Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro launched in India; see price, discounts, offers on Flipkart

Google has officially announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, and both smartphones with quite a few upgrades. Pixel 8 starts at Rs 75,999 while the Pixel 8 Pro is priced at Rs 1,06,999. Both models are available for purchase through Flipkart, and pre-orders are currently open. Customers can take advantage of a Rs 8,000 discount offer on ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, and Axis Bank cards for the standard Pixel 8, while Pro buyers can claim a Rs 9,000 discount.

The Pixel 8 is a sleek and comfortable device, featuring contoured edges and a smaller form factor compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 7. With its 6.2-inch Actua display, it offers exceptional real-world clarity and is 42% brighter than the Pixel 7's screen. The Pixel 8 boasts satin metal finishes and a polished glass back, available in Rose, Hazel, and Obsidian colour options.

One major improvement over the previous Pixel 7 is the Pixel 8's dynamic screen, which supports variable refresh rates ranging from 60Hz to 120Hz. The Pixel 8 also boasts a larger battery with a minimum capacity of 4,485mAh, promising better battery life and fast charging capabilities, delivering up to a 50% charge in approximately 30 minutes.

The hardware design retains the distinctive camera bar while softening the edges and lines and introducing a polished glass back. Unlike the previous Pixel 7 models, the Pixel 8 features a reversal in finish styles, offering a glossy appearance. Both the front and back of the device benefit from Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus for added durability.

The most significant upgrades are in the camera department, as the Pixel 8 inherits the primary sensor from the Pixel 8 Pro, a 50-megapixel octa PD camera with an f/1.68 aperture. This camera offers 2x optical zoom and Google's Super Res Zoom capabilities, reaching up to 8x. The ultrawide camera includes built-in lens correction, ensuring distortion-free shots. Faster autofocus, especially in low-light conditions, enhances the overall camera experience. Google's signature camera software features like Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Night Sight, Top Shot, and more are included.

The Pixel 8 Pro comes in three colour options: Bay, Porcelain, and Obsidian, maintaining a familiar design with a camera bar and sleek metal sides. It features a matte texture on the rear panel of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and a flatter display with less rounded edges. The phone is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance, capable of submersion up to 5.5 feet for 30 minutes.

The Pixel 8 Pro boasts a 6.7-inch Super Actua display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,400 nits. The display is finely tuned to deliver precise and lifelike visuals. It introduces a new 10.5-MP selfie camera with dual-phase detection autofocus and improved facial recognition technology.

In the camera department, the Pixel 8 Pro excels with upgraded sensors, including a 50-MP main camera, a 48-MP ultra-wide camera, and a 48-MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. Users can now use Night Sight Mode while recording videos and benefit from the Best Take feature. The Pixel's Magic Editor, powered by AI, enhances photo quality, while Audio Magic Eraser removes unwanted sounds from videos.

Photography enthusiasts will appreciate pro camera controls for adjusting settings like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. It's possible to capture images at the sensor's full 50 megapixels in various modes. Video Boost sends recordings to the cloud for advanced computational processing, enhancing video quality.

Under the hood, the Pixel 8 Pro is powered by Google's Tensor G3 chip, offering 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. The chip supports features like spam filtering, Audio Magic Eraser, and image processing enhancements. Software improvements include website reading aloud, proofreading in Gboard, multi-language Assistant voice typing, and a magnifier app for accessibility.

Setting itself apart from the standard Pixel 8, the Pixel 8 Pro includes a temperature sensor in the camera bar, initially measuring nearby object temperatures and potentially serving as a thermometer for human body temperature measurement in the future, pending FDA approval.

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