The dust has barely settled on the Pixel 7 range but there is already chatter about Google’s next flagships, which we assume will be known as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. German website WinFuture has uncovered some key details about Google’s 2023 handsets.
The report is based on publicly available code and it very well could be that these are test platforms and will never see the light of day. With that disclaimer out of the way, here is what WinFuture has found.
The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro seem to be codenamed “Shiba” and “Husky,” respectively, and this naming convention is in line with Google’s current flagships, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, which are codenamed “Panther” and Cheetah,” respectively.
The report gels well with an August report that said the third Tensor chipset would also be made in collaboration with Samsung. The third-generation proprietary Tensor chip is allegedly codenamed “Zuma” and will feature the same Samsung-made G5300 modem as the Tensor G2.
Other details are not available, but Samsung recently started working on the Exynos 2300 chipset, which sounds like the successor to the Exynos 2200 that fuels the European Galaxy S22 units. Although the forthcoming Galaxy S23 will not use the Exynos 2300, it might serve as a reference platform for the next Tensor chip.
Shiba and Husky will run Upside Down Cake (sorry I had to)
The phones will be available in 12GB RAM configurations and will run Android 14, which is presumably codenamed Upside Down Cake. Pixel 8’s display will seemingly have a resolution of 2268×1080 pixels, whereas the Pixel 8 Pro could feature a 2822×1344 screen.
Per an earlier report, the Pixel 8 Pro could feature an ultrasonic sensor, which should theoretically be superior to the optical fingerprint sensor used by the Pixel 6 and 7 series.
Regardless of whether these rumors are true, the Pixel 8 is still nearly a year away and a lot could change by then. Before that, we are likely to see the Pixel 7a and maybe a premium Pixel Ultra device with insane camera specs which could further solidify Google’s status as the best camera phone maker.
