Google Pixel 6 Pro vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Should you upgrade?

It’s increasingly common, it seems, to acknowledge that there isn’t as much reason to upgrade your smartphone these days as there was even a few years ago. Year-to-year changes have become incremental. The longer you wait, though, the more those changes can add up. So, if you’re weighing an upgrade from the Google Pixel 6 Pro to the new Pixel 8 Pro, is the leap justifiable?

There’s a range of spec upgrades here, but the biggest is obviously Google’s third-generation Tensor processor. We’ll benchmark it for our full review. In the meantime, it’s safe to assume that while you might not notice the G3’s power vs the first-gen Tensor in apps like Reddit or Gmail, it could make a big difference in games, or in apps that depend heavily on AI. Indeed, Google says that it can run many AI processes on-device that formerly had to be handled in the cloud.

You’ll also notice the display. The Pixel 8 Pro has a slightly taller 20:9 aspect ratio, and actually drops a little in resolution from 3,120 x 1,440 to 2,992 x 1,344. That pixel density doesn’t matter much thankfully, but what does is that the new screen can get intensely bright, up to a peak of 2,400 nits, even if you’ll usually just see 1,600 nits when viewing HDR content. If you regularly squint at your phone in sunlight, this could be a reason to upgrade.

Some minor upgrades include Face Unlock, and improved connectivity in the form of things like USB 3.2, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7. More significant to some will be 30W wired charging, though you’ll need to buy a compatible USB PD PPS charger, since Google doesn’t include one in the box.

We’ll lastly mention that there’s a new 1TB storage option for US buyers, and all Pixel 8 Pros now have a built-in thermometer. We’re not quite sure why Google added it, to be honest — while you can use it to check the temperature of food and other objects, no one was clamoring for that, certainly not when smartphone batteries still last little more than a day. The company is seeking FDA approval to validate the sensor for checking humans; at that point it should have more utility.

In terms of size, there’s virtually no difference between the two phones. You can’t reuse your Pixel 6 Pro case (check out best Pixel 8 Pro cases list for some new ones), but the adjustments are minor, and if anything, the 8 Pro (above) is actually a tiny bit shorter despite keeping a 6.7-inch screen and changing to that 20:9 aspect ratio. Google’s distinctive rear camera bar remains, simply looking nicer thanks to design changes that originated with the Pixel 7 Pro.

While we have yet to complete our Pixel 8 Pro camera tests, one thing we can say so far is that while its camera upgrades aren’t essential, they might push the boundaries of what you can shoot. The phone’s telephoto lens for instance delivers 5x optical zoom, up from 4x, filling the frame better when shooting things like scenery or concerts. Apertures are also wider on all of the rear lenses, improving low-light performance.

The phone’s ultrawide lens is paired with a 48MP sensor, up from 12MP on the Pixel 6 Pro. If you take a lot of ultra-wide shots, that could mean a significant jump in quality. Other enhancements include multi-zone laser autofocus for the rear cameras, and basic autofocus for the front-facing selfie shooter.

Long-term Pixel users will know that the real story is image processing. Google likes to brag about its computational photography tricks, not to mention a number of features and tools that are exclusive to Pixels, such as Face Unblur and the Magic Eraser. While not available for the phone’s launch, the Pixel 8 Pro should be the first model to get Google’s Video Boost and Night Sight Video tech for improved low-light recording, and some other options like Best Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser. Some of these will filter back to the 6 Pro, but if you want a cutting-edge camera phone, the 8 Pro is it. You’ll also need an 8 Pro for Video Boost, which enables Night Sight videos, among other AI tweaks.

The 6 Pro remains very capable, as you can see from the photo samples below. If you haven’t been running up against any limitations so far, don’t feel pressured to spend money.

In most respects, nothing has changed here. The phones have similar mAh ratings, and support 23W wireless charging with a 2nd-gen Pixel Stand, or 12W when using a generic Qi charger. They also support Google’s Battery Share reverse charging.

We’ll need to fully test the Pixel 8 Pro to see if there are any optimizations in battery life. Even if there aren’t, though, support for 30W wired charging (compared with 23W on the Pixel 6 Pro) should make it quicker to top up the phone. That’s assuming of course that you have a USB PD PPS charger, and you’ll need one of your own, since the only bundled power accessory is a USB-C cable.

Google does promise “beyond 24-hour battery life” when using a mix of various functions, and up to 72 hours when Extreme Battery Saver is enabled. It’s best to avoid that mode whenever possible though, since it shuts off many features and cripples performance.

Google no longer sells the Pixel 6 Pro, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find new units for sale anywhere else, especially with the Pixel 8 lineup slated to ship October 12. You can find refurbished models at radically shifting price points (possibly lower than what we’ve listed), but even those are in short supply.

The Pixel 8 Pro is launching at $999, a full $100 more than the 6 Pro did in 2021. That’s to be expected unfortunately, given inflation and prices for competing phones like the iPhone 15 Pro. You’ll pay even more for higher storage tiers, to the point that a 1TB model costs as much as a respectable desktop PC.

The Pixel 8 Pro is initially launching in 20 markets, including the US, Canada, India, Japan, and much of Europe. Google will presumably expand the product’s reach over the next year.

If you own a Pixel 6 Pro, the 8 Pro probably isn’t a must-have. Google isn’t abandoning its older phone yet, and the 8 Pro doesn’t introduce anything revolutionary. It’s conceivable that true professionals might be quick sells — say if they shoot a lot of photos or video for social media, do live AI transcriptions, or work outdoors in the sun — but the 6 Pro was already pretty solid in those areas.

If you’ve got the disposable income to upgrade simply because you want to, we feel like there’s a better case. Cumulatively, the enhancements to the Pixel 8 Pro may be enough to make it feel fresh, particularly if the thing you value most is photo and video quality. Google seems to be at the top of its game in camera hardware and software. Shopping today, its only real challengers are Apple and Samsung. And with seven years of guaranteed OS and security updates, the Pixel 8 Pro is a safe long-term investment.

That said, the longer you hold off, the more novelty you can expect out of a new Pixel. If you’re going to spend on luxury purchases from Google this year, it might make more sense to buy a new Fitbit or Pixel Watch 2, or maybe some Google Nest smart home gear. After all, the Pixel 6 Pro will still get at least one more OS upgrade after Android 14 and two further years of security patches. There’s still life in Google’s first-ever Pro-tier Pixel yet.