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The Pixel 8 Pro's display trumps Apple and Samsung in power efficiency

 

On the surface, Google's Pixel 8 Pro looks like a regular phone. In fact, it's almost kind of boring, but if you're looking for a phone that could potentially have great battery life, then the Pixel 8 Pro could be a smartphone worth considering.

 

This is because according to tests conducted on the Pixel 8 Pro's display, it has been found to be the most power efficient display available right now, or at least one of the most power efficient. This is compared against its predecessor, the Pixel 7 Pro, and also against the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

 

 

According to the tests, the Pixel 8 Pro hit its peak brightness of 960 nits while only consuming 3.0W of power, whereas the Pixel 7 Pro more than doubled its energy consumption at 6.4W to hit similar brightness levels. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max are actually not too far behind, but the Pixel 8 Pro still takes the cake.

 

The Pixel 8 Pro's display trumps Apple and Samsung in power efficiency

 

Of course, display power efficiency is only one aspect that contributes to overall battery life, but it might be an important point of consideration for some who are looking to squeeze as much battery life out of their phones as possible.


Google Chrome will be borrowing this iCloud feature to enhance user privacy

 

Every device that is connected to the internet has an IP address that helps identify them. While there are legitimate purposes for IP addresses, it can also be used for nefarious purposes like tracking where a device is logging in from. If you're concerned about your privacy, then you're in luck, especially if you're a Google Chrome user.

 

This is because Google seems to be working on a new "IP Protection" feature for Chrome, which as its name suggests, will protect your IP by hiding it from prying eyes. This means that when you surf the web, your IP address will be masked using proxy servers so that the website you're visiting won't know your actual IP address.

 

This is similar to using VPN services which can hide your IP address, perfect for users who need to mask their location and to prevent cross-site tracking. If this feature sounds familiar, it is because Apple actually has something similar to iOS devices called Privacy Relay. There are also other browsers such as Brave that also offer features that help users hide their IP address while browsing the internet.

 

That being said, there are some potential risks to using the IP Protection feature in Chrome. According to Google, as traffic will be sent through Google's servers, it could make it harder for security and fraud protection services to block DDoS attacks or detect invalid traffic. Another risk is that should Google's proxy servers become compromised, hackers could potentially see and even manipulate traffic that passes through it.

 

Chrome's new IP Protection feature will roll out initially as a test for users logged into Chrome with US-based IP addresses. It will also be an opt-in feature so users will have to enable it manually.


Google's Pixel 8 Phones Dominate Rivals in DXOMARK Tests

 

Perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising to say that some Android users have a love-hate relationship with Google Pixel phones. While Pixel devices have a generally satisfying software experience, some users might feel differently about the hardware onboard the phones, which usually play it safe while getting the job done.

 

This time however, things have taken a different turn at least in terms of display quality. Recent scores from online benchmarking site DXOMARK show that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro perform impressively, even managing to outrank top-tier rivals such as the iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

 

 

More specifically, DXOMARK awarded scores of 154 for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, placing them first in the overall global rankings. According to DXOMARK, factors such as well-rendered colors, screen legibility, HDR10 video rendering, as well as a smooth and reactive scrolling experience were the main strong points of the displays on both devices. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro max and Galaxy S23 Ultra ranked 6th and 10th place, respectively.

 

There were some downsides however, such as aliasing during gaming, dark details in low-light conditions, as well as occasional unwanted palm touches registering on the edges of the screen.

 

During its product showcase event, Google marketed the displays on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro with its new "Actua" branding. We suppose one could say that the new branding as well as the spec bump resulted in ideal outcomes for the new Pixel devices, at least as far as screen quality goes.


Pixel 8 Pro's Face Unlock might not be as secure as you think

 

Facial recognition on our smartphones aren't new. We've seen it introduced many years ago, although it was not as robust compared to what is available now. In fact, with the new Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, Google introduced an upgraded facial recognition system (Face Unlock) that they claim meets Android's Class 3 requirements.

 

This means that it is secure enough where it can be used for payment authentications and logging into apps, something that wasn't available on the Pixel 7. But it turns out that maybe it still isn't quite as secure as we would have liked.

 

This is because according to a post on Reddit, they are claiming that their Pixel 8 Pro was unlocked using Face Unlock by their brother. In Google's defense, facial recognition systems aren't 100% foolproof. Even Apple's Face ID which uses infrared scanning technology was found to be vulnerable in some rare instances.

 

The poster does note that they share similar facial features as their brother, but even then as long as they aren't identical twins, it shouldn't have been unlocked anyway. That being said, this is the first we're hearing about the Face Unlock feature being bypassed this way. We're not sure if this is an isolated issue or if others have experienced something similar.

 

Either way, if you're concerned about this, then maybe you could stick to fingerprint unlocking or using a PIN code on your phone instead.


Google's eSIM transfer tool makes setting up your brand new Pixel 8 a breeze

 

In some parts of the world, eSIMs are a bit bothersome because of the way some carriers have chosen to set it up, where users will need to visit a carrier's store in-person and request a QR code to get an eSIM or to install the eSIM on a new device.

 

The good news for Pixel 8 owners is that the process will be a lot simpler as Google has finally rolled out its brand new eSIM transfer tool. With this new feature, whenever you're setting up your Pixel 8 smartphone, you will have the option of transferring the eSIM profile from your previous Pixel phone onto the new Pixel 8.

 

 

This is according to a post on X by Mishaal Rahman who revealed that the tool is now live. The tool will also give users the ability to convert a physical SIM into an eSIM profile, meaning that if your old phone still uses a physical SIM but you want to make the switch to an eSIM, this tool will make your life a lot easier.

 

Granted, most of us only change our smartphones every couple of years, if not longer, so this isn't something we need to do every few months. At the same time, making the setup process a lot faster isn't necessarily a bad thing either. Google isn't the first to introduce this feature to their phones as Samsung had previously introduced a similar tool in the past, but it's good to see more handset makers are jumping on board.

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