The latest Pixel 8 Pro leaks reveal Google’s smart decisions

Google is preparing to launch the third generation of its revitalized smartphone program with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro later this year. The Pixel line plays an important role in Google’s Android story by illustrating what the company believes smartphones, tablets, and wearables have to offer.

They have proved surprisingly popular with the public with some notable successes around the world, such as Japan, where the Pixel is the number two smartphone brand. The Pixel hardware clearly reflects Google’s decisions for its Android platform. This is why the latest Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro leaks are exciting; they offer the clearest view of the world of Google smartphones.

It’s worth noting that the most significant visible change may be what makes the Pixel 8 Pro smaller. Google is removing the curved edges from the display and giving this year’s model a flat panel with a slight drop in size that should translate into a phone a millimeter or two smaller. Maybe not enough to make a big difference, but enough for the marketing to say the phone is smaller.

The first significant change is inside. Google will launch its third mobile chipset with Tensor Mobile G3. Building on the previous two designs, the G3 will switch to the latest ARMv9 cores from 2022. This should offer parity between the G3 and other leading chipsets such as Qualcomm’s SnapDragon 8 Gen 1 series.

The competition is moving towards ARM v9.2 and will have a direct performance advantage. However, as with the G1 and G2, Google will rely on hardware support for AI and ML paths, allowing those processor-intensive tasks to run faster and more efficiently.

Photographers will have seen the Tensor Mobile power up new image editing tools, including the Magic Eraser to remove unwanted objects from a snapped image and Photo Unblur to undo the impact of a shaking hand while taking an image .

Videographs is joining the AI ​​and ML editing club with a new feature debuting on the Pixel 8 Pro. This week, a leaked promo video showcased the Audio Magic Eraser tool. It shows a video being analyzed and at least three on-screen filters (noise, people, and music) next to a sliding scale, presumably for filter strength.

Audio Magic Eraser could work alongside the previously discovered Video Unblur feature. A close look at Android application packages revealed the latter in March, although the feature is not yet available.

The other leaked spec of note is in the available storage space. There have been several discussions about Google’s inclusion of a 128GB model; with so much attention paid to multimedia, this seems like a glaring omission by some. It will reduce the entry-level price, help market the family of phones, and make Pixel technology accessible when household budgets are squeezed around the world.

The 128GB model isn’t for you if you’re very into multimedia content creation. But it’s not the only model either. Google will offer the Pixel 8 Pro in two other options, one with 256GB and one with a whopping 512GB.

Google’s Pixel 8 Pro is really an interaction with the Pixel 7 Pro; the processor is updated with the latest technology, the software builds on features from previous models and brings photo editing to video editing, and Google ensures that the basic specs deliver a great device across the portfolio.

Pixel 8 Pro is expected to launch alongside Pixel 8 later this year.

Now read the latest Pixel headlines in the Forbes Android Circuit Weekly Roundup…