Report: Pixel 8/8 Pro to Feature “Considerable” Camera Upgrade

Android Authority has received a leak that details the camera systems that Google will include in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro later this year. This leak, from “a source inside Google,” indicates that these handsets will receive “a considerable hardware upgrade” over the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

According to the blog, the biggest upgrade this year applies to both phones: where Google last year used a Samsung ISOCELL GN1 main (wide) lens, this year they will get the Samsung ISOCELL GN2, which is a larger sensor that lets in 35 percent more light. It also supports 8K/30 fps video capture (though it should be noted that current Pixels run very hot at 4K/60 fps) and staggered HDR.

From there, the phones differ (as they do for the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro).

The Pixel 8 Pro is getting a nice ultra-wide upgrade, too: Google is replacing the ancient 12 MP Sony IMX386 lens used in the Pixel 7 with a 64 MP Sony IMX787 lens. But the Pixel 8 Pro will sadly include the same 48 MP Samsung GM5 lens with 5X optical zoom as its predecessor. This is a decent lens, but my wife’s year-old Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has dramatically better optical and hybrid zoom capabilities, so this is an area where Pixel remains inferior.

The (non-Pro) Pixel 8 is getting a minor upgrade to its ultra-wide lens. Here, Google is using the same 12 MP Sony IMX386 lens as last year, but it will have a slightly better zoom ratio (0.55X vs. 0.67X). This seems like a big step down from the lens in the Pixel 8 Pro.

Finally, where the Pixel 8 will soldier forward with the same STMicroelectronics VL53L1 Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor as the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, the Pixel 8 Pro will get a “massive upgrade” in the form of an 8×8 ToF VL53L8 sensor that should improve autofocus performance.

And while this isn’t related to the camera system, the Pixel 8 Pro will also include a Melexis MLX90632 thermometer sensor in its camera bar that will be used to measure the user’s skin/body temperature, the blog says.