Bright and smooth.
That seems to be the philosophy powering the next bundle of Google Pixel phones. According to a report from Android Authority(opens in a new tab) (citing sources within Google), the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro's display specs will see significant upgrades in both brightness and refresh rate, though perhaps at the slight expense of size and resolution.
Android Authority has the full technical rundown, but the main thing to know is that both models of the next Pixel phone will have better refresh rates than before.
Both phones will have 120Hz displays, with the Pixel 8 Pro's refresh rate being more variable (and thus saving battery) than the Pixel 8. Last year's Pixel 7 models topped out at 90hz for the base phone and 120Hz without a variable refresh rate for the Pro version. The 90Hz display from the base Pixel 7 made its way onto the Pixel 7a earlier this year, too.
Brightness is the other key area where things are getting better. Both Pixel 7 models topped out at 1,000 nits peak brightness, while Pixel 8 goes up to 1,400 nits and Pixel 8 Pro goes up to 1,600 nits. In other words, you'll be able to see the displays much more clearly when you're out in direct sunlight.
These upgrades don't come without a couple of small drawbacks, of course. Pixel 8 Pro is said to share the same 6.7-inch display size as Pixel 7 Pro, but the regular Pixel 8 is a touch smaller than Pixel 7 was, at 6.17-inches instead of 6.3-inches. Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 are said to share the same 2400 x 1080 screen resolution, but Pixel 8 Pro will supposedly sit at 2992 x 1344, a minor bump down from the Pixel 7 Pro's 3120 x 1440 resolution.
Unfortunately, the Android Authority report didn't go into any other special features or new camera tricks the Pixel 8 phones might include. Still, it's nice to know that we're (probably) getting a baseline refresh rate of 120Hz this year.
