Technologies

Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Watch 2: Everything Google Just Announced

«The most beautiful phones we’ve ever made.»

At Wednesday’s Made by Google event, the company launched its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones along with the Pixel Watch 2, to no one’s surprise — the world already knew a lot of the details thanks to information that dribbled out in the weeks leading up.

Like the other hardware-slash-operating system companies, Google highlighted the way its phones use new features in Android 14, which was announced at Google I/O in June, and becomes available with these phones when they ship by midmonth. Unsurprisingly, it concentrates on its AI-based software rather than the changes to the phone’s hardware over the Pixel 7 line, including updates to Google Assistant and new photo editing tools. There are some notable hardware updates, like the company’s new Tensor G3 AI-accelerator, improved screen brightness, a new temperature sensor and new cameras.

The Pixel Watch 2 also received some modest improvements, such as more accurate heart-rate sensing and updates to its safety features and more. Like Android, the Watch’s operating system, Wear OS 4, was announced at Google I/O and ships with the Watch at the same time as the phones.

Rick Osterloh, Google’s SVP for devices and services, breezed through some updates before he even got to the main products. The Pixel Buds Pro get upgraded with AI enhancements to sound quality, and use of Bluetooth Super Wide Band for more flexible, high-bandwidth sound. They have reduced latency, which is important for gaming. They’ll come in new colors to match the phones, bay blue and porcelain.

The Pixel Fold will be updated with Dual Screen translation, and its discussion of Google Home AI and Assistant updates, which will first launch as experiments — notably the future Google Assistant with Bard preview — sounded an awful lot like Amazon’s Alexa boosts.

Pixel support has been expanded to seven years of support and updates, as well.

Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones

A lot remains the same for these phones relative to their predecessors, but there are a handful of hardware and software upgrades to increase their appeal. For instance, the screen sizes remain the same but they have improved the adaptive refresh rates’ range, which can let it drop very low when you don’t need the speed and make your battery happier. Google’s gone rounder with all the edges, which turns out to be calming. And new Actua and Super Actua displays on the Pixel and the Pro, respectively, deliver much brighter HDR peaks — 2,400 nits, for the Pro, which is high.

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro next to one another in someone's hands.

Both phones have main cameras with new dual-conversion gain sensors, a technology like that used by the Galaxy S23’s Isocell HP2 sensor, which lets it apply two different gain curves to the image — boosting and reducing noise in shadows and pulling back on areas with bright highlights — to generate a high dynamic range image in a single shot rather than merging a burst at different exposures.

They also have marginally higher resolution front cameras, but the Pro can autofocus.

Every AI demo we’ve seen in the past couple of years has shown itself off by summarizing web pages, and Google Assistant’s enhancement is no different. But its call spam filter, Call Screen, sounds more natural when it answers for you. It’s also designed to analyze voice-message context and widgetize it into actionable items — think getting various choices of an autoresponse to the food delivery person who’s dropping off dinner.

See the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro Up Close and Personal

Google's Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones in their rose and bay colors

Google Pixel 8 Pro's three-camera camera bar

the Pixel 8 smartphone in Google's rose color

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A new Video Boost feature automatically retouches videos’ shadows and noise and applies digital image stabilization, but in the cloud rather than on your phone. Because a data center has a lot more processing power to efficiently work with the full-resolution file, which happens when the video syncs from your phone to the heavens. You see a lower-resolution (1080p) proxy on your phone until the video’s been completely processed and synced back. Additionally, Google’s bringing its low-light Night Sight image processing to video.

Google’s own camera app gets manual controls for shutter speed, exposure time (for timed shooting in extreme low light), white balance, ISO sensitivity and focus. There are also enhancements to some photo file formats in the form of more metadata for color management (like Adobe DNG) and to properly display photos on other devices (Ultra HDR).

Additionally, there are a handful of new or improved «magic» and AI-boosted features, such as Best Take. It lets you merge selected faces in a group show to create a single version in which everyone’s got their best face on — or worst, if that’s the way you roll. Audio Magic Eraser can theoretically distinguish and filter out particular sounds.

The Pixel 8 Pro distinguishes itself from the plain ol’ Pixel 8 in a few ways. It’s still larger (6.7 inches to the Pixel’s 6.2) and has a marginally higher capacity battery with a concomitant marginal increase in weight of 1 gram.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro has a thick section, the

It’s also the first Google device to be able to run some lighter weight generative AI operations, such as a more fine tuned Magic Eraser, thanks to in-phone AI foundation models (the code that’s essential to run them locally).

One big add to the Pro’s hardware is a temperature sensor to measure the heat coming off items, for instance to tell you if they’re exceptionally hot or cold — that could be a boon to people with temperature-sensitive teeth… I guess? Well, it’s not the most crowd-pleasing sensor, at least until Food and Drug Administration approval comes through to let Google use it for measuring body temperature. I would actually find this useful to measure how hot a laptop gets — if only to confirm I’m not imagining things.

It also has a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera with a new sensor that’s more sensitive than the older 12-megapixel version; it’s got a wider aperture lens to let in more light. Plus, it can now autofocus and shortens the macro focus distance by about 1cm.

The Pixel 8 Pro starts at $999 (£999, AU$1,699) and the Pixel 8 at $699 (£699, AU$1,199). Both start shipping on Oct. 12 and are available to preorder now.

Google Pixel Watch 2

The second generation of Google’s wrist wearable integrates some Fitbit Sense 2 capabilities, like automatically starting and stopping workouts, which the Apple Watch has had for a while, plus adds sensors for detecting temperature and stress indicators.

Other new features include a better heart rate sensor that collects data from multiple contact points (it claims up to 40% more accurate tracking at high altitude), and improved training tools that incorporate the new data. Plus there’s a processor upgrade for improved performance (the watch, not you) — faster processor, faster charge, «all day» battery — and new safety features. One example of the latter is Safety Check, the equivalent of «if you don’t hear from me in an hour, call the police.» There’s also real-time emergency location sharing.

It’s more durable, with better cover glass and tweaks to some of the band design aspects.

It ships on Oct. 12 for $350 (£349, AU$549); preorders start today.

Technologies

Yes, You Can Still Get Games for Less Than $50. These Are the Best I’ve Played

Video game prices are going up, but these titles cost less without sacrificing quality.

It’s no secret that video games are likely going to cost more in 2026. It’s already been confirmed that some AAA games, like The Outer Worlds 2, will be priced at $80 when they come out. It’s ironic that a game that satirizes corporate greed should be the first official title with a higher price, but here we are.

However, another trend has quietly emerged over the past few months: Many great AA games are being released for $50 or less. A lot of these titles are currently on sale, too, so you can pick them up even cheaper right now.

As an avid gamer, I’ve found a lot more affordable titles that are well worth your consideration. One is even the top contender for Game of the Year. And who knows, maybe one of them will end up being your new favorite game.

The best games for $50 or less right now

Claire Obscur: Expedition 33
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
FBC Firebreak
Elden Ring Nightreign
Helldivers 2
Alan Wake II

The best games for $50 or less

Technologies

Google Teases Pixel 10 Ahead of August Reveal

The Pixel 10 looks identical to the Pixel 9, from what we can see so far.

Google has lifted the curtains on the Pixel 10, its flagship phone for 2025, via a short clip posted on the Google Store homepage on Monday. The Pixel 10 will likely be fully revealed at a Made by Google event in New York on Aug. 20.

The teaser video simply shows the back of the device with the Pixel’s prominent oval-shaped camera bar, along with a flash and sensor of some sort. It follows a similar design to past Pixels, but whereas the Pixels 6, 7 and 8 all had camera bars that ran edge-to-edge, the Pixel 9 and 10’s camera bar is an island. The more affordable Pixel 9A from earlier this year doesn’t sport any sort of camera bump, and instead sits flush with the device.

It comes after a series of leaks about the device have hit the internet over the last few months, including the phone being spotted during a commercial shoot on the streets of Vancouver back in May.

Current Pixel 10 rumors point to a very similar design to last year’s handset, with some strong internal upgrades. Notably, the Tensor 5 chip will be made by TSMC on a 3nm process, according to an Android Authority report from March. Previous Tensor chips were made by Samsung.

The screen on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will see a boost from 2,700 nits to 3,000 nits, according to another Android Authority report. It’ll also get a battery bump to 5,015 mAh, a 7% increase from last year’s foldable.

As for cameras, the Pixel 10 will reportedly get the 50-megapixel Samsung GN8 wide-angle lens, an 11MP 3J1 telephoto lens (the 3J1 will also be used for the selfie camera) and Sony’s 13-megapixel IMX712 ultrawide lens. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold likely won’t have the same high-end camera array, as foldable phones have less room to work with.

The Pixel 10 will almost certainly be powered by Android 16 and will have a slew of AI features.

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.

While Google’s hardware business is a small part of the company’s overall revenue, the Pixel line does serve an important role in signaling to other hardware partners where the company sees the future of its Android mobile operating system. Pixel phones, which seldom focus on raw power, deliver clean user interfaces with strong computational photography.

The well-reviewed Pixel portfolio does put Google in a somewhat awkward position with hardware partners that decided to make Android devices rather than go off and make their own operating systems. With Google’s own phones, the tech giant is directly competing with Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola and others.

While Samsung is the second largest handset maker worldwide (behind Apple), according to Statcounter, Google has been eating away at market share in certain markets. With the release of the Pixel 9 last year, Google made strong inroads in North American markets.

Technologies

Ted Lasso Kicks Off Filming for Season 4 in Kansas City. Here’s What We Know So Far

Jason Sudeikis and the AFC Richmond gang are back with a new pitch and new faces now that filming is underway in the US and London.

Cue the biscuits and believe signs: Ted Lasso is back on the pitch as Apple TV Plus confirmed Monday that production on the Emmy-winning comedy’s fourth season has begun. Filming has started in Kansas City, Missouri — Jason Sudeikis’s hometown — with additional scenes planned for London.

Season 4 of the streaming series will find Ted tackling an entirely new challenge as he takes on coaching a second division women’s football team. According to Apple’s logline, you can expect plenty of leaps of faith and signature pep talks as Ted and his players navigate unfamiliar turf.

Most of the beloved cast returns for the next chapter, including Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift. A handful of newcomers are joining the squad, too: Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern and Grant Feely, who steps in as Ted’s son, Henry.

Read also: 16 Funniest Ted Lasso Quotes: Tea Is ‘Garbage Water,’ and God Hates Tie Scores

Behind the scenes, Ted Lasso brings on Emmy-winner Jack Burditt (Modern Family, 30 Rock) as executive producer under a new overall deal with Apple. Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence return as executive producers, alongside series vets Joe Kelly and Jane Becker.

The feel-good comedy has been a cultural juggernaut for Apple TV Plus since it premiered in 2020, racking up back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys for its first two seasons and helping boost Apple’s original streaming slate alongside titles like CODA.

There is no release date set for Season 4 yet.