.

Dolby Atmos, though. Oh Google. Why do you not care about people who enjoy listening to music?! I wouldn’t exactly call myself an audiophile, but I do like to listen to music in the highest quality I can because when I have experienced good quality play back in the past, I can then really notice when it’s bad. Or
It’s part of the reason I have started to enjoy using an iPhone so much in recent times as Apple have that down. Of course, you have to use Apple’s products to get the benefit (because, Apple), but music does sound fantastic. It’s just a shame Apple Music’s recommendations are soooo bad vs Spotify.

To Add to my music woes, I have been using Apple Music on my Android and Apple devices recently, and because I stream and download in hi-res lossless, I always download any heavy rotation albums or playlists so when I am in my car I don’t have any long periods of silence because I have no signal to load the song (which happens A LOT by the way). I don’t live in a city, so there’s lots of black spots on my drive to work, to the tennis club etc.
However, I am now faced with this:

I’ve done some Googling, and the only way to remove devices attached to your account is to use a Mac or PC. Well, I don’t have either of those things. I have an iPad Pro I use as my computer (with Magic Keyboard), so how do Apple expect me to delink devices? Every time I start to warm to Apple they throw something at me that p*sses me off and makes me remember why I’ve favoured Android for so long. I may be missing something here, but from Google searching I am not sure I am.

The tensor 3 chip seems fine to me, but then again, tensor 2 was fine to me too. I think the internet has a lot to answer for in making it out like Googles chips are terrible. I don’t doubt that all of these geekbench tests (I mean, who even cares about these things?) will show that the iPhone and Samsung phones are quicker at loading 100 apps and then closing and then loading again (or whatever the hell it is these people do), but quite honestly I could not care less.
The phone is not slow. It is not laggy. But it’s something for people to grab on to when they need to defend their faves, as we see a lot on these forums when the sheep sometimes find themselves in here.
Put it this way, my 15 Pro Max has reset itself out of the blue 4 times since I’ve had it. My Pixel hasn’t done that once…

I guess one thing to mention now is the ‘eco system’ Google seems to have thrown its weight into creating.
The Pixel Watch remains a great product to me. I just like how it looks. I love the bands, I want even more of them.
Next year is the year they do 2 sizes of the Watch IMO. If they end up scrapping this design for one bigger design, I will riot, and blame all of you fat wrist people for moaning the last 2 years about it being small .
I think Google are onto a good thing with the buds, the watch and the phone. The tablet… the less said about that the better for me.

The camera remains great. A reliable camera in pretty much all occasions.
I know I have posted some comparisons to the 15 PM and I am still a bit surprised that the iPhone appears to hold its own to the Pixel, with me often favouring the iPhones output. Something I did not expect to happen.
And I think this is where there has been a bit of a shift in my preference of what device I would rather use day to day.
For me, as most people know, I want a great camera. I know for some, it isn’t top of the wish list when buying a phone. It’s right up there on mine. The fact that music and phone photography are two of the biggest things I use on my phone, I do start to lean towards sticking with the 15 PM.

Some pics I have taken. Had very little opportunity to use the camera yet, sadly.

Some zoom shots testing the full range. 1x, 2 x, 5x, 10x, 30x.

It’s a shame I couldn’t carry my iPhone with me too in order to do direct comparison shots.

I have to mention the haptics. I know I mentioned it the day I got the phone and how good they were and that remains the case! The 7 Pro’s were good, these just feel even better - if that were even possible!
When I pick up my iPhone and start to type with it, it feels mushy and pointless them even being switched on.
I also love the buzz of the haptics throughout the OS. Swiping up to the app draw - little nudge to your hand. Same when swiping down to your notifications / quick settings. Same thing when swiping back. Really nice.

So here I am now, left wondering whether to continue trying to dual run two high end devices (which I already know just doesn’t work for me), or, just pick one.
Right now, I can’t decide between them. I love the Pixel Watch and 8 Pro combo. But I hate that I have no Android Auto on my Mini (not the phones fault, stupid BMW) and I really miss Apple CarPlay, and I miss having Dolby Atmos.

I am going to purely keep using the Pixel this week and then I may switch back to the 15PM and see how I fare.

Right now though, one thing I can say is that the 8 Pro is a fantastic phone. So much better than the 7 Pro, and I didn’t even really think it could get that much better as I loved using that for the last year. The small improvements have added up and I haven’t even touched on the capabilities the AI gives which I am sure will continue to push the phone forward. One thing on AI though - I LOVE the wallpaper creator. I just wish you were not subject to a couple of choices Google have already set. It would be great to ask for ANY type of wallpaper in any colour way.
But the wallpapers it can produce are so cool!

Game changer!!

I said this was going to be a shorter post than I normally do… 😂, sorry about that! When I get started I obviously can’t stop.

TLDR: Great phone. Much improved.

 

[Bkdodger]

Right, it’s been enough time now for me to give my thoughts on the Pixel 8 Pro so far.

Probably not as in depth a post as I normally do when I pick up a new phone, as this is very much a refinement on what was there before and a lot of the changes / improvements have already been discussed or I have posted about.

The hardware. Much improved. The phone feels really good in the hand, but I never felt like the Pixel 7 didn’t. The small tweaks with the rounder corners, frosted back and flat screen just make it that much better to me.
Unfortunately, Google still didn’t get the memo about the polished surround and camera bar. That is one area that just needs to go. Or, they need a different material.

View attachment 2296023

I am trying to imagine what an all matte finish would look like (back glass and camera visor) and I think it might look a bit cheap? I do think they need to find a solution to this though as it is an absolute finger print and scratch magnet.
Also, I absolutely do not do skins, so wouldn’t entertain one on a phone. For me, it just completely cheapens the look .

If there were a list of things I wanted to see an improvement with on my Pixel 7 Pro, it was the following:

- Flat screen
- Better battery
- Brighter display
- Dolby Atmos

Google have absolutely delivered on 3 of those things. The top 3 - all good. And the phone is so much better for it.
The change to the display alone making it flat and also brighter is good enough reason for me to upgrade. But the improved battery life is amazing. Unless you choose to run the screen at full resolution…
The phone is set to ‘high resolution’ out of the box, something I didn’t even notice until a few days in when I was digging through the menus.

View attachment 2296024

I changed the display to ‘full resolution’ a few days back (1344 x 2992) and there was a HUGE hit to my battery life. I think I ended the day with less than 4 hours SoT which was a massive difference to what I was getting with this setting knocked off.

Thankfully, I can’t notice a difference with full resolution on, so I just kept it turned off and my battery was back to being great again.

The brighter display has been a winner and is such an upgrade. I can’t stress enough how welcome this is, particularly when using the device in bright sunshine outdoors.

View attachment 2296025

Dolby Atmos, though. Oh Google. Why do you not care about people who enjoy listening to music?! I wouldn’t exactly call myself an audiophile, but I do like to listen to music in the highest quality I can because when I have experienced good quality play back in the past, I can then really notice when it’s bad. Or
It’s part of the reason I have started to enjoy using an iPhone so much in recent times as Apple have that down. Of course, you have to use Apple’s products to get the benefit (because, Apple), but music does sound fantastic. It’s just a shame Apple Music’s recommendations are soooo bad vs Spotify.

To Add to my music woes, I have been using Apple Music on my Android and Apple devices recently, and because I stream and download in hi-res lossless, I always download any heavy rotation albums or playlists so when I am in my car I don’t have any long periods of silence because I have no signal to load the song (which happens A LOT by the way). I don’t live in a city, so there’s lots of black spots on my drive to work, to the tennis club etc.
However, I am now faced with this:

View attachment 2296028

I’ve done some Googling, and the only way to remove devices attached to your account is to use a Mac or PC. Well, I don’t have either of those things. I have an iPad Pro I use as my computer (with Magic Keyboard), so how do Apple expect me to delink devices? Every time I start to warm to Apple they throw something at me that p*sses me off and makes me remember why I’ve favoured Android for so long. I may be missing something here, but from Google searching I am not sure I am.

The tensor 3 chip seems fine to me, but then again, tensor 2 was fine to me too. I think the internet has a lot to answer for in making it out like Googles chips are terrible. I don’t doubt that all of these geekbench tests (I mean, who even cares about these things?) will show that the iPhone and Samsung phones are quicker at loading 100 apps and then closing and then loading again (or whatever the hell it is these people do), but quite honestly I could not care less.
The phone is not slow. It is not laggy. But it’s something for people to grab on to when they need to defend their faves, as we see a lot on these forums when the sheep sometimes find themselves in here.
Put it this way, my 15 Pro Max has reset itself out of the blue 4 times since I’ve had it. My Pixel hasn’t done that once…

I guess one thing to mention now is the ‘eco system’ Google seems to have thrown its weight into creating.
The Pixel Watch remains a great product to me. I just like how it looks. I love the bands, I want even more of them.
Next year is the year they do 2 sizes of the Watch IMO. If they end up scrapping this design for one bigger design, I will riot, and blame all of you fat wrist people for moaning the last 2 years about it being small .
I think Google are onto a good thing with the buds, the watch and the phone. The tablet… the less said about that the better for me.

View attachment 2296047

The camera remains great. A reliable camera in pretty much all occasions.
I know I have posted some comparisons to the 15 PM and I am still a bit surprised that the iPhone appears to hold its own to the Pixel, with me often favouring the iPhones output. Something I did not expect to happen.
And I think this is where there has been a bit of a shift in my preference of what device I would rather use day to day.
For me, as most people know, I want a great camera. I know for some, it isn’t top of the wish list when buying a phone. It’s right up there on mine. The fact that music and phone photography are two of the biggest things I use on my phone, I do start to lean towards sticking with the 15 PM.

Some pics I have taken. Had very little opportunity to use the camera yet, sadly.

View attachment 2296054

View attachment 2296061



View attachment 2296060

Some zoom shots testing the full range. 1x, 2 x, 5x, 10x, 30x.

View attachment 2296057

View attachment 2296056

View attachment 2296064

View attachment 2296063

View attachment 2296055

View attachment 2296059

View attachment 2296058


It’s a shame I couldn’t carry my iPhone with me too in order to do direct comparison shots.

I have to mention the haptics. I know I mentioned it the day I got the phone and how good they were and that remains the case! The 7 Pro’s were good, these just feel even better - if that were even possible!
When I pick up my iPhone and start to type with it, it feels mushy and pointless them even being switched on.
I also love the buzz of the haptics throughout the OS. Swiping up to the app draw - little nudge to your hand. Same when swiping down to your notifications / quick settings. Same thing when swiping back. Really nice.

So here I am now, left wondering whether to continue trying to dual run two high end devices (which I already know just doesn’t work for me), or, just pick one.
Right now, I can’t decide between them. I love the Pixel Watch and 8 Pro combo. But I hate that I have no Android Auto on my Mini (not the phones fault, stupid BMW) and I really miss Apple CarPlay, and I miss having Dolby Atmos.

I am going to purely keep using the Pixel this week and then I may switch back to the 15PM and see how I fare.

Right now though, one thing I can say is that the 8 Pro is a fantastic phone. So much better than the 7 Pro, and I didn’t even really think it could get that much better as I loved using that for the last year. The small improvements have added up and I haven’t even touched on the capabilities the AI gives which I am sure will continue to push the phone forward. One thing on AI though - I LOVE the wallpaper creator. I just wish you were not subject to a couple of choices Google have already set. It would be great to ask for ANY type of wallpaper in any colour way.
But the wallpapers it can produce are so cool!

View attachment 2296069

View attachment 2296070

Game changer!!

I said this was going to be a shorter post than I normally do… , sorry about that! When I get started I obviously can’t stop.

TLDR: Great phone. Much improved.

I’m glad you didn’t go with the shorter post .. some really excellent point of views and observation… and I really hope you stay with the two phone family

 

[jamezr]

Right, it’s been enough time now for me to give my thoughts on the Pixel 8 Pro so far.

Probably not as in depth a post as I normally do when I pick up a new phone, as this is very much a refinement on what was there before and a lot of the changes / improvements have already been discussed or I have posted about.

The hardware. Much improved. The phone feels really good in the hand, but I never felt like the Pixel 7 didn’t. The small tweaks with the rounder corners, frosted back and flat screen just make it that much better to me.
Unfortunately, Google still didn’t get the memo about the polished surround and camera bar. That is one area that just needs to go. Or, they need a different material.

View attachment 2296023

I am trying to imagine what an all matte finish would look like (back glass and camera visor) and I think it might look a bit cheap? I do think they need to find a solution to this though as it is an absolute finger print and scratch magnet.
Also, I absolutely do not do skins, so wouldn’t entertain one on a phone. For me, it just completely cheapens the look 😬.

If there were a list of things I wanted to see an improvement with on my Pixel 7 Pro, it was the following:

- Flat screen
- Better battery
- Brighter display
- Dolby Atmos

Google have absolutely delivered on 3 of those things. The top 3 - all good. And the phone is so much better for it.
The change to the display alone making it flat and also brighter is good enough reason for me to upgrade. But the improved battery life is amazing. Unless you choose to run the screen at full resolution…
The phone is set to ‘high resolution’ out of the box, something I didn’t even notice until a few days in when I was digging through the menus.

View attachment 2296024

I changed the display to ‘full resolution’ a few days back (1344 x 2992) and there was a HUGE hit to my battery life. I think I ended the day with less than 4 hours SoT which was a massive difference to what I was getting with this setting knocked off.

Thankfully, I can’t notice a difference with full resolution on, so I just kept it turned off and my battery was back to being great again.

The brighter display has been a winner and is such an upgrade. I can’t stress enough how welcome this is, particularly when using the device in bright sunshine outdoors.

View attachment 2296025

Dolby Atmos, though. Oh Google. Why do you not care about people who enjoy listening to music?! I wouldn’t exactly call myself an audiophile, but I do like to listen to music in the highest quality I can because when I have experienced good quality play back in the past, I can then really notice when it’s bad. Or
It’s part of the reason I have started to enjoy using an iPhone so much in recent times as Apple have that down. Of course, you have to use Apple’s products to get the benefit (because, Apple), but music does sound fantastic. It’s just a shame Apple Music’s recommendations are soooo bad vs Spotify.

To Add to my music woes, I have been using Apple Music on my Android and Apple devices recently, and because I stream and download in hi-res lossless, I always download any heavy rotation albums or playlists so when I am in my car I don’t have any long periods of silence because I have no signal to load the song (which happens A LOT by the way). I don’t live in a city, so there’s lots of black spots on my drive to work, to the tennis club etc.
However, I am now faced with this:

View attachment 2296028

I’ve done some Googling, and the only way to remove devices attached to your account is to use a Mac or PC. Well, I don’t have either of those things. I have an iPad Pro I use as my computer (with Magic Keyboard), so how do Apple expect me to delink devices? Every time I start to warm to Apple they throw something at me that p*sses me off and makes me remember why I’ve favoured Android for so long. I may be missing something here, but from Google searching I am not sure I am.

The tensor 3 chip seems fine to me, but then again, tensor 2 was fine to me too. I think the internet has a lot to answer for in making it out like Googles chips are terrible. I don’t doubt that all of these geekbench tests (I mean, who even cares about these things?) will show that the iPhone and Samsung phones are quicker at loading 100 apps and then closing and then loading again (or whatever the hell it is these people do), but quite honestly I could not care less.
The phone is not slow. It is not laggy. But it’s something for people to grab on to when they need to defend their faves, as we see a lot on these forums when the sheep sometimes find themselves in here.
Put it this way, my 15 Pro Max has reset itself out of the blue 4 times since I’ve had it. My Pixel hasn’t done that once…

I guess one thing to mention now is the ‘eco system’ Google seems to have thrown its weight into creating.
The Pixel Watch remains a great product to me. I just like how it looks. I love the bands, I want even more of them.
Next year is the year they do 2 sizes of the Watch IMO. If they end up scrapping this design for one bigger design, I will riot, and blame all of you fat wrist people for moaning the last 2 years about it being small .
I think Google are onto a good thing with the buds, the watch and the phone. The tablet… the less said about that the better for me.

View attachment 2296047

The camera remains great. A reliable camera in pretty much all occasions.
I know I have posted some comparisons to the 15 PM and I am still a bit surprised that the iPhone appears to hold its own to the Pixel, with me often favouring the iPhones output. Something I did not expect to happen.
And I think this is where there has been a bit of a shift in my preference of what device I would rather use day to day.
For me, as most people know, I want a great camera. I know for some, it isn’t top of the wish list when buying a phone. It’s right up there on mine. The fact that music and phone photography are two of the biggest things I use on my phone, I do start to lean towards sticking with the 15 PM.

Some pics I have taken. Had very little opportunity to use the camera yet, sadly.

View attachment 2296054

View attachment 2296061



View attachment 2296060

Some zoom shots testing the full range. 1x, 2 x, 5x, 10x, 30x.

View attachment 2296057

View attachment 2296056

View attachment 2296064

View attachment 2296063

View attachment 2296055

View attachment 2296059

View attachment 2296058


It’s a shame I couldn’t carry my iPhone with me too in order to do direct comparison shots.

I have to mention the haptics. I know I mentioned it the day I got the phone and how good they were and that remains the case! The 7 Pro’s were good, these just feel even better - if that were even possible!
When I pick up my iPhone and start to type with it, it feels mushy and pointless them even being switched on.
I also love the buzz of the haptics throughout the OS. Swiping up to the app draw - little nudge to your hand. Same when swiping down to your notifications / quick settings. Same thing when swiping back. Really nice.

So here I am now, left wondering whether to continue trying to dual run two high end devices (which I already know just doesn’t work for me), or, just pick one.
Right now, I can’t decide between them. I love the Pixel Watch and 8 Pro combo. But I hate that I have no Android Auto on my Mini (not the phones fault, stupid BMW) and I really miss Apple CarPlay, and I miss having Dolby Atmos.

I am going to purely keep using the Pixel this week and then I may switch back to the 15PM and see how I fare.

Right now though, one thing I can say is that the 8 Pro is a fantastic phone. So much better than the 7 Pro, and I didn’t even really think it could get that much better as I loved using that for the last year. The small improvements have added up and I haven’t even touched on the capabilities the AI gives which I am sure will continue to push the phone forward. One thing on AI though - I LOVE the wallpaper creator. I just wish you were not subject to a couple of choices Google have already set. It would be great to ask for ANY type of wallpaper in any colour way.
But the wallpapers it can produce are so cool!

View attachment 2296069

View attachment 2296070

Game changer!!

I said this was going to be a shorter post than I normally do… 😂, sorry about that! When I get started I obviously can’t stop.

TLDR: Great phone. Much improved.

Great post! Thanks for the very insightful thoughts!
I am on fence as well between the P8P and 15PM for the camera. I find the gap for the Pixel camera lead has shrunk a little or evened out imho.

 

[Vegastouch]

Right, it’s been enough time now for me to give my thoughts on the Pixel 8 Pro so far.

Probably not as in depth a post as I normally do when I pick up a new phone, as this is very much a refinement on what was there before and a lot of the changes / improvements have already been discussed or I have posted about.

The hardware. Much improved. The phone feels really good in the hand, but I never felt like the Pixel 7 didn’t. The small tweaks with the rounder corners, frosted back and flat screen just make it that much better to me.
Unfortunately, Google still didn’t get the memo about the polished surround and camera bar. That is one area that just needs to go. Or, they need a different material.

View attachment 2296023

I am trying to imagine what an all matte finish would look like (back glass and camera visor) and I think it might look a bit cheap? I do think they need to find a solution to this though as it is an absolute finger print and scratch magnet.
Also, I absolutely do not do skins, so wouldn’t entertain one on a phone. For me, it just completely cheapens the look 😬.

If there were a list of things I wanted to see an improvement with on my Pixel 7 Pro, it was the following:

- Flat screen
- Better battery
- Brighter display
- Dolby Atmos

Google have absolutely delivered on 3 of those things. The top 3 - all good. And the phone is so much better for it.
The change to the display alone making it flat and also brighter is good enough reason for me to upgrade. But the improved battery life is amazing. Unless you choose to run the screen at full resolution…
The phone is set to ‘high resolution’ out of the box, something I didn’t even notice until a few days in when I was digging through the menus.

View attachment 2296024

I changed the display to ‘full resolution’ a few days back (1344 x 2992) and there was a HUGE hit to my battery life. I think I ended the day with less than 4 hours SoT which was a massive difference to what I was getting with this setting knocked off.

Thankfully, I can’t notice a difference with full resolution on, so I just kept it turned off and my battery was back to being great again.

The brighter display has been a winner and is such an upgrade. I can’t stress enough how welcome this is, particularly when using the device in bright sunshine outdoors.

View attachment 2296025

Dolby Atmos, though. Oh Google. Why do you not care about people who enjoy listening to music?! I wouldn’t exactly call myself an audiophile, but I do like to listen to music in the highest quality I can because when I have experienced good quality play back in the past, I can then really notice when it’s bad. Or
It’s part of the reason I have started to enjoy using an iPhone so much in recent times as Apple have that down. Of course, you have to use Apple’s products to get the benefit (because, Apple), but music does sound fantastic. It’s just a shame Apple Music’s recommendations are soooo bad vs Spotify.

To Add to my music woes, I have been using Apple Music on my Android and Apple devices recently, and because I stream and download in hi-res lossless, I always download any heavy rotation albums or playlists so when I am in my car I don’t have any long periods of silence because I have no signal to load the song (which happens A LOT by the way). I don’t live in a city, so there’s lots of black spots on my drive to work, to the tennis club etc.
However, I am now faced with this:

View attachment 2296028

I’ve done some Googling, and the only way to remove devices attached to your account is to use a Mac or PC. Well, I don’t have either of those things. I have an iPad Pro I use as my computer (with Magic Keyboard), so how do Apple expect me to delink devices? Every time I start to warm to Apple they throw something at me that p*sses me off and makes me remember why I’ve favoured Android for so long. I may be missing something here, but from Google searching I am not sure I am.

The tensor 3 chip seems fine to me, but then again, tensor 2 was fine to me too. I think the internet has a lot to answer for in making it out like Googles chips are terrible. I don’t doubt that all of these geekbench tests (I mean, who even cares about these things?) will show that the iPhone and Samsung phones are quicker at loading 100 apps and then closing and then loading again (or whatever the hell it is these people do), but quite honestly I could not care less.
The phone is not slow. It is not laggy. But it’s something for people to grab on to when they need to defend their faves, as we see a lot on these forums when the sheep sometimes find themselves in here.
Put it this way, my 15 Pro Max has reset itself out of the blue 4 times since I’ve had it. My Pixel hasn’t done that once…

I guess one thing to mention now is the ‘eco system’ Google seems to have thrown its weight into creating.
The Pixel Watch remains a great product to me. I just like how it looks. I love the bands, I want even more of them.
Next year is the year they do 2 sizes of the Watch IMO. If they end up scrapping this design for one bigger design, I will riot, and blame all of you fat wrist people for moaning the last 2 years about it being small .
I think Google are onto a good thing with the buds, the watch and the phone. The tablet… the less said about that the better for me.

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The camera remains great. A reliable camera in pretty much all occasions.
I know I have posted some comparisons to the 15 PM and I am still a bit surprised that the iPhone appears to hold its own to the Pixel, with me often favouring the iPhones output. Something I did not expect to happen.
And I think this is where there has been a bit of a shift in my preference of what device I would rather use day to day.
For me, as most people know, I want a great camera. I know for some, it isn’t top of the wish list when buying a phone. It’s right up there on mine. The fact that music and phone photography are two of the biggest things I use on my phone, I do start to lean towards sticking with the 15 PM.

Some pics I have taken. Had very little opportunity to use the camera yet, sadly.

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Some zoom shots testing the full range. 1x, 2 x, 5x, 10x, 30x.

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It’s a shame I couldn’t carry my iPhone with me too in order to do direct comparison shots.

I have to mention the haptics. I know I mentioned it the day I got the phone and how good they were and that remains the case! The 7 Pro’s were good, these just feel even better - if that were even possible!
When I pick up my iPhone and start to type with it, it feels mushy and pointless them even being switched on.
I also love the buzz of the haptics throughout the OS. Swiping up to the app draw - little nudge to your hand. Same when swiping down to your notifications / quick settings. Same thing when swiping back. Really nice.

So here I am now, left wondering whether to continue trying to dual run two high end devices (which I already know just doesn’t work for me), or, just pick one.
Right now, I can’t decide between them. I love the Pixel Watch and 8 Pro combo. But I hate that I have no Android Auto on my Mini (not the phones fault, stupid BMW) and I really miss Apple CarPlay, and I miss having Dolby Atmos.

I am going to purely keep using the Pixel this week and then I may switch back to the 15PM and see how I fare.

Right now though, one thing I can say is that the 8 Pro is a fantastic phone. So much better than the 7 Pro, and I didn’t even really think it could get that much better as I loved using that for the last year. The small improvements have added up and I haven’t even touched on the capabilities the AI gives which I am sure will continue to push the phone forward. One thing on AI though - I LOVE the wallpaper creator. I just wish you were not subject to a couple of choices Google have already set. It would be great to ask for ANY type of wallpaper in any colour way.
But the wallpapers it can produce are so cool!

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Game changer!!

I said this was going to be a shorter post than I normally do… 😂, sorry about that! When I get started I obviously can’t stop.

TLDR: Great phone. Much improved.

Good points and nice writeup....Hmmm, thats the short version eh? lol

I havent opened my Ear buds box as i might sell them so feedback on those would be nice if i decide to try them but the reviews have to be great for that to happen. I do have my Wifes buds up on Offerup and eBay right now to see if i get a bite. Ill leave them for a week, if nothing ill wait to try again.

That watch looks big on your wrist than what ive seen on say Flossy's wrist. Maybe you have small wrists? Just looks normal to me on your wrist but i dont like to wear a watch so no matter, but there are times i think about maybe trying one.

As for Apple....i dont understand why so many have a hard time leaving them for good lol. More reasons to as you state. I cant stand the restrictions and the PITA they make it to do things. I absolutely hated iTunes. Not sure if that even exists anymore.

I use Amazon Music and not sure how good it is compared to Spotify as i dont really use that either. I just know Amazon has HD, Ultra HD and HD Atmos files. Sounds good to me 🤷‍♂️.

One thing i cant notice a difference in is the 60 to 120 refresh. I know some say they can tell a difference but i cant. Not sure what they are seeing or maybe it is just the scrolling flow is better? IDK.

Im not a camera snob. I think it takes very good pics so i never try to compare or decide on a phone from the pics they take though if it was bad, id pass on a phone. Hec i think the Motorola flip pics are good enough from what ive seen and the Pixel has never dissapointed.

This P8 is a bit smaller than my P7 which is very noticable when i have them together. It is slightly thinner as well. Not a big deal. I dont like huge phones....but it is a bit bigger than my Wifes Galaxy S9, she likes that.

Anyways i agree. I like this one better than my P7. Was worth upgrading though i didnt get the Pro. I never do lol.

 

[Aneres11]

Good points and nice writeup....Hmmm, thats the short version eh? lol

I havent opened my Ear buds box as i might sell them so feedback on those would be nice if i decide to try them but the reviews have to be great for that to happen. I do have my Wifes buds up on Offerup and eBay right now to see if i get a bite. Ill leave them for a week, if nothing ill wait to try again.

That watch looks big on your wrist than what ive seen on say Flossy's wrist. Maybe you have small wrists? Just looks normal to me on your wrist but i dont like to wear a watch so no matter, but there are times i think about maybe trying one.

As for Apple....i dont understand why so many have a hard time leaving them for good lol. More reasons to as you state. I cant stand the restrictions and the PITA they make it to do things. I absolutely hated iTunes. Not sure if that even exists anymore.

I use Amazon Music and not sure how good it is compared to Spotify as i dont really use that either. I just know Amazon has HD, Ultra HD and HD Atmos files. Sounds good to me 🤷‍♂️.

One thing i cant notice a difference in is the 60 to 120 refresh. I know some say they can tell a difference but i cant. Not sure what they are seeing or maybe it is just the scrolling flow is better? IDK.

Im not a camera snob. I think it takes very good pics so i never try to compare or decide on a phone from the pics they take though if it was bad, id pass on a phone. Hec i think the Motorola flip pics are good enough from what ive seen and the Pixel has never dissapointed.

This P8 is a bit smaller than my P7 which is very noticable when i have them together. It is slightly thinner as well. Not a big deal. I dont like huge phones....but it is a bit bigger than my Wifes Galaxy S9, she likes that.

Anyways i agree. I like this one better than my P7. Was worth upgrading though i didnt get the Pro. I never do lol.

Yup I have really small wrists .
The Pixel Watch is basically the first time it's ever been a good thing in my eyes .

Re the Apple thing. It's not about leaving them in my case as I've been purely Android for years with the odd dabble into an iPhone again from time to time. But Pixel always wins out.
I went with the 15 PM when the Pixel Fold didn't work out for me and I really like the iPhone.
I guess where I am at is I could use either phone quite happily. Both have pros and cons but this year it's the iPhone that seems to have slightly more in the pro box. Like I said, it's generally due to Dolby Atmos, CarPlay and the fact the camera gap has closed as @jamezr said.
I do think when the planned updates come later in the year for Pixel (the zoom improvements etc) then maybe the pixel will leap ahead again. Who knows?!

 

[LiE_]

Those who have the Mous case, is it a grippy silicone material ? I'm finding the official Google case for my Pixel 8 too "sticky" currently which means it's a lint and dust magnetic going in and out of my pocket.

 

[Aneres11]

Those who have the Mous case, is it a grippy silicone material ? I'm finding the official Google case for my Pixel 8 too "sticky" currently which means it's a lint and dust magnetic going in and out of my pocket.

Nope. Not sticky at all. 👍🏻

 

[Tig Bitties]

I've heard there's a big battery difference in the display size settings full resolution vs. high resolution

If so? Is there a big image quality difference going to the lower res?

 

[Vegastouch]

Fingerprint sensor not working too well today 🙁. I don't know why they can't get this consistent!

 

[Fried_Gold]

Mine has been great, way better than the fold4 and any I used on iPhones over the years.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Let's see how this case is? Just placed the order;

Ringke Onyx [Feels Good in The Hand] Compatible with Google Pixel 8 Pro Case, Anti-Fingerprint Technology Prevents Oily Smudges Non-Slip Enhanced Grip Precise Cutouts for Camera Lenses - Black

The Ringke Onyx is the classic fan-favorite case! Unlike other rugged protection cases, Ringke Onyx is slim and lightweight to lessen the added weight and bulk on your device. This impressive design features a high-quality, flexible TPU material for heavy-duty defense. The precisely cut thermopla...

www.amazon.com

 

[magicman32]

Let's see how this case is? Just placed the order;

Ringke Onyx [Feels Good in The Hand] Compatible with Google Pixel 8 Pro Case, Anti-Fingerprint Technology Prevents Oily Smudges Non-Slip Enhanced Grip Precise Cutouts for Camera Lenses - Black

The Ringke Onyx is the classic fan-favorite case! Unlike other rugged protection cases, Ringke Onyx is slim and lightweight to lessen the added weight and bulk on your device. This impressive design features a high-quality, flexible TPU material for heavy-duty defense. The precisely cut thermopla...

www.amazon.com

Hilarious. Same exact case I have (I got blue). No phone for it yet though.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Hilarious. Same exact case I have (I got blue). No phone for it yet though.

Cool. Is it a thick or thinner case? Are the sides grippy feeling?

 

[Technerd108]

Has anyone found a decent tempered glass screen protector that doesn't lift up around the 2.5 curve on the display? I have bought two cheap ones and they are terrible.

 

[magicman32]

Cool. Is it a thick or thinner case? Are the sides grippy feeling?

I think it's plenty grippy. It's got this texture that goes almost the length of each side where you would hold it. I brute-forced my 7 Pro in there and it felt good. Back has a sandpaper kinda look but doesn't feel course. Gives a little grip there too. As thin a case you can get that will provide some protection.

I like it. Minimalist, not flashy.

 

[MaskedCarrot]

There isn't much more to say. The Spigen protectors have a black border around the protector which appears to sit over the phones bezel, giving the appearance that the phone has larger bezels because of it.

The review on Amazon say it, and it was my experience with it too. That's it.
If that doesn't bother you than whack it on and enjoy.

I bought another brand which came in yesterday. There's no border and it sits perfect and it was cheaper than the Spigen ones so that's why I posted to say think carefully before using the Spigen ones.

Are you talking about the amfilm ones from Amazon?

So those ones pretty good huh?

 

[Bkdodger]

Has anyone found a decent tempered glass screen protector that doesn't lift up around the 2.5 curve on the display? I have bought two cheap ones and they are terrible.

I've not had any lifting on the one that I installed which I posted on this thread... I just didn't like the little frame to guide the tempered glass.. But I got it to work

 

[MaskedCarrot]

@Aneres11

So how much of a battery hit did you have switching to the QHD resolution?

I usually keep my phones on QHD, since I figured I spent the money for a phone with a great screen I might as well use it. But I wonder if I am losing out on better battery life.

 

[Technerd108]

@Aneres11

So how much of a battery hit did you have switching to the QHD resolution?

I usually keep my phones on QHD, since I figured I spent the money for a phone with a great screen I might as well use it. But I wonder if I am losing out on better battery life.

It is a pretty significant difference. With lower resolution the phone seems to have a better battery than the s23 ultra.

With QHD it seems to be similar to the s23 ultra.

Either way the battery life is significantly better than my Pixel 7 Pro.

I honestly don't see how you could be getting identical battery life?

 

[Jensend]

It is a pretty significant difference. With lower resolution the phone seems to have a better battery than the s23 ultra.

With QHD it seems to be similar to the s23 ultra.

Either way the battery life is significantly better.

My 8 Pro battery life is pretty much identical to my 7 Pro battery life. I've only had the 7 Pro for two months, so not enough time for the battery to degrade. (I'm trading in the 7 Pro soon, so the upgrade to 8 Pro is only $55)

I charged up both phones, set them to the same brightness, and opened the same Twitch stream on both. Battery life went down at pretty much the same rate on both.

 

[Aneres11]

@Aneres11

So how much of a battery hit did you have switching to the QHD resolution?

I usually keep my phones on QHD, since I figured I spent the money for a phone with a great screen I might as well use it. But I wonder if I am losing out on better battery life.

I think I said in my post but basically it went from 7 hours SoT to 4. Big hit!