Robert Triggs/Android Authority
From the moment they were announced, we knew Google wouldn’t treat the smaller and larger Pixel 8 and 8 Pro equally. The baby Pixel 8, as I like to call it, lacks the manual camera controls found on the 8 Pro, although it should be able to handle them perfectly. Other features, like video enhancement and zoom enhancement, are also promised to be exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro.
We think that’s the extent of it: the Pro will get some extra photography features, because it makes sense to offer them to people who splurged on a photography monster rather than a basic phone. beautiful.
But then Google revealed that its on-device artificial intelligence model, Gemini Nano, would also not appear on the Pixel 8. This would prevent it from locally, privately and quickly accessing AI features such as voice and article summaries or keyboard smart replies. There’s also no real explanation for this exclusion other than a vague “hardware limitation” comment.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
Everyone’s operating theory is RAM. AI models are notorious for being resource-hungry, with the Pixel 8 only offering 8GB compared to the 8 Pro’s larger 12GB. That excuse doesn’t hold up, though, when you know that all three Samsung Galaxy S24 phones, including the base 8GB Galaxy S24, come with the Gemini Nano. So what exactly makes the Pixel 8 perform far worse than the Pixel 8 Pro?
In fact, there is nothing on paper. Not even if you dig along the edge. The differences between the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are well known, but when it comes to performance, both run the same Google Tensor G3 processor, and all of our tests show that their benchmark results are very similar. The Pixel 8 scores slightly lower in most tests, but the difference is neither significant enough nor a legitimate excuse to take away its extra features.Even the brief rumor that the packaging of the two Tensor G3 phones might be different (via @RGcloudS) was later dispersed (by @Za_Raczke). So, what exactly makes the Pixel 8 perform so poorly as the Pixel 8 Pro?
It’s puzzling that Google launched the phone a few months ago and now has left it behind.
I’m sure there are other reasons besides marketing and greed – ha! No, it’s true that Google has generally done a good job over the years of bringing new features to older hardware. Some unusual features seem to be arbitrarily locked out of specific phones, but overall the company has set a great example of ensuring that many phones in its portfolio get the latest innovations.
That’s why the Pixel 8’s handling — and the lack of transparency around it — is so shocking. It’s also baffling that Google was fully aware of these “hardware limitations” when it launched the phone a few months ago, and fully aware that the 8 wouldn’t be able to keep up with the 8 Pro once the more demanding AI models landed. . This phone has been out for less than six months and it’s already lagging behind!
I’m not the only one with this concern. We ask you, Android Authority Readers and followers on various social platforms, do you regret buying the Pixel 8 basic version. In total we received over 6,500 votes. While only a third of the site’s readers were tired of their purchases, the sadness was even more pronounced on Twitter and YouTube, where just over 50% of voters said they regretted their decisions.
However, for many people who voted “no,” the explanation is that they bought the Pixel 8 because of its price and size. Artificial intelligence and Gemini, Nano or other technologies were and are not part of the equation. But that’s today.
You probably won’t regret missing out on the Gemini Nano today, but what if it offered more substantial features tomorrow?
I know we can all laugh at the Gemini Nano and its limited functionality right now. Missed a simple article or audio summary? Well, it’s not the end of the world. But tomorrow’s Gemini Nano could be an even more powerful beast. What then? What if more of the Gemini Nano’s exclusive features showed up on the Pixel 8 Pro, but never on the Pixel 8? What if your new phone finds itself lagging behind the competition?
That’s why I’m worried about the upcoming Pixel 9 base version. While we don’t know much about how the smaller phone’s hardware and features compare to the larger 9 Pro, the Pixel 8’s lead isn’t clear. Likewise, Number 9 could be overlooked just a few months after its launch. There’s a feature here, another feature there, and suddenly it’s not a good deal anymore.
The Pixel 8’s lead is poor. Who says the Pixel 9 won’t be similarly ignored a few months after its release?
50% of my phone-buying decisions these days are based on features out of the box, and the other 50% are based on the company’s history of keeping its previous phones updated. Not only the regular Android version update strategy and security patches, but also innovative features. I love the Pixel line because feature drops add extra value to my phone every few months. However, the Pixel 8 situation has put a question mark on previous certainties.
Is this a one-time exception, or will there be more and more examples of Google ditching less powerful hardware in its rush to compete in AI? Is the company really willing to ruin one of the most appealing aspects of the Pixel experience—even the cheapest Pixel offers some unique features? I hope not, but until we know for sure I’ll be very wary of the Pixel 9.