Google Pixel 8 - Unlocked Android Smartphone with Advanced Pixel Camera, 24-Hour Battery, and Powerful Security - Hazel - 256 GB

First off, I confess to being a Pixel 4a fanatic. To my mind, it is the single best Android phone ever, given the price point, sleek dimensions, and durability. After four years of use, my darling Barely Blue 4a was still going strong. If it were up to me, I would have continued to use it until it would run no more. Alas, as with all things business nowadays, it has a usable lifespan that is shorter than its little-phoone-that-could heart. Google stopped providing security updates for it in August 2023, and I will not wade into the hatchet job the company effected from afar on Pixel 4a users through a forced battery software retool in January 2025. Luckily for me, my 4a was not among the Impacted Devices that imploded after Google's sneaky move. Still, the battery had already degraded, and the battery "fix" meant that it lost power sooner. My 4a is still fine as a backup phone, and I will use it that way going forward. In any case, I had purchased this Pixel 8 over the holidays, after being unimpressed by the Pixel 9 series phones at the significantly higher pricetag. No phone will rival the 4a in my heart (though perhaps the Pixel 5 was close enough), but this is now the most compact feature-laden phone I could find. The Pixel 8a is quite close, and I nearly chose that, but the 8 has significant upgrades that made it worthwhile, particularly as I actually paid less for it than sale prices on the 8a. The Pixel 8 has a sharp screen, snappy performance, and on the tweaks I care about, without any of the pricey additions that do not matter to me. Certainly the screen is brighter, the processor a tad faster, and the battery a bit beefier on the 9 series, but not enough to distract me from my wallet's contentment with the 8's pricetag. The fingerprint reader is a disappointment, particularly coming from the effortless 4a back-of-the-phone version, but again, not worth several hundred dollars more to me for the upgrade. This phone has guaranteed security updates through fall of 2030, smooth scrolling, all the great Pixel camera perks and none of the silly gimmicks. Although the 9a is just around the corner, I am quite content to sit with my Pixel 8 until someone wises up to the niche of folks who want a small (as in 4a size) phone with many but not all of the bells and whistles, or until I give up and purchase another phone with enough to offer to make it worth my while.

I’ve been a very long time iPhone user - since the iPhone 5 era! - and a few months ago I grew tired of it all. The Pixel series of devices is the perfect antidote - performant enough for everything I want to do with amazing long term software support and great photography capabilities. Personally, I don’t game or use a bunch of AI on my phone but from what I heard in general the Pixels are not the best for gaming but really great at the AI stuff (especially if you use Gemini). Initially I tried a Pixel 9a, and it was great, but it felt just as unwieldily as an iPhone. But once I got my hands on the Pixel 8 it was sheer perfection! Despite not being that much smaller, it fits perfectly in my hands and is a joy to hold thanks to the curved sides. Thanks to the size and shape I have little fear of dropping it. Battery life is good - I charge it about every 3 days, but take that with a grain of salt as I’m also a comparatively light user in terms of actual screen-on time. I mostly make calls, listen to music, and will sometimes send a few text messages. A big deal in getting one of these for me is that it is not only carrier unlocked, but also boot loader unlocked. So, I’m currently running GrapheneOS on it. And another big win is that replacement parts are easy to find and affordable, so making it last it’s entire supported lifespan shouldn’t be hard at all :) I absolutely love it and couldn’t recommend it enough to anyone looking for a well made, long term supported phone with plenty of software and repairability options.

It has been a while since I bought this phone but I still have it. It's not flagship today by any means but it does everything I need. Takes pictures, runs apps, plays music and shows maps with Android Auto. It's fast enough between apps. It also allows me to call people. I feel that the screen is really clear. This phone is not locked which was great for when I switched carriers. If it's heavy, I couldn't say. What's a few grams between friends. I've never sat at the end of the day thinking that my phone was too heavy. It's light weight enough. It's got a sturdy build. No flex under normal use. I charge my phone about once a day but I can go two days on a single charge. I'm not a heavy user. I find that google phones to be a good value for me and have been rocking this phone for a long time now. I'm not in the market for a new one yet. I don't need to upgrade this phone as it does everything that I need today.

Excelente equipo

Everything was simple to set up and many things transferred over from my old LG phone. Just passwords and logins had to be looked up and re-entered. Lots of storage and performance is good so far. The camera is the standout but organizing your photos is a chore. Everything is uploaded to Google photos and it's layout is obnoxious. Only 3 weeks later I've finally found where the hard copies are stored on the phone so finally I can manage them a bit better. Another small thing that will be annoying down the line is the display. You need to unlock your phone to see the battery life %. It's ok now since a full charge last 1.3 days but in the future when the battery starts to weaken or when travelling, it's going to be annoying to have to unlock the phone each time I want to check the exact % of battery remaining. Overall, I'll probably stick with the Pixel in the future since the competition now is either corrupt/low quality, not to be trusted or overpriced Apple.

Battery is overheating when used in simple tasks Slow transition between apps Overheating during charging Overpriced in regard to specification

es una basura da problema con la pantalla no vuelvo a comprar un telefono pixel si no me hacen valida la garantia. publicitan 7 años de soporte y ni dos años para que se te arruine por una falla que ellos mismos generaron en los dispositivos, todos dan el mismo problema ya se sabe en internet que problema dan todos los pixel 8 es un robo, todos debemos tener devolucion o renovacion inmediata es un fraude.

The transfer from my Pixel 3 was a smooth process with the exception of WhatsApp where I lost all my history - because I had no backup? Maybe. Anyway, the phone itself seems fine; fast and smooth and unlike some brands not filled with own-brand alternatives. No hardware problems that I have encountered. The device itself seems slightly taller and maybe just a smidge narrower than the Pixel 3. The camera takes excellent pictures. Detail is great, including in the shadows and highlights. I have decided that I don't like the gesture based interface and have gone back to the three buttons at the bottom of the screen. Other than that, the latest Android seems a logical continuation of the operating system - no big surprises. In sum - it was time to move on from my old P3 and this seems to have been a solid choice. No buyer remorse here, especially given the great Black Friday pricing!