What do you get on a new Android phone? Slightly better cameras, a better processor and perhaps better battery life. Then there is the form factor. But it’s still a phone doing the same old things within certain limitations. Google continues to break the box by not just making hardware updates but by injecting a lot of AI and machine learning into its devices, like it has done on the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Instead of looking at spec sheets of either phone, let’s look at some of the cool features you can get from these phones. These are features that will leave other Android phones behind.

Best Take, Video Boost, Magic Editor and more AI-driven features are arriving with Pixel 8 and 8 Pro

Temperature sensor

The coffee is not hot enough. The baby’s milk is too hot. All this and more will be easy to spot with Google’s new phone, the Pixel 8 Pro. The phone comes with a temperature sensor.
The new sensor is one of the key differences that separates the Pixel 8 Pro from the cheaper Pixel 8. It has a lot of potential, especially when you consider the fact that almost all Android phones have become similar. The temperature sensor sits below the flash on the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera bar.

When the user wants to take a needs to be launched and select the type of object you’re trying to measure, like food or fabric. After selecting the material, position the sensor within two inches of the surface.

At the moment it will not be able to take body temperature readings. Google is waiting on FDA approval to enable the Pixel 8 Pro to do the same. So you have to be happy with the surface temperature of your bath water or that of the hot pan before you put on a piece of chicken breast.

Before Google, Chinese smartphone brand Honor launched a phone called the Play 4 Pro in 2020 which apparently had a contactless thermometer and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 from 2013 also had a sensor for measuring temperature and humidity levels in your surroundings.

Count to seven

A lot can change in seven years but Google says its new phones — Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro — can take all that you throw at it for seven years at least. First phones to launch with Android 14, both devices will support seven years of “OS, security, and Feature Drop updates”… in other words, you will be able to use them till 2030 before software support begins to falter.

This is a big announcement. Google has previously offered five years of security updates and only three years of Android OS upgrades. At the moment, Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi are promising four generations of Android version updates and five years of security updates for their latest flagships. The problem lies with the chipset manufacturer, which usually ends support for older processors. Google’s phones are powered by the company’s own chip, Tensor.

Apple doesn’t mention the length of software support but it generally lasts at least five-six major iOS version updates and then the company occasionally releases security patches for older devices.

The new devices are expected to support Android 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 provided the naming system doesn’t change before 2030. Getting more years out of an expensive phone makes the purchase palatable.

Audio Magic Eraser

Earlier, Google presented Magic Eraser to clear unwanted elements from photographs. Now you can delete sounds you don’t want to hear. Suppose you are in a park listening to someone play the guitar and perhaps recording it. At that very moment, the siren of a firetruck is heard. You can delete the latter in a matter of seconds. Google is using machine learning and has learned to identify sounds like sirens, animals, speech, wind and crowds. It may not seem like a lot but once you begin to use it, the potential will be appreciated.

Video Boost

Google is bringing a skin temperature and continuous electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor to the Pixel Watch 2

Another AI feature, Video Boost is exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro, and you can toggle it on when you’re shooting video clips in low light or if there’s going to be a lot of movement. A copy of the video is sent to Google’s Cloud for processing to improve stabilization, add clarity, and reduce noise. What you get back is a cleaner looking video. But the process takes time, depending on how complicated and long the video is.

Magic Editor

The Magic Eraser is now grown up. This is a tool that allows users to leave out unwanted objects in photos, like a photobomber. Magic Editor is different. Say a girl is running on a beach. You can make a cutout out of her and move her to any location in the picture while AI fills the background. You can even move the shadow of the subject.

Best Take

A group photo eventually means somebody will have his eyes shut. When taking photos on a mobile phone, the camera captures multiple frames. Google can choose a frame where the eyes are open and replace it in a picture that’s brightly lit. Best Take can pull a frame from a series of up to six photos taken within seconds of each other.

Thank you for a smaller phone

The new Pixel 8 comes with Google’s latest processor — G3 Tensor. At the same time, it has a 6.2-inch OLED display, making the phone slightly smaller than its predecessor. We needed a small Android phone and here it is.

New features for Pixel Buds Pro

Pixel Buds Pro will feature conversation detection, that is, it will be able to sense that you are speaking and immediately engage transparency mode and pause whatever audio you’re listening to (Sony has already mastered the tech). Next, it will support Bluetooth Super Wideband, which Google says “doubles the bandwidth for voices, making you sound fuller and clearer”. Next, it will support Google’s Clear Calling voice enhancement technology to reduce background noise during calls.

Temperature and stress indicators on Pixel Watch 2

Google is bringing a skin temperature and continuous electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor to the Pixel Watch 2. It will help with stress tracking, which Fitbit introduced with its Sense 2. The EDA sensor detects small amounts of sweat, which can help determine bodily stress and it can be seen in combination with metrics like heart rate variability, heart rate, and skin temperature.

AI proofreader

While keying in documents using Google Docs, AI helps to spot errors. AI is now in Google’s default Gboard keyboard. When you type, you’ll see the keyboard auto-correcting errors but you can choose to ignore the corrections, like their/there and it’s/its.

Google says its new phones — Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro — will support seven years of “OS, security, and Feature Drop updates”

Google Assistant meet Bard

Google Assistant is getting an AI boost. The company has introduced Assistant with Bard, a new version of its popular mobile personal assistant that’s now powered by generative AI technologies, which means the new assistant will be able to handle a broader range of questions and tasks. Say you ask Google Assistant to tell you about the important emails you have missed this week. It will do the needful. The feature builds on the update Bard released in mid-September.

At a glance

Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro can be pre-ordered for Rs 75,999 and Rs 106,999 respectively on Flipkart.

Pixel Watch 2 can be pre-ordered for Rs 39,900 on Flipkart.

The devices will be available for purchase on Flipkart starting October 12.