The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a great phone for $999. It has a great display, good design, lots of AI features and the promise of long updates.
I’ve been using the phone since launch and getting accustomed to the new Google Photos features like Best Take and the improved Magic Eraser. I like the fact that I can take a great group photo without worrying if someone’s eyes are closed or they aren’t ready for the photo. But the experience of using these features is not what I was expecting.
It’s all about the experience
Google has integrated a bunch of AI features into the Google Photos app for editing your shots. I like the ability to enhance my photos with a few taps, but those features are frustrating to use. Although Pixels haven’t been the fastest phones ever, I expect my phone to be reliable. However, using Best Tech or Magic Eraser on the Pixel 8 Pro is a frustrating and unreliable experience.
When interacting with these AI features, you’ll need to go to the Google Photos app, select editgo further tool, After that, you wait for the phone to scan the image and suggest edits accordingly. For example, Best Take appears after a loading time of 1 to 3 seconds. I agree that the Pixel 8 Pro is taking time to load suggestions on edits, but I don’t agree with it taking 7 seconds to process changes.
On the group photo, I select tool And wait for the best tech to appear. After that, it takes a few seconds to load suggestions for faces, which is perfectly fine because no other phone lets me do that. Once that’s done, I choose a face and make a favorite edit, which is pretty much instantaneous. But then the phone takes 3 to 5 seconds to process it and show the results. i choose save a copy And wait a few seconds for the changes to appear in my final photo. This process may take up to 10 to 12 seconds.
Best Tech may be a first-generation thing, but there’s no Magic Eraser, and suggestions still take up to 5 seconds to load. Meanwhile, you can’t interact with Photos to circle the objects you want to remove as it only gives you the option to do so after loading your own suggestions. And it sometimes fails in this.
I’ve had instances where Best Take for a photo I edited didn’t appear until the next day. You may wait for a few seconds and sit frustrated as the phone won’t load the icon for you to select to use the feature. Interacting with Google’s new AI features in Photos isn’t an ideal experience for the Pixel 8 Pro. There is too much friction between the user and the phone. And it’s incredible.
Then below are some tips by tapping on which you can easily edit your photo. I’m happy that my phone thinks blurring the background will make my photo look better, but having to wait 7 seconds after selecting “Blur Background” to be presented with a scroller to change the amount of blur is fine for me. Not there.
New AI features are a gimmick
The Pixel 8 Pro is giving me Photoshop-level editing capabilities at my fingertips with Best Take, Magic Eraser, and other tips, which I appreciate. But using these features took me back to early 2010’s loading times. Remember when it used to take up to 10 seconds for a webpage to load? That’s what it feels like. If Google wants people to actually use its new AI advancements, it needs to speed up the process.
For now, the new AI features seem gimmicky. Chances are that you will use them for a few days in the beginning, but will forget about them later.
You shouldn’t buy a Google Pixel 8 series phone just for the ability to quickly edit photos; This process is not quick at all and is frustrating at best. I think it would be better not to use these features for leisure and only when I need it. These are nice to have, but not something you can’t live without. There are plenty of other reasons to buy the Pixel 8 Pro, but the new AI features aren’t one of them.
