Google is trying anything it can to stand out with its smartphone, which looks more and more like an iPhone. Its latest handset taps into AI-powered photography to make taking photos easier and allow people to manipulate an image to make it look better. The Google Pixel 8 is the latest smartphone from Google. The Pixel 7 was released in 2022. The Pixel 8 has a smoother 120Hz OLED panel that gets significantly brighter, faster hardware that's ideal for gaming, and a larger battery that should last all day.

Google's hardware event has been chock full of information on new devices, like the Pixel 8 smartphone, but camera software has also gotten some TLC. The company announced a ton of Pixel 8 features exclusive for shutterbugs and video editors. The new Best Take feature solves the issue of, uh, one person looking really gross in group photos. When enabled, the software takes a series of photos in quick succession and you can actually mix and match faces to create the perfect group shot, sort of a face-based riff on the pre-existing Magic Editor tech. Grab a face from one photo and slap it on the next.

Over the course of its Made by Google event on Wednesday, it became clear that Google intends to infuse its its new Pixel 8 phones with generative AI. The company is adding support for on-demand summaries, translations and read-aloud features for articles and web pages, plus more tricks, the company announced during its keynote. All of this is handled through the Assistant, either via spoken word or on-screen prompts. On the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, the Assistant will be able to quickly summarize website text, offering a breakdown of the page and bullet points of relevant content. Prompts will pop up at the bottom of the summary with potential follow-ups -- an article about iPhones, for example, will end with action buttons reading, "About iPhones," and, "Who invented the iPhone?"

After teasing us for weeks with trailers showing off the Pixel 8 series, Google is now ready to give us all the details about its latest flagships. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro look largely the same as their predecessors, with a couple of key differences. The regular Pixel 8 is slightly smaller, which makes it easier to use with one hand. Meanwhile, the Pro model has a new matte finish, upgraded cameras and an intriguing temperature sensor. So, you might actually be able to hang on to your Pixel flagship for a lot longer than before.

Google's October hardware event took place this morning in New York City. During its presentation, the company showed off three new pieces of hardware: the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, and the Pixel Watch 2. The new phones are flush with new features, from secure face authentication and seven years of software support to a built-in thermometer, while the second-generation Pixel Watch has more modest improvements over its predecessor. There are also some software upgrades coming to the Pixel Buds Pro, Google's wireless earbuds. You can read more about that in a separate story. Below is everything you need to know about the Pixel 8 series phones and Pixel Watch 2. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission.