Our Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7 comparison is here to spell out the biggest differences and upgrades with the new Google phone.
Everything we’ve heard about the Pixel 8 suggests we’re in for a treat this year, with rumors of a brighter display, higher refresh rate, the more advanced Tensor G3 chipset and more. Of course, the Pixel 7 is still a great phone, and it’s likely to see a $100 discount one the Pixel 8 launches.
Here’s what we know about Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7 so far.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Rumored Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Google Pixel 8 | Google Pixel 7 |
| Price | $699 | $599 |
| Display | 6.2 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Refresh rate | 60-120Hz | 90Hz |
| Rear cameras | 48MP main + 12MP ultrawide | 48MP main + 12MP ultrawide |
| Front camera | 10.5MP | 10.8MP |
| Chipset | Tensor G3 | Tensor G2 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 128GB, 256GB |
| Battery | 4,600 mAh | 4,355 mAh |
| Charging | TBA | 23W |
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Price and availability
The Google Pixel 7 started at an impressively low $599 / £599/ AU$999. That got you a model with 128GB of storage, though 256GB models were also available for $699 / £699 / AU$1129. But the phone could regularly be found for a discount in the U.S. in the months following its release, and can be found for as low as $449 — which is $50 less than the mid-range Google Pixel 7a.
The Pixel 8 is rumored to be getting a $100 price hike, which means it could start at $699 in the United States. It’s unclear whether this is for a 128GB model, but that sounds likely. The Pixel 8 is set to launch on October 4 at the Made By Google Event, and is currently rumored to be officially released a little over a week later on October 12.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Design and display
We’re expecting some notable differences between the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7 in terms of the design and display. For starter, the Pixel 8 is speculated to be slightly smaller than its predecessor. Recent leaks seem to have settled on 6.2-inchs. That’s a tenth of an inch smaller than the 6.3-inch Pixel 7 and a tenth larger than the Pixel 7a.
However, Google seems to have found a look that works for it, and it appears the Pixel 8 will have a similar-looking camera bar design to the Pixel 7.
The slight loss of display size could come with one major advantage, though, in the form of the rumored “Actua” display. This display is rated for 1,400 nits of HDR brightness, and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. That means the Pixel 8’s screen has almost double the brightness of the Pixel 7 and has the same peak brightness as the iPhone 15.
On top of that, Actua is said to offer an adaptive refresh rate capable of changing between 60Hz and 120Hz. The Pixel 7 was limited to a static 90Hz refresh rate. Not only does the Pixel 8 appear to have a better refresh rate, the adaptive nature of the screen may prove beneficial to the phone’s overall battery life.
Specs leaks also claim the Pixel 8 will feature front and back glass made of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 — currently the strongest Gorilla Glass currently available. The Pixel 7 features Victus 1 that isn’t quite as durable.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Cameras
The Pixel 7 isn’t on our list of the best camera phones, but it might as well be an honorary member. Like the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7a, it’s capable of taking some terrific photos, especially in low-light conditions. The software in particular proves itself to be some of the best around, squeezing some incredible photos out of the dual lens camera — made up of a 48MP main lens, 12MP ultrawide and a 10.8MP selfie cam.
We’re expecting great things from the Pixel 8 as well. Word is that we’re getting a 50MP main lens again, though this time it’s a Samsung ISOCELL GN2 — the follow-up to the GN1 in the Pixel 7. This lens has a larger sensor and can capture around 35% more light, which will be another boost to low-light photography. It also has the ability to record video in 8K, a feature that’s also expected from the Tensor G3 chipset.
It isn’t clear what the ultra wide-angle lens resolution will look like on the standard Pixel 8, but rumor has it that the Pixel 8 Pro will boost its 12MP lens to 64MP this year. Here’s hoping that its counterpart offers a similar upgrade.
The quality of the Pixel 8’s cameras in comparison to the Pixel 7 will also depend on the upgrades included with the Tensor G3 chipset. The chip itself is designed for machine learning, with some emphasis on photography, so we should expect some improvements to the phone’s computational photography capabilities.
One such upgrade rumored to be coming is staggered HDR, which takes shots for long and short exposure together, instead of one after the other. That extra speed should help prevent any inconsistencies in the final product, like strobing of ghosting effects.
Google’s also expected to add a new Video Unblur feature which, like the Pixel 7’s Photo Unblur, should be implemented very literally. If it functions as well as Photo Unblur did, then that’s going to be a major win for home video quality.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Performance
The Tensor chipsets are not the most powerful in the world, and the previous two models have been easily beaten by the likes of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 series and Apple’s A-series chipsets. We don’t expect that to change anytime soon, though we do expect at least some uplift with the Tensor G3.
Android Authority claims that the G3 will get a serious performance boost this year, with a maximum clock speed of 3.0 GHz, and it’s speculated that the chip could feature all sorts of extra features in the process. We’re talking about a ray-tracing-capable GPU, faster neural processing and support for 8K video recording.
However, we don’t expect there to be any difference to the RAM configuration. The Pixel 7 came with 8GB of RAM, and we expect that the Pixel 8 will do the same. If you need more, then you’ll have to opt for a Pixel 8 Pro. It’s also been reported that the phones will offer 128GB of storage as standard.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Battery
The Pixel 7 did not have a good battery life, and there’s no way to sugar coat it. In fact, during our exhaustive battery life testing, we found that the Pixel 7 only managed to last 7 hours and 13 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy S23 lasted 10:27 in adaptive screen mode and 11:20 in 60Hz mode.
It’s a long-standing Pixel problem, and so far it’s difficult to say whether the Pixel 8 will be improving matters — and if so, by how much. One Pixel 8 rumor says the capacity will be 4,600 mAh, up from 4,355 mAh in the Pixel 7.
It’s unclear whether the Pixel 8 will offer faster than 23W charging speeds, though the Pro is expected to come with 27W charging for another year. The only thing we know for sure is that, like the Pixel 7, the Pixel 8 will be limited to 12W wireless charging.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Software
The Pixel 8 is almost certainly going to arrive running Android 14 out of the box, while the Pixel 7 should be getting an over-the-air update around the same time — if not sooner. It’s not clear what exclusive features the Pixel 8 might have on the software side, but the majority of them will almost certainly be due to the upgraded Tensor G3 chipset.
Rumor is that Google could offer an unprecedented 7 years of full Android support for the Pixel 8. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7, only offers 4 years of OS updates, plus an additional fifth year of security updates. It’s still unconfirmed, but if this is the case, this would set the new standard for long-term Android support — something that’s always lagged behind the likes of Apple.
Google Pixel 8 vs Google Pixel 7: Outlook
From a specs perspective, the Google Pixel 8 does seem to have an advantage over the Pixel 7 based on what’s been rumored. Better cameras, better chipset, better screen, and so on. If Google plays its cards right it could be a pretty major improvement over last year’s model.
The biggest upgrades seem to be the Tensor G3 chip, brighter display and new camera features. Stay tuned for more details as the Pixel 8 is announced.
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