It's safe to say Google has spent the last year one step behind the competition when it came to AI. Despite its status as internet royalty — along with a brain trust seemingly geared perfectly to lead the charge into LLMs and machine learning — Google found itself caught off-guard by the immediate popularity of ChatGPT. And as Microsoft has cemented a cozy relationship with OpenAI, right down to a near-successful total acqui-hire during Sam Altman's brief firing in November, Google has continued to try to make a play at similar games.
Largely speaking, I don't think the company has been successful, save for one bright spot. The Pixel 8 Pro has become the AI smartphone, thanks in large part to a popular ad campaign running during virtually every televised sport and before most major motion pictures. Although Google's been pushing ahead on AI-powered tricks in mobile for years, particularly since its move to Tensor, the Pixel 8 Pro was the first time the company really defined its exclusive features as AI-based.
Call it a marketing move if you want, but I think it's working. I'm not sure how much of a dent the Pixel 8 Pro will make in the market share of competitors like Samsung and Apple, but people know about the Pixel's AI gimmicks just as they know about the iPhone 15 Pro's titanium chassis. And while features like Best Take alone might not cement the Pixel 8 Pro as the best Android phone of 2023, it certainly makes it one of the most important.
Granted, Google's play here wasn't really cemented until it announced its Gemini LLM, right alongside the December Feature Drop for Pixels. Although it was far from a perfect launch — being caught in the middle of some misleading demos isn't exactly starting off on the best foot — Google debuting Gemini Nano is the first time we've really seen a major smartphone player bring on-device LLMs to the masses. If companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek have spent this year pitching us on the future of AI being in our pocket, it's the Pixel 8 Pro that first showcased what we can expect the next decade of smartphones to look like.
That's not to say Gemini is perfect, of course. It's really restricted in its current state, limited to just two relatively minor tools as we end the year and, beyond that, hidden behind developer settings in Android. The vast majority of the public — hell, the vast majority of Pixel users — don't know the future of AI on Android is slowly kicking off first on the Pixel 8 Pro. And while my earliest impressions left me fairly unimpressed with what Gemini Nano currently brings to the table, I'm still absolutely interested to see where Google goes from here.
That all cements the Pixel 8 Pro as an important phone, both in the now and throughout its seven years of promised support. What makes it Android Police's pick for the best smartphone of 2023, though, is how it all comes together in the user experience. This year, we saw phones with better designs, larger batteries, more powerful processors, and bigger screens than the Pixel 8 Pro. None of that matters, because the end user experience is just so damn good. Arguably, it's the first Tensor phone that I feel I can trust when I slip it into my pocket.
The design is better than ever — thanks to its new combination of matte glass and a flat display, this is something I don't mind using without a case. The camera is up to par with what we've come to expect from Google, and Video Boost (at least in our earliest impressions) seems to bring the Pixel's video capabilities up to par with what Apple's capable of, albeit with the requirement of cloud processing. Battery life, in my experience, has been pretty solid across the board, and seven years of OS upgrades will keep it a worthy device for years to come.
While I've made it no secret the OnePlus Open really won my heart this year — and I'll have plenty more to say about that in its own write-up — the Pixel 8 Pro is a fantastic phone today, one that's easier than ever to recommend. It's the best, most complete package for the average Android user in 2023, and no matter where I think Google might take its smartphones from here, that's enough to make it our top pick. And all that AI potential? If Google can stick the landing — and frankly, that's a huge if — it'll just be icing on the cake.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
If you just want a smartphone that fits into your daily life without much of a hassle, the Pixel 8 Pro is it. Not only is it a phenomenal smartphone in its own right, but it's also Google's go-to testing grounds for all things AI for the next year. Combine those two experiences and you have a recipe for our favorite Android phone of 2023.
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December 25, 2023 at 08:01PM
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Google's Pixel 8 Pro cemented its vision of what a futuristic smartphone should be - Android Police
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