Pixel 8 price hike details leak, but there’s also some good news

We’ve posted loads of exclusive Google Pixel 8 series leaks already thanks to tipster Kamila Wojciechowska. One missing piece of the puzzle is pricing, but another leaker may have given us some insight.

Indian tipster Yogesh Brar has tweeted apparent Pixel 8 pricing, claiming that the vanilla model will retail for $649 or $699. By comparison, the base Pixel 7 set you back $599 for the base model, so we’re looking at a $50 price hike at the bare minimum.

This price increase, if confirmed, would be a little disappointing but not unexpected. Samsung and Apple offered global price hikes for their recent high-end phones, although they stuck to the same pricing in the US. Google also brought a price hike to the Pixel A series, as the $449 Pixel 7a is $50 more expensive than the 6a.

Brar also posted Pixel 8 specs, and these are largely in line with our exclusive leaks. However, the tipster also noted that Google is bringing an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner to the phone. This would be a major upgrade over the Pixel 7 line’s optical scanner, bringing accuracy and speed improvements in theory. This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard about an ultrasonic scanner potentially coming to the series, as a prototype with the tech was spotted back in October. But this upgrade is looking more likely now.

Otherwise, the tipster says we’ve got a Tensor G3 SoC, a 6.17-inch 120Hz OLED panel, 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, a dual rear camera system (50MP GN2 with OIS and 12MP ultrawide), an 11MP selfie camera, a 4,485mAh battery, 24W wired charging, and 12W wireless speeds. We’re guessing the latter figure is for the Qi charging standard, as our own leak points to 12W via Qi charging and 20W via proprietary wireless charging.

Nevertheless, between inflation, a Pixel 7a price hike, and a couple of upgrades (that 50MP main camera and ultrasonic fingerprint scanner), we can understand why there’d be a price increase. But we hope this hike is kept to a minimum.