The Google Pixel 8 is coming — what we ‘know’ so far

This time of year is a busy one for tech releases with on of the main releases coming in the first week of October — the Made by Google event. It is at this event each year that the new flagship Pixel smartphones are released, usually alongside other Google products (anyone remember Google Clips?).

This year, on October 4, Google will be announcing the Pixel 8, rumoured to be alongside the next generations of the Google Watch and Pixel Buds. As is the case each and every year we have seen many leaks and rumours surrounding the new flagship smartphone from Google so let’s recap what we suspect we ‘know’ at this stage, just four weeks from the unveiling.

The design we most definitely know. — The Pixel 8 Pro is right there on the Google Store website for all to see. The rear camera bar has a longer window for all three cameras instead of seperate windows but aside from that it looks the same as the Pixel 7 devices. The Pixel 8 is expected to keep its dual camera setup with a 50MP main camera and a 12MP ultra wide camera. The Pro on the other hand is expected to house a triple rear camera with a 50MP OIS main camera, a 64MP ultra wide camera and a 48MP telephoto camera (remember when they told us phones don’t need a telephoto camera?).

Display-wise, the Pixel 8 is expected to house a 6.17-inch FHD+ OLED display but the Pro version will sport a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED QHD+ display. There has also been a rumour that suggests that the Pro version will also have a flat display this year which would be different to nearly all flagship smartphones on the market.

As much as we’d like the Pixel 8 smartphones to support Qi2 charging it is unlikely they will at this early stage. We suspect Apple will be the first with that with the iPhone 15. If Google do manage to support Qi2 charging that would be a huge coup for them as it is a big leap in wireless charging without the need for proprietary chargers etc. Expect Google to keep charging speeds under 30W for both devices which is disappointing to say the least.

Google has been criticised in the past for not supporting their devices as long as other manufacturers and they are set to announce a change to this policy with them promising “5 years of Pixel updates” on existing Tensor-powered devices. This year’s Pixel smartphones will be powered by a new Tensor 3 chipset — hopefully a big improvement over previous generations.

There is some evidence that suggests the Google Pixel 8 smartphones will be more expensive than last year — at least in Europe they will be — and given the cost of everything else in the world increasing it would not surprise us if the price increase occurred here too. The new Pixel 8 will apparently arrive in Hazel, Obsidian, Rose and Mint colours.

Stay tuned to EFTM for all the updates as they come to hand along with our detailed coverage and local release information on the latest devices announced at the Made By Google event on October 4.