Google Pixel 8 - Unlocked Android Smartphone with Advanced Pixel Camera, 24-Hour Battery, and Powerful Security - Obsidian - 128 GB

First off, I confess to being a Pixel 4a fanatic. To my mind, it is the single best Android phone ever, given the price point, sleek dimensions, and durability. After four years of use, my darling Barely Blue 4a was still going strong. If it were up to me, I would have continued to use it until it would run no more.Alas, as with all things business nowadays, it has a usable lifespan that is shorter than its little-phoone-that-could heart. Google stopped providing security updates for it in August 2023, and I will not wade into the hatchet job the company effected from afar on Pixel 4a users through a forced battery software retool in January 2025.Luckily for me, my 4a was not among the Impacted Devices that imploded after Google's sneaky move. Still, the battery had already degraded, and the battery "fix" meant that it lost power sooner. My 4a is still fine as a backup phone, and I will use it that way going forward. In any case, I had purchased this Pixel 8 over the holidays, after being unimpressed by the Pixel 9 series phones at the significantly higher pricetag.No phone will rival the 4a in my heart (though perhaps the Pixel 5 was close enough), but this is now the most compact feature-laden phone I could find. The Pixel 8a is quite close, and I nearly chose that, but the 8 has significant upgrades that made it worthwhile, particularly as I actually paid less for it than sale prices on the 8a.The Pixel 8 has a sharp screen, snappy performance, and on the tweaks I care about, without any of the pricey additions that do not matter to me. Certainly the screen is brighter, the processor a tad faster, and the battery a bit beefier on the 9 series, but not enough to distract me from my wallet's contentment with the 8's pricetag. The fingerprint reader is a disappointment, particularly coming from the effortless 4a back-of-the-phone version, but again, not worth several hundred dollars more to me for the upgrade.This phone has guaranteed security updates through fall of 2030, smooth scrolling, all the great Pixel camera perks and none of the silly gimmicks. Although the 9a is just around the corner, I am quite content to sit with my Pixel 8 until someone wises up to the niche of folks who want a small (as in 4a size) phone with many but not all of the bells and whistles, or until I give up and purchase another phone with enough to offer to make it worth my while.

I've had this phone for 4 months now! Here are some things I LOVE:•Takes GORGEOUS photos• It's very fast• It has a long lasting battery and charges within an hour• The neutral yet sophisticated color of this phone. I put a clear case on it to show it off.• Unlocked - it was a breeze to set up with my existing carrier• Brightness has a wide range which is great for being outside in the sun and in bed with the lights off• Android has a seemingly unlimited number of customization features which I always am excited forCons:• This thing is massive and kind of heavy - just something to think about• The camera sticks out a bit so the phone never lays flat on its back, only if you lay it screen side down• There is no double-tap to wake or turn off the screen - this is something I miss about my old phoneOverall, it really is the best phone I've ever had - no regrets!!

March 2024 update: Most software kinks worked out at this point, phone still feels fantastic to use. Definitely not the best battery life or most efficient processor, however it's still very fast and usable for everything, gaming included. Cameras really are spectacular - everyone I talk to loves the pictures I take with this phone. Good image processing too. List of pixel exclusive features keeps growing, definitely worth it for those.Idk what other people are doing when they are having issues getting their carrier to register on their phone - for me it took about 5 seconds during the setup process after transferring my SIM from my pixel 6 to the 8 pro, and it was all set.Phone is less of a toaster than my pixel 6, better cameras, feels faster - ill get back to this in a moment - better screen, lots of really cool software features that are worth spending the time to learn about.Does it actually feel faster? 100% yes - however you should remember that this is a brand new phone, and depending on what data you transfer over, it's going to take some time to "relearn" or recache your habits and such, so certain things are gonna load a little slow at first, but speed up a lot over time - this is expected behavior. Also keep in mind since it's still new, there are some bugs here and there that software updates will work out over time. I noticed a couple, nothing that majorly impacts my usage though.Overall, fantastic phone, really easy setup - esp if you had a pixel prior - I really like the shade of blue they used as well for the pro, good case choice can compliment it quite nicely. I do kind of wish the titanium was less shiny, but its not a big deal for me.