Tech Next: Small wonder

CHENNAI: IF there’s one crib we’ve had over the last couple of years, it’s how clunky our smartphones have become. But not all phones land in that category. The Google Pixel 8 is a case in point. At 187 gm, it’s 10 gm lighter than its predecessor (the Pixel 7) and it feels even lighter in your hand than the spec sheet suggests.

The Pixel 8 is the smaller sibling of Google’s Pixel 8 flagship duo. It’s about 30,000 cheaper than the top-of-the-line Google Pixel 8 Pro; is this all the Pixel that most of us need?

We are fans of the Pixel design aesthetic, the Pixel 8 stays in the same zone. The Pixel 8 comes in quite a few cool shades including a chic Rose, our favourite colour across all Pixel 8 devices. It features the same premium vibe of the 8 Pro with a glass back and an aluminium frame (It’s IP68 certified for water resistance). One of the most visible improvements over last year’s Pixel 7 is the display, Google has bumped up the screen brightness on the 6.2-inch OLED display to 2000 nits and has added a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s one of the brightest displays on any smartphone right now.

We were impressed with Google’s AI-driven camera tools that we checked out on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. The Pixel 8 offers quite a few of these features like the Audio Magic Eraser that allows you to scrub out unwanted audio sections of a video and the Best Take feature that lets you swap faces in group pictures, so that everyone looks their best. You don’t get a Telephoto lens in the dual rear cam set up unlike the 8 Pro. The Pixel 8 is powered by Google’s all-new Tensor G3 chip and comes with 8GB of RAM and a choice of two hardware variants (128GB or 256 GB). It isn’t just one of the best small screen smartphones but one of the best Android flagships out there. (Rs 75,999 onwards)