Pixel 8 and 8 Pro sample images leaked: how good are the cameras?

We’re less than 24 hours away from Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launch, and the leaks won’t stop. Today alone, we’ve seen unboxing videos (What’s an embargo? NDA what? Integrity who?), and now we have sample images from both Pixel 8 series phones. 

Of course, the leaks were released on the once-successful social media platform formerly known as Twitter. M. Brandon Lee (AKA thisistechtoday) shared everything from unboxing videos to benchmark scores for the Tensor G3 chipset that powers the Pixel 8 series. 

Another leaker posted sample images shot by the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro and shared them on the sinking tugboat of social media. Shared by PBK reviews, the images give us some insight into the photographic prowess of Google’s next-gen phones.

Pixel 8 and 8 Pro sample image quality

The sample images uploaded show some excellent quality, with accurate color saturation. However, it must be pointed out that due to the social media sites’ compression, image fidelity is altered, thus not allowing us to judge the actual performance of the Pixel 8 series cameras. 

In the shared images of a lime tree, we can see the dimpled skin of the ripening limes. Shadows show a nice contrast, and colors are well-saturated. However, the 5x zoomed images range from soft to super crisp in different parts of the image. Again, that could be due to the compression used by the site or the camera settings applied by the photographer. 

We will only find out how good the image quality is when we receive our review units, take them out, and shoot photos. We expect the Pixel 8 series to shoot high-quality images and benefit from Google’s excellent AI-enhanced imaging. 

Stay tuned for more of our Google Pixel 8 launch coverage at the Made by Google event.