I went back to the Pixel 8 Pro and couldn’t be happier

It’s been a busy year; I’ve used over 30 phones in the last five months, and there have been many standout devices. While the design and hardware of phones haven’t changed much, the one area seeing continued improvement is mobile imaging, with Chinese brands in particular pushing the boundaries of camera technology.

Devices like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, OPPO Find Get great photos no matter which phone you choose. And even though Chinese brands are doing a decent job when it comes to software, there is still a way to go in this area.

I’ve used the Porsche Design Magic 6 RSR a lot over the past few weeks, and the device has a lot to offer; It combines distinctive style with great cameras, but Honor’s MagicOS is sometimes tedious to use and lacks a few basics. That’s why I decided to switch back to the Pixel 8 Pro once I finished the current review cycle.

I have always been attracted to Pixels; In previous years, Pixel devices were the most used among all other phones. The reasoning is simple: I like Google’s vision of Android, and the Pixel’s clean interface, combined with unique software extras, makes it the ideal choice for my own use case.

I freely admit that the Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t have the best feature set: the OLED panel isn’t as bright as the 2024 phones, the hardware is hilariously unsuitable for gaming, the battery doesn’t last as long, and 30W charging is pitifully slow. From a simple material point of view, it is objectively worse.

Google doesn’t even have the best cameras in the business. Chinese brands have made greater progress in this regard over the past 15 months, and the move to massive 1-inch sensors combined with revised camera tuning means that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Find X7 Ultra and Magic 6 Pro takes much better photos. than the Pixel 8 Pro in a given scenario.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra in particular is great, and the Magic 6 Pro somehow manages to take exceptional photos of fast-moving objects. Of all the phones I’ve used this year, I preferred the Find difficult scenarios.

But I don’t care about any of that. What the Pixel 8 Pro lacks in hardware prowess it more than makes up for in software, and that’s ultimately the differentiator. The Find X7 Ultra’s interface is smooth like no other phone, but trying to fight the Chinese version of ColorOS to do what I wanted became a constant source of frustration. Same with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Xiaomi’s long-awaited software overhaul isn’t much different, and if anything, it’s more annoying to use.

The Pixel 8 Pro, on the other hand, manages to deliver an overall experience that is simply better than other devices. The software doesn’t have as many features as its competitors, but those included by Google are inevitably widely used; I love At A Glance and Now Playing and use both features constantly, Recorder is my go-to choice for recording and transcribing interviews, and all the AI-infused camera features that debuted in the Pixel 8 Pro are fantastic to use.

While many brands are integrating AI into almost every product they can imagine, I love what Google has done in this area. Best Shot, Audio Magic Eraser, and Magic Editor are all useful features that make a difference in the way I take and edit photos and videos, and I even get a lot of use out of Video Boost.

There’s also the fact that I like the Material You interface; it’s quirky and fun, and it does a great job with the basics: managing notifications, navigating the UI, and security.

I know it’s not for everyone, but for what I need from a phone, the Pixel 8 Pro continues to be the perfect choice.