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Android Headlines readers have spoken! The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the best camera smartphone of 2023.
Last week, we published our choice for the best smartphone camera of 2023, and our readers have not spoken as well. We chose the Google Pixel 8 Pro, Google’s latest flagship, and our readers seem to agree with our choice. Based on the results of a poll that we published on X (formerly known as Twitter), the Pixel 8 Pro is the winner. That phone won 51.4% of the votes, and is a clear winner in this race. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is second-placed with 39.2% of the votes. The OnePlus Open ended up in third place with 6.8% of the votes, while the OPPO Find X6 Pro is fourth-placed with 2.7% of the votes. We’ve seen many great camera smartphones this year, but our readers seem to prefer what Google is offering.
Powerful camera hardware backed by outstanding camera software
The Pixel 8 Pro has a really compelling camera setup, no doubt about it. A 50-megapixel main camera used on this phone includes a newer sensor, which is quite capable. We’re looking at an f/1.68 aperture lens here, and a 1.2um pixel size, not to mention OIS and EIS are supported. The phone’s ultrawide camera is also quite compelling. Google opted for a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit with a 125.5-degree FOV. The third, and last camera on the back, is a 48-megapixel telephoto unit with a 5x optical zoom, and Super Res Zoom of up to 30x. Even the phone’s 10.5-megapixel selfie camera is quite capable.
The Pixel 8 Pro provides that contrasty look that Pixel users are used to. It has an outstanding capability of balancing photos, and does a wonderful job in HDR conditions. This is a true point-and-shoot smartphone camera, though a Pro mode is also included, for those of you who like to tinker with your cameras. One of the Pixel 8 Pro’s main selling points, camera-wise, is its outstanding low-light performance. Google has been providing us with great camera smartphones for years now, and the Pixel 8 Pro is the creme of the crop. Getting great low-light photos is not a problem at all. 5x photos are great too, while you can even get some perfectly usable 10x shots from this smartphone.
AI plays a role here too
Google presented a number of AI features with the Pixel 8 series. Some of those are camera-related, and some are even exclusive to the ‘Pro’ model. Let’s start with ‘Best Take’. This feature will basically make sure that blinking during photo-taking never becomes a problem again. Google will do the heavy lifting for you. It will take a number of images when people are posing for a photo, and will suggest the best one for you, the one where nobody is keeping their eyes closed, and so on.
Google’s ‘Magic Editor’ is another feature worth noting. This is essentially a suite of features. You can use these tools to move people around in a photo, and Google will patch up the portion where they’ve been moved from. You can also change the sky to look completely different, and fix up imperfections in photos thanks to a number of options. Google also started rolling out the ‘Video Boost’ feature, which the company promised at launch. The company can basically upload your video to its servers, and process it in a way that it truly pops, every single frame of it.
Night Sight video is another feature that is supposed to improve your videos taken with the Google Pixel 8 Pro. This particular feature focuses on low light video, if that’s your thing. It’s supposed to boost details and dynamic range, while also reducing noise in low light situations.
Design, performance & more
The Pixel 8 Pro is a camera-focused device, but Google did pay attention to other aspects of the device, for sure. The phone is quite comfortable to hold and use, while the matte glass on the back is a great choice. The bezels are quite thin, and the camera visor on the back is a nice anchor for your index finger. The phone also offers good performance, despite the fact it doesn’t have the most powerful chip out there. Google did a great job optimizing this processor, and it works really well, as you can see in our Pixel 8 Pro review.
The battery life on the device is not bad either, not at all. You’re also getting wireless charging here, though the charger (wired or wireless) is not included in the retail box. Proper water and dust resistance is included, and the latest version of Android as well. It’s also worth noting that Google promised 7 years of software updates for the device. We’re talking about proper updates, not just security ones. This handset will get outstanding software support, it seems.