The re-unboxing.

Towards the end of last year my original Pixel 8 Pro began glitching. Every time I tried to use the Night Sight feature the camera app would freeze, the phone would crash, and then reboot. Not exactly what I had come to expect from Pixel devices.

I reached out to Google customer service and after some discussion was assured that they would take care of everything. I was given a case number, return instructions and assured that, once they had my device, it would be a few days before they would ship me a replacement P8P.

Although not happy about having to return my $1,000.00 phone I still had my older Pixel 6 Pro that I could use until the replacement arrived. I securely packed up my device, ran it out to FedEx, and headed back home. Everything was good.

I mean, I would only be without my 8 Pro for a week or so…….

Yeah, right.

Like any good impatient consumer I tracked my return and eagerly awaited the moment it would arrive, be inspected, and my new device be shipped to me.

It was delivered to Google in two days.

I checked every day expecting the status to change from received to inspected at any moment.

After a week I reached out and was told that with the end of the year there might be a slight delay, but to give them 24 hours and they would provide an update. 24 turned into 24-48. I would reach out and they would provide the same generic response of “someone would respond within 24 – 48 hours”. I was assured that they were “escalating my case”.

After four weeks I decided to “Escalate my case, myself”. I took to social media and began posting my experience to various platforms. Soon I had numerous people responding to me and within a day the status of my case changed and 24 hours later the new P8P was on it’s way.

They say patients is a virtue, but not when dealing with customer service. Be a squeaky wheel if you want results

So after more than a month I have the new replacement device.

The Pixel 8 Pro is a beautiful device. From its matte glass back to the metal sides and camera bar, it screams that it is a premium product. The matte glass is very smooth but the metal sides have a slight edge where they contact the glass that provides grip when the phone is without a case. The camera bar feels more pronounced and provides a place for my finger to rest and support it in my hand.

The 6.7″ front screen is gorgeous. Colors pop and blacks are inky. The 120 hz refresh rate makes the animations snappy and fluid and watching content on it is a pleasure.

The under screen fingerprint reader is responsive I have not experienced any misses when trying to unlock my device (even with a screen protector on it). I also use face unlock and find both to work well for me.

The cameras are amazing and the real reason I have been a Pixel loyalist since my first 3XL

While I love being able to point and shoot, knowing that I will have a great photo, the addition of pro controls to the cameras allows for greater customization and refinement. This allows you to tweak your photos before you take them. The controls can be finicky and I would prefer a jog wheel interface similar to the old Nokia Lumia camera interface to the linear one Google has settled on.

Video Boost for low light is a game changer. While the files size of the new video can be scary, the results are well worth it. Your Google cloud storage will fill up quickly though. Personally, I download my videos to a SSD to free up space for my next round of videos.

The Night Sight feature is another aspect of Pixel smartphones that I have loved. From my first discovery of the one second video that would be produced I was hooked. Being able to capture a satellite or meteor stealing across the sky turned me into someone willing to wake up early on weekends to spend hours trying to capture these types of photos and videos.

Some features I didn’t think I would use but I have come to really enjoy are call screening, hold for me, and phone menu navigation that are baked into Pixel smartphones. At first I thought they were gimmicky they save me more time then I could have ever imagined.

While I didn’t appreciate the sour experience I had with Google CS, all of these features continue to keep me firmly entrenched in #teampixel and I recommend Pixels to anyone looking for a smartphone. You can pick up a Pixel 8 Pro at a great discount on Amazon and help out this blog by using this link https://amzn.to/3CWP9mQ .

Unsolicited plug: The P8P is an expensive device and while my love of the matte glass and metal make me want to use it naked, my paranoia about damaging it is greater. That’s why I protect mine with a leather case by @bellroy and a tempered glass screen protector by @whitestonedome. Both products provide the added protection I want for my investment while keeping the premium feel I want for my flagship smartphone.