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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2023
This post is about disappointment. Below, I will describe all the problems I faced in a month (a little more) of using the Google Pixel 8 PRO with 256 gigabytes.
I'll try my best not to be bitter, but I'm not sure if I'll succeed because I expected something completely different from a $1050 phone.
I bought the US version on Amazon. As a pre-order gift with the phone, they offered the Google Pixel Watch 2. In total, all this pleasure cost me $1050. I wasn't particularly interested in the watch and planned to sell them, thereby reducing the overall cost of the phone. In fact, currently on "Black Friday," the phone on the official website costs $859. So, there was no gift in the form of the watch, and I paid for the phone + watch.
I consider $350 for the Google Pixel Watch 2 an absurd price because there are many cool watches on the market cheaper.
Let's start with the most important: Calls. In "vibration" mode, there is no audible notification in TWS headphones. The call volume in the headphones is tied to the "ring volume" in the "sound and vibration" section. Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I always used the vibrate mode, and I could hear all incoming calls in the headphones. For people who talk a lot on the phone, this will be a very unpleasant moment. This problem extends to all non-Google TWS headsets. Next, take Pixel Buds Pro, connect them to the phone, and encounter the following problem: the audio notifications during incoming calls work only the first 3-4 times, then disappear. You need to disconnect the headset and reconnect it.
The side buttons are not tactile.
Weak processor. In synthetic tests, the processor delivers 1K. I consider this a very low indicator for a phone that positions itself as a flagship. Currently, it doesn't feel noticeable, but the fact remains. There are Chinese brands that have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. There, the performance is approximately twice as much. If you are taking a phone for a long time, such a performance indicator is not great.
Accessories. No charger and SIM ejector tool. SIM ejector tool, seriously. I opened the SIM card slot with a needle and a door frame catch. I just have no words, only emotions.
Battery life. The phone is new and lasts for now. My Xiaomi, which I used for 3 years, held up about the same. If you look at reviews comparing battery life with other phones, it's all sad there.
Charging time. My previous Xiaomi phone, bought in 2018, had a 38W charger. Besides being included in the package, it also charged faster.
Raw operating system. Approximately 2-3 times a week, I reboot the phone. The notification shade doesn't come down, the button doesn't respond, black screen during incoming calls, and there are just tons of such bugs. To understand how tragic everything is, you need a month with this phone.
Rattling. If you shake the phone, you can hear the optics (lens) hitting the phone's body. And this problem is not only on my phone. A friend has the same issue.
Speaker sound. It's not bad, but on the iPhone, it's better. More midrange and low frequencies.
Wi-Fi problems. Doesn't always want to connect to the access point. No matter what Wi-Fi standard it operates on or the authentication method on the access point. It might disconnect from the access point, might say the password is incorrect. A friend has the same issue. This problem was detected on Mikrotik access points.
Well, there are a bunch of downsides, but now I can't remember them.
Well, and I want to highlight a couple of positives so it's not all that tragic.
Camera. Beautiful photos, very good in night mode. Magic erase is a cool thing. It doesn't always work 100%, but sometimes it really surprises with what AI can do.
Conclusion: Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I had the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G. I bought it for $260. For that money, I got an excellent phone that worked flawlessly for 3 years. MIUI shell, in my opinion, is much better than this Android on the Pixel.
I'll probably sell the phone. Even if all the software problems are fixed, the impression of the phone is not very good anymore, and I don't want to use it.
I'll try my best not to be bitter, but I'm not sure if I'll succeed because I expected something completely different from a $1050 phone.
I bought the US version on Amazon. As a pre-order gift with the phone, they offered the Google Pixel Watch 2. In total, all this pleasure cost me $1050. I wasn't particularly interested in the watch and planned to sell them, thereby reducing the overall cost of the phone. In fact, currently on "Black Friday," the phone on the official website costs $859. So, there was no gift in the form of the watch, and I paid for the phone + watch.
I consider $350 for the Google Pixel Watch 2 an absurd price because there are many cool watches on the market cheaper.
Let's start with the most important: Calls. In "vibration" mode, there is no audible notification in TWS headphones. The call volume in the headphones is tied to the "ring volume" in the "sound and vibration" section. Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I always used the vibrate mode, and I could hear all incoming calls in the headphones. For people who talk a lot on the phone, this will be a very unpleasant moment. This problem extends to all non-Google TWS headsets. Next, take Pixel Buds Pro, connect them to the phone, and encounter the following problem: the audio notifications during incoming calls work only the first 3-4 times, then disappear. You need to disconnect the headset and reconnect it.
The side buttons are not tactile.
Weak processor. In synthetic tests, the processor delivers 1K. I consider this a very low indicator for a phone that positions itself as a flagship. Currently, it doesn't feel noticeable, but the fact remains. There are Chinese brands that have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. There, the performance is approximately twice as much. If you are taking a phone for a long time, such a performance indicator is not great.
Accessories. No charger and SIM ejector tool. SIM ejector tool, seriously. I opened the SIM card slot with a needle and a door frame catch. I just have no words, only emotions.
Battery life. The phone is new and lasts for now. My Xiaomi, which I used for 3 years, held up about the same. If you look at reviews comparing battery life with other phones, it's all sad there.
Charging time. My previous Xiaomi phone, bought in 2018, had a 38W charger. Besides being included in the package, it also charged faster.
Raw operating system. Approximately 2-3 times a week, I reboot the phone. The notification shade doesn't come down, the button doesn't respond, black screen during incoming calls, and there are just tons of such bugs. To understand how tragic everything is, you need a month with this phone.
Rattling. If you shake the phone, you can hear the optics (lens) hitting the phone's body. And this problem is not only on my phone. A friend has the same issue.
Speaker sound. It's not bad, but on the iPhone, it's better. More midrange and low frequencies.
Wi-Fi problems. Doesn't always want to connect to the access point. No matter what Wi-Fi standard it operates on or the authentication method on the access point. It might disconnect from the access point, might say the password is incorrect. A friend has the same issue. This problem was detected on Mikrotik access points.
Well, there are a bunch of downsides, but now I can't remember them.
Well, and I want to highlight a couple of positives so it's not all that tragic.
Camera. Beautiful photos, very good in night mode. Magic erase is a cool thing. It doesn't always work 100%, but sometimes it really surprises with what AI can do.
Conclusion: Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I had the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G. I bought it for $260. For that money, I got an excellent phone that worked flawlessly for 3 years. MIUI shell, in my opinion, is much better than this Android on the Pixel.
I'll probably sell the phone. Even if all the software problems are fixed, the impression of the phone is not very good anymore, and I don't want to use it.
This post is about disappointment. Below, I will describe all the problems I faced in a month (a little more) of using the Google Pixel 8 PRO with 256 gigabytes.
I'll try my best not to be bitter, but I'm not sure if I'll succeed because I expected something completely different from a $1050 phone.
I bought the US version on Amazon. As a pre-order gift with the phone, they offered the Google Pixel Watch 2. In total, all this pleasure cost me $1050. I wasn't particularly interested in the watch and planned to sell them, thereby reducing the overall cost of the phone. In fact, currently on "Black Friday," the phone on the official website costs $859. So, there was no gift in the form of the watch, and I paid for the phone + watch.
I consider $350 for the Google Pixel Watch 2 an absurd price because there are many cool watches on the market cheaper.
Let's start with the most important: Calls. In "vibration" mode, there is no audible notification in TWS headphones. The call volume in the headphones is tied to the "ring volume" in the "sound and vibration" section. Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I always used the vibrate mode, and I could hear all incoming calls in the headphones. For people who talk a lot on the phone, this will be a very unpleasant moment. This problem extends to all non-Google TWS headsets. Next, take Pixel Buds Pro, connect them to the phone, and encounter the following problem: the audio notifications during incoming calls work only the first 3-4 times, then disappear. You need to disconnect the headset and reconnect it.
The side buttons are not tactile.
Weak processor. In synthetic tests, the processor delivers 1K. I consider this a very low indicator for a phone that positions itself as a flagship. Currently, it doesn't feel noticeable, but the fact remains. There are Chinese brands that have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. There, the performance is approximately twice as much. If you are taking a phone for a long time, such a performance indicator is not great.
Accessories. No charger and SIM ejector tool. SIM ejector tool, seriously. I opened the SIM card slot with a needle and a door frame catch. I just have no words, only emotions.
Battery life. The phone is new and lasts for now. My Xiaomi, which I used for 3 years, held up about the same. If you look at reviews comparing battery life with other phones, it's all sad there.
Charging time. My previous Xiaomi phone, bought in 2018, had a 38W charger. Besides being included in the package, it also charged faster.
Raw operating system. Approximately 2-3 times a week, I reboot the phone. The notification shade doesn't come down, the button doesn't respond, black screen during incoming calls, and there are just tons of such bugs. To understand how tragic everything is, you need a month with this phone.
Rattling. If you shake the phone, you can hear the optics (lens) hitting the phone's body. And this problem is not only on my phone. A friend has the same issue.
Speaker sound. It's not bad, but on the iPhone, it's better. More midrange and low frequencies.
Wi-Fi problems. Doesn't always want to connect to the access point. No matter what Wi-Fi standard it operates on or the authentication method on the access point. It might disconnect from the access point, might say the password is incorrect. A friend has the same issue. This problem was detected on Mikrotik access points.
Well, there are a bunch of downsides, but now I can't remember them.
Well, and I want to highlight a couple of positives so it's not all that tragic.
Camera. Beautiful photos, very good in night mode. Magic erase is a cool thing. It doesn't always work 100%, but sometimes it really surprises with what AI can do.
Conclusion: Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I had the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G. I bought it for $260. For that money, I got an excellent phone that worked flawlessly for 3 years. MIUI shell, in my opinion, is much better than this Android on the Pixel.
I'll probably sell the phone. Even if all the software problems are fixed, the impression of the phone is not very good anymore, and I don't want to use it.
I'll try my best not to be bitter, but I'm not sure if I'll succeed because I expected something completely different from a $1050 phone.
I bought the US version on Amazon. As a pre-order gift with the phone, they offered the Google Pixel Watch 2. In total, all this pleasure cost me $1050. I wasn't particularly interested in the watch and planned to sell them, thereby reducing the overall cost of the phone. In fact, currently on "Black Friday," the phone on the official website costs $859. So, there was no gift in the form of the watch, and I paid for the phone + watch.
I consider $350 for the Google Pixel Watch 2 an absurd price because there are many cool watches on the market cheaper.
Let's start with the most important: Calls. In "vibration" mode, there is no audible notification in TWS headphones. The call volume in the headphones is tied to the "ring volume" in the "sound and vibration" section. Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I always used the vibrate mode, and I could hear all incoming calls in the headphones. For people who talk a lot on the phone, this will be a very unpleasant moment. This problem extends to all non-Google TWS headsets. Next, take Pixel Buds Pro, connect them to the phone, and encounter the following problem: the audio notifications during incoming calls work only the first 3-4 times, then disappear. You need to disconnect the headset and reconnect it.
The side buttons are not tactile.
Weak processor. In synthetic tests, the processor delivers 1K. I consider this a very low indicator for a phone that positions itself as a flagship. Currently, it doesn't feel noticeable, but the fact remains. There are Chinese brands that have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. There, the performance is approximately twice as much. If you are taking a phone for a long time, such a performance indicator is not great.
Accessories. No charger and SIM ejector tool. SIM ejector tool, seriously. I opened the SIM card slot with a needle and a door frame catch. I just have no words, only emotions.
Battery life. The phone is new and lasts for now. My Xiaomi, which I used for 3 years, held up about the same. If you look at reviews comparing battery life with other phones, it's all sad there.
Charging time. My previous Xiaomi phone, bought in 2018, had a 38W charger. Besides being included in the package, it also charged faster.
Raw operating system. Approximately 2-3 times a week, I reboot the phone. The notification shade doesn't come down, the button doesn't respond, black screen during incoming calls, and there are just tons of such bugs. To understand how tragic everything is, you need a month with this phone.
Rattling. If you shake the phone, you can hear the optics (lens) hitting the phone's body. And this problem is not only on my phone. A friend has the same issue.
Speaker sound. It's not bad, but on the iPhone, it's better. More midrange and low frequencies.
Wi-Fi problems. Doesn't always want to connect to the access point. No matter what Wi-Fi standard it operates on or the authentication method on the access point. It might disconnect from the access point, might say the password is incorrect. A friend has the same issue. This problem was detected on Mikrotik access points.
Well, there are a bunch of downsides, but now I can't remember them.
Well, and I want to highlight a couple of positives so it's not all that tragic.
Camera. Beautiful photos, very good in night mode. Magic erase is a cool thing. It doesn't always work 100%, but sometimes it really surprises with what AI can do.
Conclusion: Before switching to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I had the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G. I bought it for $260. For that money, I got an excellent phone that worked flawlessly for 3 years. MIUI shell, in my opinion, is much better than this Android on the Pixel.
I'll probably sell the phone. Even if all the software problems are fixed, the impression of the phone is not very good anymore, and I don't want to use it.
Images in this review
