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Leaked Pixel 8 renders put the spotlight on Google's unexpectedly compact 2023 high-end phone

By Adrian Diaconescu

Updated: Mar 15, 2023, 9:14 AM

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Leaked Pixel 8 renders put the spotlight on Google's unexpectedly compact 2023 high-end phone

UPDATE: Believe it or not, the Pixel 8 is likely to sport a 6.2-inch and not a 5.8-inch screen after all, which might not sound as compact as initially anticipated. But the overall product dimensions leaked by Steve Hemmerstoffer still stand, so Google is now expected to somehow squeeze almost as much screen real estate as on the Pixel 7 into a considerably shorter and narrower body.

At the end of the day, the non-Pro Pixel 8 continues to look like an unusually compact high-end smartphone by modern standards, which should definitely pique the interest of hardcore Google fans who are into such a thing. Our original post follows below.

When it rains, it pours. The old saying seems to apply to Google's upcoming Pixel products, which are leaking like crazy all of a sudden after a surprisingly lengthy period of radio silence on the rumor front, especially as far as the search giant's next "mainstream" high-end handsets are concerned.

Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are in the limelight roughly two months ahead of their expected first official showing at the I/O developer conference and six or seven months before a full announcement and commercial debut.

While that should obviously make you skeptical of everything coming through the grapevine at this point in time, Steve Hemmerstoffer's @OnLeaks track record makes the following renders leaked in collaboration with MySmartPrice pretty much impossible to contest.

Familiar but new

After last year's 6.3-inch Pixel 7 took the winning design of 2021's 6.3-inch Pixel 6 and made it even more winning with a few subtle but important visual revisions, 2023's "vanilla" Pixel 8 is essentially guaranteed to do more or less the same thing to its predecessor.

What we're looking at today is a refined... 5.8-incher with rounded corners, razor-thin screen bezels, and the same old premium construction combining a metal frame with a shiny glass back to keep up with the latest trends in Android flagship designs.

While the Pixel 8's family resemblance with the Pixel 7 is undeniably strong, its changes are also undoubtedly far more notable than what 2022's 6.3-inch pure Google powerhouse brought to the table compared to the Pixel 6 before it.

That 5.8-inch display (if real) is likely to make for an unusually compact high-end phone by 2023 standards, with the overall product dimensions tipped at 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9mm. That would be a solid 5 millimeter shorter, 2.4mm narrower, and 0.2mm thicker than the Pixel 7, and of course, if you also consider the protruding rear-facing camera module, the product thickness is expected to go further up to 12mm.

The unmistakable camera visor slapped on the Pixel 8's back, mind you, seems to include just two imaging sensors and an LED flash, exactly as on the Pixel 7's rear. Naturally, that doesn't necessarily mean the photography skills and capabilities will remain the same as last year, although we don't have any inside information either way at the moment. What's safe to assume is that extreme zoom photography enthusiasts will need to shell out some extra dough for the telephoto shooter-packing Pixel 8 Pro.

What do we know about the Pixel 8 specs?

In short, (almost) nothing. For certain, exactly nothing. Of course, a third-gen Google Tensor processor is all but etched in stone to run the raw power show inside both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, as well as quite possibly a state-of-the-art Pixel 8 Ultra model and maybe even the Pixel Fold (unless that first-gen device will settle for a Tensor G2 to keep production costs in check).

A big upgrade... of some sort for the Pixel 7's primary camera was a few months ago tipped as a key Pixel 8 selling point, and if history is any indication, Google will continue to separate its high-end devices in terms of memory, putting "only" 8 gigs of RAM on the base model this year too.

It remains to be seen if the non-Pro Pixel 8 will jump from its forerunner's 90Hz display refresh rate technology to match the Pixel 7 Pro's 120Hz support (as it well should), while the screen resolution is unlikely to go beyond the Full HD+ mark with this year's size shrinkage. Speaking of shrinkage, we definitely hope the battery capacity will not take a big hit, a theory supported (at least in part) by the aforementioned bump in overall product thickness.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.