Google Pixel 8 - A Long Term User Review

The Google Pixel 8 is a small phone and I've been using it for the past 4 months to see how it holds up. In this video, we'll cover performance, cameras, battery life and the software experience after the updates to see if it still remains a viable contender in the smartphone market.

Buy items in this video from Amazon at the links below:

Timestamps

0:00 - Some Context
1:11 - Design Improvements over the Pixel 7
2:23 - 120Hz Display ain’t 120Hz
3:49 - The Problem with Android*
4:46 - Tensor G3 is lacking something…
6:15 - But wait….there’s good news!
7:12 - Cameras
11:01 - Software powered by AI
13:59 - Conclusion

Review unit provided free of charge by Google. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

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#pixel8

[geralt]

for 6 years i was xiaomi user, but now i tried the pixel 8, and man i fell in love on this phone, pixel for ever now!!!

[syedrehanfida]

Thank you for doing these long term reviews. It gives a real world use case of the phones!

[NedjoKovacevic]

Ibra, your camera eye is second to none! Your shots are superb and you make beautiful videos! Since I'm overwhelmingly watch YT on 65" TV, your videos are treat! Expert information is icing on the cake.

[singular]

As someone who's been in the Android developer environment for 15 years from building kernels for phones that were previously unroutable to making apps just for fun, the whole theory that it's hard to optimize apps for Android because there are so many phones is a misconception at best and a cop-out excuse by developers at most. The only apps that are actually hard to optimize for a wide variety of hardware are games, specifically 3D games, and even then it can be done. Therefore, there is no excuse for simple 2D apps with no 3D environments accessing basic data from a server database. A lot of this choppiness in apps comes down to just really, really old coding techniques and simply laziness by the developer to tear the entire app down and start from scratch using modern techniques and the latest reference guides from Google. The amount of sheer laziness I see of copy pasting old code and then reusing it in modern apps is insane and just makes it so annoying. Google also does this, hence why the YouTube studio app is such garbage and that is simply because they haven't bothered to rewrite their code from the ground up. And if Google isn't willing to do this then why would other developers who are probably not even making any money from these apps? A lot of the time optimization comes down to just utilizing modern best practice coding principles and techniques and not taking SQL database code from 15 years ago and continuing to cling on to it simply because you're too lazy to figure out the new stuff. For example, the apps that stutter and lag on one phone will stutter and lag on every phone. That's not indicative of bad optimization that is indicative of bad coding. Go ask meadow why they don't freaking bother to fix Instagram for years at a time. Also I have a pixel 8 and 8 pro as well as one of every pixel and Nex is going back to the Nexus one so I'm not making this up but a lot of the issues you mentioned are the pixel 8 seem to be hit or miss from user to user. I for example have had no issues that you described with things like Google maps or the camera. Whereas my friend who has the same exact phone seems to have it and this just comes down to Google quality control and not the hardware itself

[JeskidoYT]

yes more long term reviews! We need more creators that stick with a phone for more than one month!!

[ishaand]

Thank you for this long term review. I haven't seen anyone else talk about real world problems like the refresh rate issue or the experience on Google maps. These are really important and one would expect these basic stuff to work normally given the price. Subbed!

[nolimits]

Those jitters happens to me in my galaxy a54 on the Google play store when i open the app and when i use Google feed with auto play video in wifi connection. Every thing else is smooth. So someone has to do some work with the apps optimizations. Btw nice video pointing out those problems that wouldn't imagine in this type of phone. Cheers. You deserve more credits.

[AdamsOyifi]

12:14 White Legion 7i Spotted! Can't wait for that review.

[abhishekpratapsingh]

I liked your honest opinion. I'm using Pixel phones from past 3 years and I agree with your views.

[JohnMushitu]

The production on this is top notch. Impressive

[BogdanBanilievici]

You won my attention when you said you're love small phones! Me too! Nice review! At least a honest one. I wanna switch my phone this year and I was considering very much to get a PIxel 8 because of the clean software and google gimmicks. But seeing ur video made me think that Zenfone 10 is a better option. Also, slow charge, no LTPO, no charger in the box..IDK

[gusandrianos]

Glad to see a long term review of the Pixel 8.
I have to say, as an owner for the past 3 months, the fingerprint sensor complaints are extremely overblown, including the ones about blinding at night.
Coming from a 4a 5G which just needed a tap on the sensor but was super sensitive to oily/sweaty/wet hands, this is just better.

Edit: The thing about 120hz is not the phone's problem, it's the apps' problem and what you said about specifically optimizing for 120hz is inaccurate and wrong.
I am an Android developer, the app you build can't specifically be optimized for one device to run in 120hz, it runs in whatever mode the phone does.
Apps like reddit are a buggy mess and they have too much going on inside a scrolling list, so it's not weird that they lag.

[drzoidbergmd]

It's interesting to see how many people are using pixel phones now, I see them everywhere. when I first had Nexus and even up to my pixel 5 they were pretty niche products. Loved the pixel 5 size though, that was my favourite

[vanillabear]

For everyone who doesn't know Google's Tensor roadmap, which already became known with the Tensor G1: The goal is to produce a completely self-designed chip at TSMC within 5 years that is perfectly optimized to its own needs. This means that the upcoming Tensor G4 will be the last chip that, like the G1, G2 & G3, is just an optimized, existing chip from Samsung...and from then on, performance and efficiency should be in a completely different league.

[justjuniorjaw]

I like how you point out the minor inconveniences so I can know whether I can live with it myself.

[BraydonChapelas]

Great video, I happened to get a deal from Telus where I got a Pixel 8 for $0, and as someone who already owns an iPhone 15 PM, I have to say this phone is a nice experience when it comes to android, especially with the AI features. Also, Dbrand magsafe case with a skin has made it easy to use all the magsafe accessories I have with the Pixel.

[XP]

Tensors not the best but it's not garbage like people try and make it out to be. As for how it'll hold up after years of software updates, my 6a which has Tensor G1 still ran like butter just like when i got it. There's videos out there that show Tensor is actually great when it comes to video editing/rendering. Currently have the 8 and have no issues with performance or the fp scanner. It's fast, fluid and overall a solid phone and amazing value, especially for the price i paid since it's always on sale.

[djross]

First time watching one of your reviews, and this was really terrific. Well done, sir!

[FourShakes]

You are the only person I will listen to when it comes to cell phone reviews. Zero bias towards any manufacturer and phenomenal when it comes to speaking and getting your point across without sounding condescending.

[ajmmorrow]

I'm glad someone called out the jittery experience. I returned my pixel 8 due to every app I used having this stuttering issue.