Google Pixel 8 Pro Undergoes Drop, Scratch Test, Did It Survive?

The newly launched Pixel 8 Pro smartphone has undergone a drop and a scratch test. To recap, Google unveiled the Pixel 8 series alongside a slew of other exciting products at the Made by Google event on October 4.

It is no secret that both handsets boast an impressive array of features and have enhanced hardware. However, details about the Pixel 8 series' durability have been few and far between until now.

In their latest video, YouTube channel PBK Reviews drop and scratch-tested the Pixel 8 Pro. As part of the test, the handset was dropped onto unforgiving concrete. Now, let's find out whether the phone emerges unscathed from this test.

Pixel 8 Pro: Drop, test results

The test consists of some drops from the waist and head height onto the phone's back, front and side. Impressively, the Pixel 8 Pro survived this test without breaking a sweat.

There were no major damages to any crucial component of the device, including its display. This doesn't come as a surprise considering the Pixel 8 Pro has a layer of Gorilla glass 2 on top.

Also, the phone has a Glass Victus 2 matte rear panel and is housed in a polished aluminium frame. In the first test, the YouTuber drops the phone from the waist height with the screen facing the concrete.

There were no scratches on the device but we can see some tiny scrapes on the sides. The second drop is on the concrete from the head height. Surprisingly, there were no scratches on the phone's display and rear panel this time too.

For comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's display cracked in these drops. Next, the Pixel 8 Pro is dropped on its back from the waist height. While the rest of the phone is fine, we can see some tiny scratches on the back and the camera bezel.

Lastly, the phone is dropped on its side from the waist height. This damages the phone's display on the corner. However, the phone doesn't stop working and there are no other visible damages.

PBK Reviews puts the Pixel 8 Pro inside a bag of sand and gravel and rubs the phone against it for the scratch test. Again, we can see only tiny and minute scratches on the display and the edges of the camera bezel.

Despite undergoing these tests, the Pixel 8 Pro continues to work fine and looks as good as new. The YouTuber goes as far as claiming that the Pixel 8 Pro outperformed the iPhone 15 Pro Max in this drop-and-scratch test.

Pixel 8 Pro exclusive feature works on older Pixel devices

Moreover, the Pixel 8 Pro comes with Pro Controls that provide advanced camera settings. It is worth noting that this feature is exclusively available on the Pixel 8 Pro.

There is a way to access this exclusive feature on other Pixel devices. The pro controls of the Pixel 8 Pro allow you to manually adjust the white balance, shadows, brightness, exposure and more.

However, renowned tipster Kamila Wojciechowska recently demonstrated a technique to get the Pixel 8 Pro's exclusive feature using the Google Camera APK version for the Pixel 8.

According to the tipster, this works even on Pixel 7 series and Pixel 6 series, which pack a Tensor chip under the hood. The Pro Controls allow you to override automatic lens switching on Pixel devices.

In addition to giving you more control over the phone's camera, the Pro Controls deliver a "shoot and forget" experience, the tipster claims. According to Kamila, the feature is "simply an artificial software lock" that Google is using to get users to pay for the Pixel 8 Pro.

Google is also reportedly planning to add AI features to the Pixel 8 series. It will be interesting to see whether the company will limit these features only to the Pro model.