Google shows off Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2 ahead of launch – Ars Technica

It has been published by Google Store Promotional page For the Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2 before their launch on October 4, confirming the designs of both devices. Google accidentally leaked a A collection of 3D renderings One day, now that the cat is out of the bag, Google has gone ahead and made it official.

We saw live images of the Pixel 8 Pro back in May, so there’s not much to add about the device’s design. But still, the video confirms what’s to come next month. The biggest change is the switch to a flat screen instead of the distorted, curved screens that have saddled flagship Android phones. There’s also a questionably useful temperature sensor on the back, which was proven useful in May for measuring a person’s body temperature by holding your phone app directly to your forehead. The sides are still mirror glossy in the Pro version.

We got a shot at the cheaper Pixel 8, too. This confirms that it still has a satin finish instead of a mirror finish and it still only has two cameras. It also does not get a temperature sensor.

The camera array on the Pixel 8 Pro is a little different. All the main lenses — the prime, wide-angle lens, and rectangular telescope zoom lens — now live in one large aperture. The camera sensors have been swapped out a bit as well. Between the first and second camera lenses, those two identical circles are the laser autofocus system, and the Pixel 8 Pro appears to have a microphone here as well. The small square chip is a color sensor, which now lives on the right side of the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera array. And of course, there’s the big white temperature sensor below the LED flash.

The other big improvement that we know comes with the Pixel 8 is Google’s new “Tensor G3” chip. In contrast to the Tensor 1 to 2 transition, Google is upgrading ARM cores this year, and rumor has it Google is using X3 basic As a flagship CPU, this puts it on par with other flagship chips of 2023.

Google’s teaser page includes a single image of the Pixel Watch 2, which will also be announced on October 4. The design looks identical to the original watch, so there’s not much to see. On the plus side, this means that the old watch bands will work on the new watch, which is great since the metal option only came out in June, eight months after the watch was released. The Pixel Watch 2 will now hit the street with a more complete set of the range. The downside is that the biggest complaints about the Pixel Watch, the small screen and giant bezels, haven’t been resolved. You can increase the contrast in Google Image and see the screen at the same size as the old version.

This device also gets a major CPU upgrade. The Pixel Watch 1 will ship with a 4-year-old Samsung chip, while the Pixel Watch 2 will ship with a 15-month-old Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon W5 SoC. This would certainly be an improvement for Google, but typically high-end devices use a segment from the current year.

to update: There’s a video now too.

We’re sure there will be more leaks between now and October 4. The big questions that still need to be answered are price and why someone would want a temperature sensor on a phone.